At forty-four floors, The Monolith was now the tallest building in Knoxville. Unlike most of its comparables, however, the solid black building – four times wider than deep – had been constructed outside the downtown area, in a community known as Old North Knoxville.
“Very cool,” Virginia said. “The last time I was on this side of town, they still had the cranes going.”
Emory turned right onto the drive leading to Leland Cinema but pumped the brake when Jeff spoke up from the backseat. “Whoa! Are we seeing a movie?”
Emory nodded toward a sign next to the mechanical arm in their path. “The underground parking here is $5. Who knows how much it is at The Monolith.”
Virginia said, “I don’t want to walk.”
“It’s like a block and a half,” Emory replied.
Jeff slapped Emory’s shoulder. “We charge the client for expenses, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Fine.” Emory backed out and headed once again toward The Monolith.
Jeff tilted his head to see out the windshield. “It looks exactly like the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. I wonder if that’s why she chose the name.”
Once he drove in front of the building, Emory had to wait several minutes in line for valet parking. “Why don’t they just let me park my own car? I never do valet.”
Virginia replied, “An event like this, they probably want to make sure everyone enters through the lobby instead of taking an elevator up from the parking levels. I’m sure the lobby is spectacular.”
Jeff tapped his window. “Hey, look across the street.”
Emory turned to see a block-sized tract of land hidden behind an eight-foot-tall wood-plank fence. A sign posted on it read, “A Godfrey Construction Development.”
“Myles Godfrey,” said Virginia.
Jeff smirked. “I bet he’s going to make sure to add at least one more floor to his building.”
Even before the elevator opened to the fortieth floor of The Monolith, Emory could hear the music and chatter of a party. When the doors withdrew, Juniper was nearby to greet them with a broad smile and twinkling eyes. This is a different Juniper than we’ve encountered before. She seems relaxed, happy even.
She gave Virginia a quick hug. “I’m glad you all could make it. I have lots to tell you.”
Virginia patted her on the back before disembracing. “You look good. That desert air must’ve agreed with you.”
Juniper laughed. “I think I’m just relieved. It’s finally over.”
“What do you mean?” asked Emory.
Juniper looked to the same picture of Blair Geister used at her memorial, now placed near the elevator bank. “When I was spreading her ashes, I could just feel it. I was tucking her soul in. I’m pretty sure it’s at rest now.” She opened her arms. “But her legacy lives on. What do you think of The Monolith?”
Emory looked around the expansive reception area of Geister Innovations & Engineering. From the holographic sign on the wall and the uninterrupted, wall-to-wall window overlooking Knoxville to the copious plants sprouting from just about every surface, the space was a seamless melding of business and nature.
“It’s breathtaking,” replied Jeff.
Virginia agreed. “And I love all the greenery in the lobby and that amazing waterfall. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an indoor one so high.”
“Eighteen feet,” said Juniper. “She wanted the lobby to represent how people and technology can coexist with nature without one destroying the other.”
Jeff pointed his thumb in the direction from which they had come. “I noticed in the elevator there are forty-four floors. Why did she put her business headquarters on the fortieth?”
“Taking the top floor would’ve been perceived as greedy and selfish. She was all about perceptions. Actually, the company only takes up half this floor. There’s a door in Ms. Geister’s office that leads directly to a large apartment she had built for herself.”
Emory asked, “Was she moving up here?”
“Oh no. She just wanted to have a place in the city so she wouldn’t have to drive home if she didn’t feel like it. She had been staying here quite a bit recently, though, overseeing final preparations on the building. She took advantage of that time away to have her bedroom renovated. The weekend she died was the first time she had stayed at the house in two weeks, since the renovation began.”
“Really?” asked Emory. “How many people knew she wasn’t staying at the house?”
Juniper thought for a moment. “I’m not sure, but quite a few. We had a lot of construction workers at the estate due to the tight turnaround time she insisted on. I had to leave the gate open the entire time because people were coming and going at all hours of the day and night.”
