Chapter 39: The Facts

Roxanne didn’t waste any time and called her old boss, Danny, from her apartment the next morning. They planned to meet at the burnt down building Owen used to own.
In the daylight, the building appeared differently than Roxanne remembered. It looked like a heap of rubble, with a little bit of stone foundation left at the bottom, similar to an old castle. Roxanne spotted piles where machinery had probably been, but all of the contents had been removed – or stolen.
“Hey,” Danny said, walking into the building. He gave Roxanne a big smile and a wave.
“Hi, Danny. How’s the kickball team?” she asked.
“It’s going okay. Lost in overtime innings last week.”
“Bummer.”
“So why did you invite me here?” Danny kicked a pile of pebbles.
“Look, I know I screwed up. I never should have forged that permit. I’m so sorry I put you and the other guys out of work for the time being. But I think there’s more to it than a missing permit.”
Danny looked up at Roxanne, his eyes clouding a little. “They’ll be okay.” Danny picked up a rock and threw it across the room.
Danny shuffled some of the debris with his foot. After he uncovered a piece of silver aluminum, he picked it up and a strange smile formed on his lips.
“I thought this place was going to be great,” he said, still looking at the shiny shard. “It could have been, too.”
“What do you mean?” Roxanne was surprised Danny knew about Owen and the building at all.
He looked at Roxanne and took a step closer. “Owen was going to start a brewery. Bought the building. Filed for a permit for some renovations. But Baxter wanted something in return. When Owen refused – poof.” He raised his arms indicating the ash around them.
“Baxter, I knew it,” Roxanne said.
“Yeah, I knew you were on to Baxter when Tom called asking about him. What I didn’t anticipate, however, were the lengths you two would go to protect each other.” He took another step toward her, looking at her with a mischievous smile.
He still held the sharp piece of aluminum between his fingers. “Baxter doesn’t like to be crossed. He made sure it looked like Owen set it so he couldn’t get the insurance money. Paid off the cops, though, so Owen wouldn’t be arrested. He wanted him stewing in his office instead.”
“How do you know all this?” Roxanne took a step back. She was getting worried, seeing the disdain on Danny’s face. The fact that he knew so much information and was stepping closer to her with a sharp piece of aluminum scared her.
Danny chuckled at Roxanne like she was a naïve child. “You still haven’t figured it out yet, have you?”
Roxanne leaned back, thinking about how she could exit if Danny tried to attack her. She wasn’t sure what had made his face turn so sinister.
“Baxter runs this town. You thought you could just shake your hips and he’d sign the permit. What you don’t know, is that the loan shark you owed money to already paid him off for the permit,” Danny said in a disgusted tone.
Roxanne didn’t like the disdain on Danny’s face. His eyes looked dark and beady. She reached in her pocket to feel her phone in case she needed to call for help.
“I stole that permit. It was me.” Danny looked her in the eyes, seething.
Roxanne took in a sharp breath. She stood still, ready to run. If Danny had stolen the permit, who knew what else he was capable of.
“I couldn’t let him get away with his schemes any longer,” Danny said, clenching his fists. “Me and the guys, we do an honest day’s work. I can’t stand seeing someone like Baxter get away with stealing.”
Roxanne let out the air in her chest. Danny had wanted revenge on Baxter – not her. “But you knew we needed the permit for the construction,” she said. “Why steal it?”
“I figured the loan shark would go after Baxter once they realized the delay with the permit. I didn’t think they’d go after you. And I certainly didn’t think you’d resort to forging it.”
Roxanne relaxed a little when she realized Danny hadn’t meant to hurt her. Danny’s tension eased as well, throwing the piece of aluminum across the floor.
“And the Clover leaf label?” she asked.
“That was Owen’s beer label that Baxter stole. Before he set the fire, Baxter made sure to store the cases of beer that had already been processed in a storage facility. There are still a few cans around.”
Roxanne thought that made sense. Instead of burning Owen’s beer, Baxter just kept it for himself.
“I’ve seen Baxter at an abandoned building site and now he’s signed a permit for a fake company?”
“He keeps getting bolder. He’d been using abandoned building sites to make more clover leaf cans. Now, he finally took the jump to actually make it a brewery.” Danny shuffled some rubble with his feet.
“Why the illegal company then?”
“He can’t sign a permit on his own building. He still wants to be in control. What better way than to run it so no one – at least no one who’s legit – knows? That way he can still collect bribes by being a county permit official and make money from his brewery on the side.”
Danny looked up and shook his head, remorse settling on his face. “Stealing the permit was stupid. I know. But I just didn’t want someone like Baxter to keep hurting innocent people.”
“There’s still just one loose end that doesn’t make sense.” Roxanne furrowed her brow, trying to think of an explanation. “When I was kidnapped, the loan shark’s goons – they had a clover leaf can. If Baxter was trying to get a bribe from the loan shark, why would they have a can of the stolen beer?”
Danny shrugged. “I bet it came from Owen. He gave away some of his first batches, before he bought the building. I’m sure it came from there.”
Roxanne considered Danny’s explanation plausible. Now that she knew the details, they needed proof. Even though Danny was unable to bring Baxter down on his own, maybe by joining forces they’d be able to stop him.
“Don’t worry, though,” said Danny. “The loan shark and other investors convinced the county to amend the plans, and they start construction again next week.”
“That’s great,” Roxanne said.
“There’s just one stipulation the county permit office had,” he looked up at the ceiling, unable to meet Roxanne’s eyes.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“You’re fired.”