MURDER AT THE PIER (A Sister Sleuths Mystery Book 1) by Rayna Morgan Read Free Book Online Page B

your
mom with the finances." Paul needed to figure out if the need to support
his mother and provide for his siblings was pushing him to steal materials he
could resell.
    "It's taught me one thing for sure,” he said angrily.
"When I have a family someday, I'll never desert them. It's a coward's way
of living. I'll teach my kids to accept the responsibility that comes with
having children. I see too many of my friends having babies way too early
before they have a way to support them."
    "It sounds like you used everything you learned from a
difficult situation to turn yourself into an outstanding young man."
    "I hope so. It's why I need to keep working
construction right now. It pays me enough so I can help my mom and still save
money to get my high school diploma and enroll at the junior college. I'm
planning to take night classes and still work during the day."
    "Ambitious program, young man. One I believe you're
capable of accomplishing."
    Paul stood to bring the conversation to a close. Putting
his arm over Juan's shoulder as they walked to the door, he asked casually:
"By the way, do you have any ideas on who has been pulling off the
burglaries in the last couple of weeks?"
    Juan turned to face Paul. Paul's heart was in his throat,
afraid he might hear a response from Juan that could implicate him.
    "Hey, man, those burglaries are bad business.
Personally, I think it has to be an inside job." He pinched his lower lip between
his thumb and forefinger, deep in thought. "I mean, it seems like these
guys know which sites are the easiest to hit. They hit at exactly the right
time when the security guard is away from the front gate doing his rounds. It's
like they know the schedule."
    "Do guards follow a definite routine?"
    "Oh, yeah. In fact, there's a machine on the site
where the guards log their inspections. It's the boss' way to make sure the
guard makes his rounds when he's supposed to and covers the whole
property." Juan grinned. "Without the logging machine, the guy could
just stand out in back somewhere having a smoke."
    An alarm sounded in the back of Paul's mind. "You seem
to know quite a bit about the routine."
    "I've worked as a security guard. I know exactly how
it works. I've also worked at a car wash, flipping burgers at a drive-through,
and parking cars at the country club." Juan patted his chest. "I'm a
man of all trades, you might say."
    "How do you like working for Jim Mitchell's
company?"
    "I respect Mr. Mitchell a lot. His foreman is strict
but fair; he knows how to treat us guys in the field right so we want to do a
good job for him."
    Paul sensed Juan's sincerity and liked the young man more
and more as the conversation progressed. But his next statement made Paul catch
his breath. "Believe me, it's a lot better than working for Neal
Henderson."
    "When did you work for Neal, Juan?"
    "Right before I came over here. I was only on Mr. Henderson's
job for a month or so when he suddenly let me go for no reason. Man, I was
upset. I needed the money, and I was doing a good job."
    "What reason did he give for terminating you?"
    "He talked about tools gone missing on the site. He
never accused me of stealing, but he said stuff started being reported right after
I was hired and it was making me look bad." His eyebrows squeezed together
and his jaw jutted out. "It was all a big misunderstanding. I swear I'd
never do anything like that no matter how bad I needed money. I'm not dumb
enough to do something stupid so I end up in jail when I've got my family to
take care of. It was all unfair."
    "Did you have any trouble finding another job after
you were let go?"
    "That was the strange part. Mr. Henderson told me he
would show on my personnel records I was terminated because the job was winding
down so I'd be able to find other work. In fact, he was the one who told me
they needed construction workers here on Mr. Mitchell's project."
    Paul relaxed. Juan's candor and honesty were hardly
synonymous with someone trying