Chapter 8 - THE ROUGH BOOKS
NorthVale found the cabinet.
Inside were nine spiral notebooks.
Dusty.
Ordinary.
No secret codes.
Thomas used them as field logs.
Dates.
Addresses.
Crew problems.
Supplier delays.
Inspection notes.
The handwriting was blunt.
Sometimes embarrassing.
MARK THINKS I SHOULD FIRE JIM. HE MAY BE RIGHT.
DIANE SAYS STOP PROMISING FREE CALLBACKS.
CITY FORM LOST AGAIN.
Then East Ridge 214.
NEED VENT CORRECTION.
REBATE CLOSES 5 PM.
SENT COMPLETION.
RAYMOND FIXING AT 5:30.
BAD PROCESS. GOOD HOUSE BY 6.
Mark stared.
Thomas knew exactly what he had done.
Then more entries.
Three addresses on Diane’s list had similar notes.
Not “fake pass.”
Rather:
paper sent before final confirmation,
follow-up completed later,
administrative record never fully reconciled.
Still wrong.
But not hundreds of fraudulent homes.
Then one address was worse.
47 MONROE COURT.
Notebook:
CREW SAYS COMPLETE.
I DID NOT VISIT.
CERT SIGNED.
CUSTOMER COMPLAINT NEXT DAY.
DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN.
Mark asked:
“Who signed?”
Thomas.
He had signed without personally inspecting.
Was that allowed?
Under that program, contractor certification could be based on crew completion documentation.
So yes.
But Thomas’s note showed he knew the practice was weak.
Then later:
MONROE — FOUND MISSED WORK. CORRECTED 3/12.
CITY NEVER UPDATED.
MY FAULT.
Again:
problem corrected,
record incomplete.
Sarah summarized:
“This looks like a company with poor closeout discipline, not a secret unsafe-home scheme.”
Diane started crying.
She had spent six years imagining the worst.
Then Mark said:
“And because you imagined the worst, you trespassed into homes to correct things that might already have been corrected.”
“Yes.”
“And hit Lily to keep anyone from stopping you.”
Diane looked at the floor.
“Yes.”
No hiding behind Thomas anymore.
Then auditors found one notebook entry that did not fit the pattern.
Address:
18 WILLOW BEND.
Mark’s house.
Thomas wrote:
KITCHEN CARD MUST STAY.
IF MARK EVER SELLS, TELL HIM FIRST.
Mark froze.
“Tell me what?”
Next line:
WALL CHANGE NOT IN CITY COPY.
SAFE, BUT OWNER DISCLOSURE NEEDED.
Mark looked toward the refrigerator.
The original card behind the wall mattered.
Not because the kitchen was dangerous.
Because Thomas had changed something during the remodel that never made it into the city’s copy.
If Mark ever sold the home, he needed to disclose it.
Diane had planned to remove the card before municipal review.
Not preserve it.
Remove it.
Mark stared at her.
“You weren’t fixing Dad’s record.”
May you like
She started crying.
“You were hiding it.”
