Not My Daughter's Fault

"No problem, Jim. Just let me know where you want the cameras and where to place the computers to keep track of the surveillance. I'd like to meet this Mrs. Jones and thank her for the recommendation. Maybe we're related," I laughed.

"I doubt you're related; I'm sure she would have mentioned it. She's out for a few days on personal business. Maybe you can meet her another time. Rob, I know your wife works in the building and I must ask that you don't mention a word of this to her. We want as few people as possible knowing about this."

"No problem! I'll make sure she doesn't know. If she happens to see me, I'll just tell her I came to work on a couple of computers. Now if you show me what you have in mind, I'll give you my recommendations and we'll see what's best for your needs and still be cost effective.

We took a quick tour of the facilities and Jim showed me some different entrances that lead into the confidential computers. He explained that they had two computer networks set up. One was for all employees to use and the second network could be used only by senior partners plus a few up-and-coming managers. The second set of computers could only be accessed by someone on the twenty-second through the twenty-fourth floor. This still gave access to a goodly amount of people who worked on these floors or managers who had permission to use them.

Jim was pretty sure that it was someone coming in after hours and using the computers to take information. It would be taking too big of a risk during regular business hours.

I asked Jim about password codes to get into the computers, as well as sign-in times, private codes, log-in codes or any other method they had of tracing which computers were being used. He explained there was a general code to get into the computer, then a private code that allowed the employee to use all the resources of the network.

I suggested to Jim that he allow me to install a program that would record after hour log-in times on the network base since there were so many computers that could have been used. It would also give us the code that the user entered. I further suggested that we put hidden timed cameras on the inside of each entrance door. It would be triggered on the opening of the door and take a snapshot of whoever was entering after hours. Between the timed snapshot and the entrance time on the computer we would be able to narrow down the possible intruders.

Jim liked my ideas because they wouldn't be invading anyone's privacy. His computer would be the only one to see who entered the main offices after hours. I asked him if he needed any further approval, but he said he would run it by his legal people but didn't see any problems. He wanted to keep the knowledge to as few people as possible.

I told Jim I was going down to the eighteenth floor to see my wife in case anyone had seen me and mentioned it to her. I knew a number of people who worked in the building.

As I got off the elevator, I didn't see my wife at her desk. I could see she was in one of the junior manager's offices sitting on the corner of his desk, due to the door not being closed completely. It looked a bit inappropriate to me. I asked one of the other secretaries, Tara, if she had seen Sandy, loud enough that I knew Sandy would hear me. Tara looked somewhat embarrassed as she looked up at me. Almost immediately Sandy came out of the manager's office and asked me what I was doing there.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought we could do lunch," I said.

"Oh, I wish you would have called first. I have a meeting and lunch engagement today. Maybe we can do lunch another day," she gave me a phony smile.

I looked at Tara and she wouldn't look up at me. I figured Sandy was lying to me or didn't want to go to lunch with me. I told her I would see her later. I gave her a slight kiss and headed to the elevator. As I walked by the manager's door I checked for his name. Dave Conrad - I had to remember that for future use.

It was two days later when I got a call from Jim; our plan was a go. I got the material and supplies we needed and would be heading back to install the equipment. Jim set it up for me to have access by telling people I was doing some computer repair. I brought a helper with me so we could get it done quicker.

Before leaving the office I went through my usual ton of e-mail. I got an unusual letter. It read 'private, please open me.' I figured it was some company selling Viagra or something but it was a personal letter.

It said, "Robert, I believe Sandy is cheating on you. I just thought you should know."

It wasn't signed so I decided to find where the e-mail was sent from. The person sending it tried to cover their tracks, but this was my business. I went through two online e-mail accounts and then it led back to the computers in the Montgomery Building. Apparently, the anonymous letter came from someone working there, but who?

It bothered me because ever since Sandy had the baby she seemed more distant. Now I had to wonder if the baby was mine, if this e-mail was true. I decided to call Sandy and tell her I had a computer repair in her building and asked if we could do lunch.