“Was the renovation to repair the water damage?” asked Jeff.
“What water damage?” Juniper’s attention didn’t wait for an answer, instead diverting to raised voices a few feet away. A forty-year-old blonde woman with soft features and a fifty-something, well-groomed man with thick brown hair were having a discussion that had elevated in tone. Juniper tightened her features as she told the PIs, “That’s Myles Godfrey.”
The blonde woman in the tailored midnight blue suit said, “This event is just as much a commemoration to Blair Geister as it is an open house for her crown jewel. It’s certainly not the time to discuss selling her company!”
Myles responded, “It’s a very generous offer – one that shouldn’t be dismissed without careful consideration.”
“Turn from me now, and walk away.”
Myles huffed but complied, heading toward the extravagant buffet.
Juniper stepped closer to the woman. “Should I call security to have him removed?”
She shook her head. “No, this isn’t the place for a scene.”
Juniper turned her attention back to the PIs. “Rue, I’d like to introduce you to Virginia Kennon, Jeff Woodard and Emory Rome from Mourning Dove Investigations. This is Rue Darcé, the interim CEO of Geister Innovations & Engineering.”
Rue scowled at Juniper. “Investigations?”
“They’re doing some consulting work for Ms. Geister’s estate.”
Rue smiled at the trio. “Lovely to meet you. Pardon us for just a moment.” She turned her back to the PIs and whispered to Juniper, “We found something else this morning.”
“Oh no. Anything major?”
“It could’ve been if we hadn’t caught it. The penthouse elevator.”
“I thought they had stopped.”
“We all did, and they actually might have. No one’s worked on that elevator for at least two or three months, which means it very well could’ve been done then and we just now noticed it.”
“Thank goodness for that.”
Rue turned back to the PIs, “Please excuse me.”
Once the interim CEO had walked away, Virginia said, “I thought Blair made you the CEO.”
Juniper shook her head. “Of her EARTH Foundation, but not her construction company. She had a succession plan in place here. Ms. Geister announced a while back that she would be grooming Rue to take over as the next CEO. She felt the company’s strongest growth potential lay in the Innovations division, and since Rue was the vice president of that area, she would be the best one to lead the company once Ms. Geister stepped down. Of course, that wasn’t supposed to be for another five years or so, but here we are.”
Jeff glanced at his partners. “That fast-forward is rather fortunate for Rue Darcé, wouldn’t you say?”
Virginia asked, “She doesn’t own the company now, does she?”
“No one does right now.” Juniper’s eyes darted to the guests arriving from the elevator, but her words stayed with the conversation. “It wasn’t specifically bequeathed to anyone in the will, so it’ll be part of the residuary clause.” Her face dropped. “Or it’s part of the Pangram Box, but surely Ms. Geister wouldn’t hand her company over to that man. She wouldn’t.”
Emory told Juniper, “We couldn’t help overhearing your exchange with Ms. Darcé. What’s going on?”
Juniper checked for Rue, who was now engaged in a conversation several feet away. “We’ve been trying to keep it quiet, but during the construction of this building, there have been various incidences of apparent sabotage. Ms. Geister was convinced Myles Godfrey had planted someone on her crew, who was actively working to slow down construction. Keeping construction going twenty-four hours a day is the only reason the building is actually opening on time.”
“Did she ever find the saboteur?” asked Emory.
“She had a few suspects, so she moved them off the team.”
Jeff asked, “She was certain Myles Godfrey was the one behind it?”
“It was a safe bet.”
Emory nodded toward an office with Blair Geister’s name on the door. “What is he doing?”
They all turned to see Myles Godfrey standing in front of the door with his hand on a flat panel next to it before walking away.
Juniper shook her head. “He’s trying to get into Ms. Geister’s office for some reason. Fortunately, every door on this floor as a security panel, and his handprint’s no good here.”
