Authors: Don Bruns
“We’ve got a serious problem.”
That’s exactly what we needed. Every project needs a very serious problem. “Andy, can it wait until morning?”
“No.”
I sighed. James picked up on the urgency and moved in closer. I tilted the speaker toward him. He may as well know whatever Wireman knew. James and I, as usual, were up to our asses in this thing. “Tell me what the problem is.”
“You know that smoke detector that James installed in Conroy’s office?”
We both looked at each other. My hand started shaking and I seriously thought I would drop the phone. James shook his head back and forth like he didn’t want to be reminded of that smoke detector.
“Yes, Andy.”
“It went off.”
“It went off? There was a fire?” Jody told us that it really worked. I just hadn’t considered there would be a real fire.
“It went off and there was no fire. A false alarm.”
Whew. “Well, what could be the problem. It’s defective and we’ll switch it out for one of ours tomorrow.” Problem solved. No wonder I was Person in Charge of the Project, or whatever I was.
“No, Skip. We went up and opened it, trying to quiet it. And Skip, this smoke detector is unlike any I’ve ever seen. I think you need to come over here immediately.”
“Immediately?”
“Immediately.”
Mrs. Conroy was coming over, and I had to be there for her. Wireman was concerned about the detector and I couldn’t leave him with that. “Andy, can this wait maybe one hour?”
I could hear conversation in the background. “I don’t think so, Skip. Sandy Conroy is here and he wants some answers right now.”
“Skip. I can handle this. You need to get to Synco, pronto.”
“Damn it, James. She’s not a happy camper. If it was just handing over the transcript, but I know she wants more information.”
“Even better. I can’t give it to her. We can put her off, because I know nothing. Nothing.”
“But you do.”
“She doesn’t know that. I’ll play dumb.”
I let the comment slide. “What am I going to tell Conroy? Wow. I can’t imagine what I’m going to say to him. I am in so much trouble.” I couldn’t even fathom how much trouble. It was like, when we were doing it, it was an adventure. Now, there was a likelihood that I’d broken the law and could be arrested.
James took a sharp curve, braking as he rounded the corner, and the shrill sound of metal scraping metal gave me chills.
“James, I could lose my job over this.”
“You could probably go to jail over this.” He was thinking the same thing.
“You installed the detector.”
“Hey, boss. Didn’t you tell me to?”
“James—”
He swerved to avoid a parked car, straightened out, and gave the old truck some gas. “Amigo, we’ve talked about this. Carol Conroy gave you permission—no, she actually asked you to install a listening device in her husband’s office. She didn’t say why. She just told you to do it. Just like you told me to perform the actual task.” James pulled into our parking lot. He rammed the sidewalk with the bald tires, and we both took a deep breath.
Carol Conroy’s Lexus was nowhere to be seen. Grabbing my laptop, I stepped out of the truck, and walked down to the Cavalier. I’d be in the office in ten minutes.
“I’m going to hand her the envelope, and tell her something came up at Synco. You couldn’t make it, but asked me to give it to her.”
“Exactly.”
“If she wants to check on that, she can drive by Synco and she’ll see your car in the parking lot.”
“James, please. If she asks about Sarah, if she mentions Emily—”
Doing his best Sgt. Schultz from Hogan’s Heroes imitation. “I know nothing. Nothing, Colonel Hogan.”
“Wish me luck, James. I just hope they don’t have the cops there. If I need bail money—”
“I haven’t got it, pal.”
I didn’t hold out too often on my good friend. But once in a while—“James, seriously, if I need money—”
“You won’t. This is going to work out. Just have faith, pard.”
“Listen to me. If I need help, money—”
“I’ll find some.”
“No. In my room, on the second shelf in the closet, there’s a Shel Silverstein book. Where the Sidewalk Ends.”
“Okay.”
“Page sixty-three, there’s three hundred dollars.”
“Got it.” He didn’t even look surprised.
I got into my car and on the third turn of the key the Cavalier coughed to life. I’d planned on putting some of my new wealth toward a new car. It didn’t appear I was going to see any of that wealth any time soon.
There was a poem on page sixty-three that I still remembered. When you’re a kid it’s easier to memorize things, and I’d memorized a poem called “Who.” And I thought about the second verse of that children’s fantasy. The exact wording wouldn’t come back to me, but it was something to do with having X-ray eyes. Who can fly and who has X-ray eyes? And who will be the man no bullet can kill? I will.