She said she had to check with her supervisor and would get back to me. So I told her I'd see her at the office. I thought this was a little strange. She was just a general secretary. Why would she always have to work during lunch? Seemed a little fishy to me.

We entered the building with our boxes of equipment and headed up to Jim's office. I left my equipment and went down to see Sandy. What a surprise, she was at her own desk. As I approached it, she told me her schedule was clear for lunch and kissed me lightly. I glanced over and saw that this David guy's door was closed. Something wasn't right about him.

I told Sandy that I would see her in a couple of hours and went up and started putting up the hidden cameras. My helper and I ran the cable into Jim's office and I had an ear piece in so we could communicate with each other. On the twenty second and twenty third floor I had to run the wiring to other computers or it would have cost a bundle of money to get all the lines run to Jim's office. We just took a general office on each floor and wired the cameras to the computer. No one would know it existed so they wouldn't be looking for the pictures.

I did set up Jim's computer so that he could network to the computers on the other floors so he would be able to download the pictures of anyone entering those floors to his computer. I told him I would be back in the next few days to see how it all worked out.

I stopped at lunch time to take Sandy to lunch. She asked me exactly what I was doing there. I told her that a couple of computers malfunctioned and I was repairing them. She told me that a couple of people saw me with Jim, the vice-president.

"Yes, it was he who called me. Apparently the company who repairs your computers couldn't get here soon enough. It was a lucky break for me, because this is a pretty good size account."

I added that a number of people looked at me a little strange just to get her reaction. It wasn't true because Jim kept most people away. It made Sandy look a bit nervous. She told me she thought she might have to stay over for an hour or two tonight.

I asked her why she was working so much overtime the last couple of months. Her answer was she was trying to get ahead so she volunteered whenever she was asked. She hinted that since the baby was born it made it harder for her to advance her career. Everyone thought she should stay home with her child. I just let it slide; no way was I going to sacrifice the baby for her career.

After I finished setting up the equipment, I had to stop back at our computer office to drop off my excess supplies. I logged on to my e-mail and had received another letter.

"Robert, I'm so sorry about having to tell you about Sandy. I heard through the grapevine that her old boyfriend works for the company. She has been seeing him for about a month now. About a month ago he started here at the Montgomery Building as a security guard. I just thought you should know. I know you were probably smart enough to have figured out I work here in the same building as your wife." It was signed "a friend."

It was a surprise but yet I suspected as much. I would have to figure out what to do next. I wasn't going to live like this.

When Sandy got home, she headed directly into the shower. Later I tried to have sex with her and she balked for awhile but finally let me have my way with her. Once she got hot, she could never say no. Damn, she was one hot mama. I actually hoped that she wasn't cheating on me even though I watched her actions as though she were.

I waited a couple of days and stopped back to see Jim. He told me the surveillance cameras seemed to be working good. He showed me some of the pictures that he had received. It was shots of some of the managers and secretaries working late. He also had pictures of the guards making their rounds. I spotted the one guard who looked familiar. It was Brad, Sandy's old boyfriend from her high school days. I didn't say anything to Jim yet because Brad didn't seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary.

Jim was keeping track of log-in times of his managers. He was surprised so many put in the late hours. It made his job of finding wrongdoing a little harder. While we were looking at some of the pictures, I was surprised to see Sandy come through the door. She followed her boss Dave through the door. I asked Jim about Dave and he told me he was an up-and-coming manager and Sandy was his personal secretary.

Jim looked at log-in times and was surprised to find that a couple of the managers didn't log-in but were up on the higher floors. Dave was one of them. He fast forwarded the camera pictures to see how long Dave and Sandy stayed. It was almost a half hour. They were on the twenty second floor. Another manager and his secretary went to the twenty-third floor for about a half hour.

