Page 19 of Simon Says… Fight (Kate Morgan Thrillers #11)

“I don’t think so,” he said. “Believe me that I’ve been looking at that. If anybody could restore her, it would be me. This would be the first of these grand old buildings that I decided would be better to drop. It’s not my preference.”

“I know, and that’s one of the things the owners were really hoping for.”

“I’ve taken it into consideration,” Simon noted, “but she’s had no care to even keep her in a safe condition while my people are working on her, so I’m not sure it’s even doable.”

“Do you want to put that offer in writing?”

“Do you think they’ll go for it?”

“I don’t think so, no,” she declared, “but I’m not privy to their thought processes, especially considering their circumstances. I know that most people would say you’re taking complete advantage of them, but that’s also the industry.”

“It is the industry,” he confirmed, “and generally I don’t take advantage, but this building is definitely no good as is.”

“But, even if it would be a drop-down,” she pointed out, “the land value alone is worth it.”

“Yes and no,” he argued. “You also have to consider what it’ll cost not only to drop it but in taking care of all that asbestos, which will be a very significant expense.”

“Oh God, death knells on my heart.”

“Yeah, the minute we start talking asbestos , you and I both know that it can run hundreds of thousands to mitigate that.”

“If that’s all it is,” she muttered.

“Exactly, so run that figure past them and see what they say.”

“Will do.” With that, she ended the call.

Simon turned to see his foreman grinning at him.

“At that price,” he noted, “you can do whatever you want.”

“Yeah, if they go for it,” Simon reminded his foreman. “You and I both know that just because that may be what it’s worth, it still doesn’t mean they’ll be willing to let it go for that.”

“No, they shouldn’t,” he agreed, with a headshake. “Damn, it takes balls to make an offer so low.”

“It’s not so low,” Simon argued, with a wry look.

“It’ll just feel that way to them. But the thing is, it completes something that they have held on to, and it also still makes them a ton of money.

They left her too long without taking care of her, and it’s gotten bad enough that she’s more of a liability than an asset to them at this point. ”

Later that afternoon, when he got a phone call back from Ariel, the answer surprised him.

“They’re willing,” she stated abruptly.

He froze for a moment. “Seriously?”

“Yes. I don’t know what the hell it is about you, but you’re just completely shot with good luck.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” he muttered, “and it’s not a figure I came to lightly.”

“No, and because I had already explained who you were and what you did with these old buildings, they were much easier about it. I also told them that you weren’t sure it could be saved because so much structural damage has evolved, and that, with the asbestos throughout the whole building, would be an even bigger issue.

I think in the end, the husband basically just decided they would take it.

I got the sense that he didn’t want any more headaches or hassles and probably knew they were on borrowed time with the city. ”

“Good for them,” Simon said. “Draw up the agreement, and I’ll work on getting the financing in order.”

“Good enough,” she replied, and, with that, she rang off.

Distracted by the details of the transaction running through his head, when he stopped and looked around at where he was, he realized he stood right in front of the Queensborough.

He smiled up at the building and muttered, “It’s okay, old girl.

You’re in good hands now.” And, with a smile and a jaunty step, he started to walk onward, when a voice stepped into his mind.

Help .

“Oh no, no, no,” Simon muttered, as he turned around and looked.

“I already helped, and the guy is safe.” Then he winced because he didn’t know if the guy was in the hospital or not.

But, as far as Simon was concerned, he had done what he could do.

The fact that he found the guy alive meant something.

He just didn’t know how to get out of all these people calling on him all the time or whether he should even be trying to get out of it.

Ariel was right, he begrudgingly acknowledged.

In many ways, much of his life had been filled with luck.

And then there were the other times, when it seemed as if everything and everyone had been against him.

It occurred to him that he should take notice when his life looked good and when it looked bad. Because maybe, if things were aligning, and he needed to help people in order to have his world move smoothly, then maybe that was a sign, and he should listen.

The voice was insistent, asking for help.

Hesitant, Simon slowly moved, once again urged back to that same damn warehouse where he’d found Arnie. As he got closer, he didn’t expect to see Kate, hands on her hips, having a conversation with Rodney. She looked up, glanced over, and smiled.

His heart calming down after that last message for help, Simon walked toward them. “Hey,” he murmured.

“Problems?” she asked, staring at him.

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

At that, Rodney’s eyebrows lifted. “ Uh-oh , there can’t be any maybe s.”

“I know,” Simon agreed, “but I just got… a call.”

“What kind of a call?” she asked suspiciously.

He glanced at her and said, “Three guesses.”

“So, one of those. Great .”

Simon asked, “Why? Has something else happened?”

“Yeah, we already found somebody this morning, when we came to look at the warehouse, after talking to Arnie.”

“Found somebody?” Simon repeated.

“Yeah, and I don’t know if he’ll make it or not.” She shrugged. “I haven’t checked in at the hospital.”

“But you already found him,” Simon confirmed in delight.

She frowned at him and asked, “Is that who you think you’re here for?”

“I don’t know,” Simon admitted. “Wouldn’t it be nice if I could tell you?”

She smiled, then looked over at Rodney, who just stared at Simon.

Rodney nodded. “I guess you don’t always know, huh ?”

“No,” Simon muttered, his gaze shifting around. “It would be nice if I did. It would be nice if I had any clarity at all,” he shared in frustration. As he turned, he added, “I’ll head out and get back to work.”

The voice popped back up. No .

Simon stopped moving. He groaned, looked back at Kate, and shared, “The voice won’t let me go.”

She straightened and asked, “Is he here?”

“I don’t know,” Simon replied, staring at her, misery in his eyes. “All I can tell you is it’s not letting me move.”

“Okay, does it want you to go inside?”

Almost immediately the weight on his feet was removed, and he relaxed. With a sigh, he smiled at her. “The weight lifted, so I guess that is what they want me to do.”

“They?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I can’t say if it’s a he, she, or they, so,… did you check everything here?”

“We’ve done a quick run-through, and so did the patrol units who came out with the ambulance and all.”

He nodded, as he listened to the voice in his head. “Based on the way they are going on about it, you probably missed someone.”

“Someone or something?” Kate asked.

He frowned at her, heard the voice again, and declared, “Someone.”

And, with that, they all bolted inside, Simon bringing up the rear.