The Stars Shine Down

‘Great!’ Lara said enthusiastically.

‘Is it on schedule?’

‘It’s ahead of schedule.’

‘That’s wonderful. I can tell you now that I wasn’t really sure you could do it.’

‘But you gave me a chance, anyway. Thank you, Charles.’

‘One good turn deserves another. Remember, if it hadn’t been for you, I might have starved to death.’

From time to time, Sean MacAllister would join Lara at the building site.

‘It’s coming along just fine, isn’t it?’

‘Yes,’ Lara said.

MacAllister seemed genuinely pleased. Lara thought: Mr Cohn was wrong about him. He’s not trying to take advantage of me.

By the end of November, the building was progressing rapidly. The windows and doors were in place, and the exterior walls were set. The structure was ready to accept the network of nerves and arteries.

On Monday, the first week of December, work on the building began to slow down. Lara went to the site one morning and there were only two men there, and they seemed to be doing very little.

‘Where’s the rest of the crew today?’ Lara asked.

‘They’re on another job,’ one of the men explained. ‘They’ll be here tomorrow.’

The following day no one was there.

Lara took a bus into Halifax to see Buzz Steele. ‘What’s happening?’ Lara asked. ‘The work has stopped.’

‘Nothing to worry about,’ Steele assured her. ‘We ran into a little snag on another job and I had to pull my men off temporarily.’

‘When will they be coming back to work?’

‘Next week. We’ll be on schedule.’

‘Buzz, you know how much this means to me.’

‘Sure, Lara.’

‘If the building’s not completed on time, I lose it. I lose everything.’

‘Don’t worry, kid. I won’t let that happen.’

When Lara left, she had a feeling of unease.

The following week, the workmen still had not appeared. She went into Halifax again to see Steele.

‘I’m sorry,’ the secretary said, ‘Mr Steele is not in.’

‘I must talk to him. When will he be back?’

‘He’s out of town on a job. I don’t know when he’ll be back.’

Lara felt the first stirrings of panic. ‘This is very important,’ Lara insisted. ‘He’s putting up a building for me. It has to be finished in three weeks.’

‘I wouldn’t worry, Miss Cameron. If Mr Steele said it will be finished, it will be finished.’

‘But nothing’s happening,’ Lara cried. ‘No one’s working on it.’

‘Would you like to talk to Mr Ericksen, his assistant?’

‘Yes, please.’

Ericksen was a giant of a man, broad shouldered and amiable. He radiated reassurance.

‘I know why you’re here,’ he said, ‘but Buzz told me to assure you that you have nothing to worry about. We’ve been held back a little on your project because of some problems on a couple of big construction jobs we’re handling, but your building is only three weeks away from completion.’

‘There’s still so much to do …’

‘Not to worry. We’ll have a crew out there first thing Monday morning.’

‘Thank you,’ Lara said, relieved. ‘I’m sorry to have bothered you, but I’m a little nervous. This means a great deal to me.’

‘No problem,’ Ericksen smiled. ‘You just go home and relax. You’re in good hands.’

On Monday morning there was not a single workman at the site. Lara was frantic. She telephoned Charles Cohn.

‘The men have stopped working,’ she told him, ‘and I can’t find out why. They keep making promises and breaking them.’

‘What’s the name of the company – Nova Scotia Construction?’

‘That’s right.’

‘I’ll call you back,’ Cohn said.

Two hours later, Charles Cohn telephoned. ‘Who recommended the Nova Scotia Construction Company to you?’

She thought back. ‘Sean MacAllister.’

‘I’m not surprised. He owns the company, Lara.’

Lara felt suddenly faint. ‘And he’s stopping the men from finishing it on time …?’

‘I’m afraid it looks that way.’

‘Oh, my God.’