A couple of days went by before I got another call from Jim. He asked me if I could come and see him. It was both business and personal. He didn't want to discuss it on the phone. When I got to his office, he was looking at surveillance pictures again.

"Rob, I think I have a few problems to deal with. Marie, my secretary, and I have been discussing some of the tapes. We believe we need another hidden camera set up in our comfort room. We have a comfort room on the twenty-third and the twenty-fourth floors. They are used when we bring customers in and talk with them in a more comfortable area. They are set up like living rooms with sofas and comfortable chairs. We have beverage and snack machines in them also," he said.

"No problem, Jim. We can set up more hidden camera. Are you expecting improper use of the rooms after hours?" I asked. "Jim, is Sandy involved in this some way? You did tell me this was a personal issue as well."

"We have Sandy coming up with one of the managers after hours about three times since the surveillance was set up. By itself, it doesn't mean anything since he is her boss. What is odd was they never logged on so there wasn't any reason to be up here. Our middle managers come up here when they need special information as I mentioned to you. We have beverage machines on every floor so there is no need for anyone to come up here for that reason. According to the time line, they spend approximately a half hour up here. I hope we are wrong but we can't accuse anyone of wrongdoing without proof."

"I understand, Jim. My marriage is pretty rocky right now as it is. I need to know the truth also," I replied.

"Marie, my secretary mentioned the timeline for the guard was also strange. He was spending too much time on the twenty third floor. One day he showed up shortly after your wife came up. I don't know if you know this but you went to school around the same time as the guard. His name is Brad Evans," spoke Jim.

"Yes, I know him; he was Sandy's old boyfriend." I shook my head sadly.

"Well, he was up here again yesterday. Of course he is supposed to come through and check the offices, but Marie said someone logged into our records yesterday and used Dave Conrad's - your wife's boss's - identification. The only person we have a photo of coming through the door is Brad the guard. Dave Conrad was never on the floor. We are wondering if Brad is our suspect in the stealing of information. He has to be getting the ID's from somewhere. We have the ID's changed once a week lately as a security caution. We believe Sandy is getting him the ID," he said.

This was hard on me even though I had my suspicions. It still hits hard when you find out. Now I have to install a program for the proof the company needs, probably costing me my marriage. Hell, my marriage was a sham anyway. The only thing good to come out of it was my baby girl.

The following day Sandy phoned me and said she would be working late. I phoned Jim to keep him aware of the situation. I wanted him to have a heads up. He thanked me and said he would keep me informed on any updates. I wanted a little revenge so I called Sandy after hours and told her that I had installed a camera in the comfort room. I figured by now the nasty deed was done.

I heard her scream out, "No, God, no, you didn't and then she hung up."

It was getting late and Sandy should have been home by now. I was holding my daughter, thinking about her mother not wanting her when the phone rang. It was Jim.

"Rob, please get here as soon as you can. Sandy's dead!"

A shock wave went through me. I was totally stunned. It took me a minute to get my bearings. I didn't even ask what happened; I just told him I would be there. I had tears coming down my face and I was holding my baby girl who was smiling up at me. What a mixture of emotions I was having. I called my mom and told her that something had happened to Sandy and she was dead.

My mom screamed out, "Oh, my God," through the phone.

I told her I would be dropping my daughter off and she would probably have her the entire night. I had to go find out what had happened. I was in a half daze as I gathered up some stuff for the baby. I believe I was in a semi-shock mood. I dropped off Abby and hugged my mother, then headed over to the Montgomery Building.

As I headed into the lobby, there were a number of police officers present. I told them who I was and one took me up to Jim's office. Jim was in kind of a fuzzy mood also as he put his arms around me.

"I'm so sorry, Rob. I came by the office to check the cameras and found Sandy had been killed. We were going through the video cam and she was with Dave. The police are at his house now picking him up for questioning. I don't think you should watch this tape, Rob."

"What exactly is on it, Jim? Does it show the murder?" I asked.

