Chapter 6 - The Man Behind the Clipboard
Manny Alvarez had managed Lakeview Terrace for nine years.
He knew which windows stuck in winter, which tenants needed help carrying groceries, and which pipes banged before they burst.
He also knew exactly who had told him to shut down the boiler.
“Peter Walsh,” he said.
The regional director for Westbridge Property Services.
“Why?” I asked.
Manny looked at the ambulance floor. “He said the repair budget was frozen until vacancy targets improved.”
“Vacancy targets?” Hannah repeated.
Manny nodded. “People leave when the building gets bad enough.”
Hannah stared at him. “And you went along with it?”
His face folded. “I have a daughter in college. I kept telling myself I’d fix things quietly.”
“You let children freeze.”
“I know.”
She turned away before she said something she could not take back.
A black SUV pulled to the curb.
Peter Walsh stepped out wearing a long wool coat and carrying a leather folder. He looked irritated by the fire trucks, as if they were blocking valet parking.
“Mr. Moretti,” he said. “We need to control the narrative here.”
I almost laughed.
“People were trapped in a smoke-filled basement.”
“And thankfully no one was seriously injured.”
“That’s your opening sentence?”
He glanced at Hannah and lowered his voice. “We should speak privately.”
“No. We shouldn’t.”
I pointed at Manny. “Did you order the boiler kept off?”
Peter’s expression did not move. “Operational instructions were issued in accordance with budget limitations.”
“Did you tell him to keep it off?”
“Not in those words.”
Manny spoke from the ambulance. “You texted me.”
Peter looked at him for the first time.
“That would be easy to misunderstand.”
Manny reached for his phone.
Peter’s calm cracked.
He stepped forward. “You signed a confidentiality agreement.”
Hannah laughed once. “There it is.”
I held out my hand to Manny. “May I see the message?”
He gave me the phone.
The text was short.
NO HEAT UNTIL MONDAY. LET THEM FEEL IT. M.V. WANTS MOVEMENT BEFORE HALCYON WALK-THROUGH.
I read it twice.
M.V.
Martin Vale.
Peter saw my face and said, “Vincent, you know how these things work.”
“No,” I said. “I know how they worked while I wasn’t looking.”
Then my own phone buzzed.
A new email had arrived from Martin.
SUBJECT: RESIGNATION OPTION.
May you like
The message contained one sentence.
Take the deal before this becomes yours too.