“No keys?” asked Jeff.
“None needed.”
Virginia waited for a guest to pass them. “There’s something else we wanted to ask you about. Last night, a group of people showed up at the house and performed some kind of ceremony on the lawn. They looked like—”
“Witches.” Juniper finished her thought. “It must’ve been a Wiccan holiday. I’m not sure which one. Ms. Geister has let a local coven use the property for their celebrations ever since they lost access to the Ocoee Woods. People didn’t want them there. She had a soft spot in her heart for persecuted groups who practiced harmony with the environment. They celebrate just about all of their holidays and full moons on the property. They usually stay in the woods, so you don’t see them much.”
At the other side of the room, Rue Darcé tapped a microphone from behind a glass podium. “Could I have your attention please?” She waited for the crowd to quieten before continuing. “Thank you all for being here. I think Blair Geister would’ve been gratified to see you all gathered here today – some who stood by her as a struggling architect but all who knew her as an inspirational business leader and visionary. We stand here in The Monolith, the building she hoped would serve as a testament to human advancement through conscious environmentalism. A company’s success more often than not directly correlates with the resources it uses, repackages and sells. Blair Geister believed the future would measure success not on the size of our carbon footprint but rather the absence of it. I’m very proud to announce that The Monolith is now the greenest commercial building inch-per-inch in the world!”
Rue smiled as the attendees applauded – all except Myles Godfrey, Emory noticed.
“The Monolith is made from one hundred percent recycled material – from the repurposed wood in the furniture to the reclaimed steel at its bones.”
The attendees again applauded.
Rue waved toward the picture window. “The windows you’re looking through are actually transparent solar panels. When they’re brought online, they will provide all the energy that will ever be used in this building.” She waited for the applause to subside before continuing. “Each floor is a separate grid with the panels feeding direct current electricity to an inverter that converts it into usable energy. There’s an inverter on every floor except the bottom ten, which don’t receive enough sunlight. Fortunately, the top thirty-four receive more sunlight than needed, so the excess energy is sent to those bottom floors.
“Yes, Blair Geister was a visionary, and through her eyes we can see a future of coexistence with one another and with the planet we call our home. Thank you.” Rue left the podium to a final outbreak of applause.
As conversations picked up again, Emory asked Juniper, “Rue said when the solar array is brought online?”
“Yes. That’ll be Monday, when the building officially opens.”
Emory raised his palms to his side. “Where’s this electricity coming from?”
Juniper tightened her lips and looked around before whispering, “Don’t tell anyone, but we’re actually on city power right now. That will be turned off Monday morning, and we’ll have some downtime during the transition to the solar array.”
Jeff asked Juniper, “Are you staying with your daughter tonight?”
“I am. Why?”
“Would you mind giving me a ride to our office? I’m staying in town tonight as well.”
“Of course, but aren’t all…” Juniper stopped herself. “I’m sorry. I must have a little jetlag. I should’ve told you all that you could pack up and save yourselves another trip to Calhoun.”
“What do you mean?” asked Jeff. “Are you firing us?”
“No, of course not. You know I hired you at my daughter’s behest to see if there were possibly some other explanation for what I saw the night Tommy and Ms. Geister died, but it’s a moot point now. I no longer have to worry about Ms. Geister’s spirit coming for me. She’s at peace, and now so am I. Your work is done, and I’m just so appreciative.”
Emory held up a hand to put the brakes on her logic. “All due respect, Ms. Crane, but our work isn’t done. We’re convinced that Ms. Geister and Mr. Addison did not die natural deaths.”
“I know Tommy didn’t, but do you have any proof at all that Ms. Geister didn’t die of a heart attack like the doctor said?”
“We’re close.”
Juniper pursed her lips. “Okay. I’m returning to Geisterhaus this weekend to start executing the terms of Ms. Geister’s will. You have until then to show her death wasn’t natural, or I really will need to move on, as will you.”