Chapter 12 - An Unwelcome Arrival
By Thursday afternoon, the Lowcountry heat was thick with humidity, hanging like wet velvet over the salt marshes. Owen had doubled our private security around our home on Sullivan’s Island and at Ellis Advisory, but Richard Halston’s vendetta was far more insidious than a physical confrontation.
I was finishing an infrastructure briefing with my lead engineer, Clara Evans, when Maya’s voice buzzed through the intercom, sounding anxious.
"Maren... there’s an inspector from the South Carolina Department of Environmental Protection in the lobby. He has an emergency stop-work order for the harbor terminal audit."
My pen paused on the contract. "On what grounds?"
"He claims an anonymous whistleblower filed an emergency complaint alleging Ellis Advisory concealed hazardous industrial run-off reports during the initial Phase 1 screening," Maya answered, her voice trembling.
I looked at Clara, who shook her head in sheer disbelief. "That's impossible! We spent six weeks running core soil samples alongside the federal Army Corps of Engineers. Our environmental assessment was cleaner than a surgical ward!"
"Richard," I murmured under my breath.
I stood up, adjusted my beige blazer, and walked out to the reception area. Standing by the marble water fountain was a man in an ill-fitting gray suit, clutching a thick clipboard with an expression of bureaucratic smugness.
"Mrs. Bennett?" he asked, flashing a state badge that looked legitimate. "Inspector Thomas Davies. I have an administrative injunction demanding the immediate suspension of Ellis Advisory’s certification for the Charleston Harbor dredging audit."
"Under whose authorization, Inspector Davies?" I asked, looking directly into his shifty eyes.
"An anonymous whistleblower filed certified sworn affidavits alleging falsification of benthic soil reports," Davies said, holding up a laminated document. "Until a complete inter-agency audit is conducted, your firm’s security badges for the terminal docks are revoked."
"A state environmental audit takes four to six months," Clara pointed out furiously from behind me. "The state contract has a sixty-day completion clause! If we are suspended, the municipal board will be forced to default our firm and re-assign the contract to a standby vendor!"
"That is standard statutory procedure, ma'am," Davies smirked, enjoying our apparent distress. "I'm just following the administrative protocol."
Before I could reply, the elevator doors chimed, and Arthur Crowley stepped into the lobby, flanked by his chief in-house counsel and two state marshals.
Arthur looked Davies up and down with the disdain of a king looking at a flea. "Inspector Davies. What an astonishing surprise to find you here on Broad Street on a Thursday afternoon."
Davies’ face drained of color in an instant. "M-Mr. Crowley... Sir, I am executing an official regulatory directive—"
"You are executing a favor for your brother-in-law, Richard Halston," Arthur cut him off, his voice echoing through the quiet lobby with thunderous authority. "Did you honestly think the port development oversight committee wouldn't notice a junior regulator bypassing the regional supervisor to issue an unauthorized unilateral injunction?"
Arthur’s counsel stepped forward and handed Davies a formal document embossed with the seal of the South Carolina State Ethics Commission.
"This is an immediate suspension of your regulatory authority, Davies," Arthur’s attorney stated. "You are under active investigation for bribery, abuse of public office, and conspiracy to commit commercial interference. The state marshals behind me are here to escort you to headquarters for questioning regarding your bank deposits in Myrtle Beach."
Davies began to sweat profusely, his hands trembling so violently that his clipboard clattered against the marble floor. "Wait... Mr. Crowley, please! Richard told me it was just an internal administrative check! He swore the complaint was verified!"
"Save it for the grand jury," Arthur replied coldly.
May you like
As the state marshals grabbed Davies by the elbows and led him out into the elevator, Arthur turned to me, tip of his silver cane resting firmly on the floor.
"Richard Halston is growing careless, Maren," Arthur said, giving me a supportive nod. "He's throwing everything he has left at the wall. But he forgot that Charleston belongs to those who build it, not those who plunder it."