"No, it's of Sandy having sex with Dave. I think after they left someone spotted the camera and cut the wires. We don't have the actual murder but since no one knew about the entrance cameras, we have pictures of Sandy with the guard, Brad, coming through the door. Only Brad is seen leaving the offices. The police put out a warrant for him and are looking for him now. We believe Brad did the killing, but we haven't ruled anyone out. In fact the police questioned me and they need to talk to you also."

Jim and I were pretty much cleared. I told the investigator about telling Sandy about the camera, but only the lounge one. Even though I didn't kill Sandy, I felt partially responsible for her death. If I didn't tell her about the camera, she might still be alive today.

Dave was brought in and questioned. He was shocked to hear Sandy was murdered. He said he didn't do it. He loved Sandy and they were both going to get divorced and marry each other. The investigator showed him the tape in the lounge and he started crying. He was having sex with Sandy which turned out to be his last time.

"I loved her, I really loved her," he said.

"How did she get your passwords?" the investigator asked.

Dave looked up at the officer. "She told me if I loved her I wouldn't keep any secrets from her so I gave her my passwords. You have to believe me; I loved her and would never hurt her. She didn't want kids so last month I even had a vasectomy for her to prove my love to her. She was going to go home tonight and tell her husband that she was going to leave him. It's the truth, honest, it's the truth." Dave started crying again.

The officers let me go but told me not to leave town. There was a manhunt now out to find Brad Evans.

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The next morning I got a call from the investigator that they picked up Brad leaving town. He said he didn't kill Sandy and that we had no proof. I guess he figured he destroyed the camera and we couldn't prove anything. He was shown the tape of him leaving the floor with Sandy a couple of different days and then the tape of him and Sandy going back to the comfort room and only him leaving.

He broke down and told his story. Sandy had dumped him a few years ago because he didn't have finances to support her. He said he was devastated losing her. He found out that he could steal important data from the Montgomery Foundation and sell it on the black market. It paid some big money. So he got a job as a guard in the Montgomery Building and started seeing Sandy. She would have sex with him and he convinced her to get the codes and he would share the wealth with her.

He said the sex with her was always the best. He figured once he got the data and sold it that she would leave with him. When she told him it was just sex for her that she wasn't going to leave with him he became angry.

The other night she had come to him and said her husband had planted a camera that showed them having sex. They had no idea how the camera worked or how long it had been up, so he located it and cut the wires. He said he told Sandy that they had better leave town right now. She laughed at him and said she wouldn't get fired for just having sex. Hell, she screwed half the men in the building.

Brad said, "It hit me like a ton of bricks. I loved her and would do anything for her. I was stealing for her right then and she was laughing at me. I had my knife in my hand and stabbed her over and over again. When I regained some of my senses, I cleaned up what I had touched and left the building. I loved her but she pushed me too far."

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It was a couple of days after the funeral that Jim gave me a call. He gave his condolences again; he had come to the funeral a few days earlier. He said he had talked with the board of directors and they wanted to know if I was interested in handling their account. Apparently Brad had all the disks of information about their new products in his car. He didn't have time to pass them off yet. The company might have saved tens of thousands of dollars or more due the quick set up of our surveillance equipment.

The board also had Dave and another manager fired for having sex in the building with their secretaries. This would not be tolerated in this business. Especially with married employees.

Of course I said I would love to have the account and Jim asked me to come in that afternoon if possible and we could talk over lunch. I told the nanny that I might be a little later and asked if she could stay if necessary. She said there wouldn't be a problem as I kissed my little daughter goodbye.

For those readers who wondered if Abby was my child, she was. I got tested but I would have kept her anyway. She was a giant part of my life. None of this was her fault.

I went up to Jim's office. I got a few strange looks due to the situation the week before, but life goes on. Jim asked if it would be alright if his secretary Marie could come with us. I said of course because it was her that suggested my firm in the first place. Jim mentioned he had a few items to clean up before we could leave and said I could go introduce myself to Marie.