X-ray eyes. That’s what we’d had last night when we watched Sandy Conroy’s office from the ceiling. It was all amazing. I’d actually had X-ray eyes. I’d witnessed conversations and confrontations. I’d seen and heard things that were meant to be private. And earlier this evening I’d listened in on strangers’ intimate conversations that were foreign to my ears. It had been exciting, exhilarating, and now I was going to pay the price.
Flying, with X-ray eyes, and being the man no bullet can kill. Who can do all that? I will.
On my way over, I concentrated on what could have happened. Somehow the detector was set off. Maybe Conroy smoked cigarettes or cigars, and even though Florida had passed a no-smoking ban, he was Sandy Conroy. The laws weren’t made for some people. People like me for instance. I didn’t seem to have too much trouble breaking the law. Putting GPS units under cars, cameras in office ceilings, taping private conversations.
What would they do to me? A police car came up behind me and I froze, slowing down to a crawl. He pulled to my left and zipped on down the road, paying no attention to the criminal that was almost in his grasp.
James was right. I’d have to give up Carol Conroy. It was all I could do. Tell them that she offered us money to tape conversations. But that meant that I’d be fired from Jaystone Security Systems. That meant that Sarah and her boyfriend wouldn’t pay me what they’d promised, and that meant that Carol Conroy certainly wouldn’t give me a cent. And if I was convicted of a felony, I couldn’t imagine Em sticking it out with me. And how many years could they give me for that crime? And how much of a fine?
How did criminals who did long time in prison ever make enough money to pay the fines? And when you came out of prison as a convicted felon, who would ever hire you? You could sweep floors, maybe work at a fast-food restaurant, work on one of the fishing charter boats, helping some rich guy bait his hook and clean his fish. But what kind of a life could you possibly have?
I pulled into the nearly empty parking lot, glancing around at the seven or eight cars that were still there. Wireman’s truck was up front. There was a yellow foreign sports car. I didn’t recognize the body style. Head of security was not there. But I knew where he’d been about twenty-five minutes ago, and I knew what he’d said. I had a recording of what he’d said. Just another crime of mine.
I dreaded this confrontation, more than any meeting I’d ever had, but at least there were no cops. No Feng. I walked by the yellow car. A Lotus Exige. Man, that car was hot. Something like 260 horsepower under the hood. I didn’t have to wonder whose machine it was.
I pulled on the front door and it opened. I was half hoping it was locked. No one was at reception, and I thought about James’ remarkable exit today from these same doors as he threw the package into the parking lot. Was that just four or five hours ago?
Down the hall, past the rows of computers and worktables where technicians performed their software magic during the day. I stared at the offices, all in a row. The door to number one was open and I could hear soft conversation.
Play dumb? Admit to the crime? Blame James? Confess that Carol Conroy had offered me money? Take the heat myself and throw myself at their mercy? Whatever made me think I could be a spy? I didn’t have the guts for it. Especially when I got caught.
If somebody captured me and threatened me with anything,
I’d spill it all. I’d tell them whatever they wanted to know. I have no idea what made me think I could be a spy. I had to think more clearly the next time I started to make these irrational decisions.
Slowly I walked to the door. “Sorry it took so long.”
“Get in here.” Conroy pointed his finger from behind the desk. Wireman sat in the only chair in the room. I’d seen Sarah in that chair.
“Look, Mr. Conroy, I—”
He picked up the smoke detector from his desk. The top half and bottom half were separated, and I glanced at the ceiling where it had been earlier today. A new detector was installed. Apparently someone had come in after hours and wired it in.
“We hired your company based on the quality and the speed you could bring to this project.”
“Yes, sir.”
“So can you explain this?”
I didn’t know what to say. So, I just stood there like a dumb-ass. Andy Wireman sat in his chair, his hands folded, watching the two of us with a grim look on his face.
“Can you?”
“No. Well, yes.” Sweat ran down my neck. I wanted to scratch an irritating itch on my rib cage, but I was frozen in place.
“Which is it? No or yes?”
“It’s not what it seems.” It just came out. I had no idea where to go with that. It was exactly what it seemed. A card with a small camera lens.
“It’s not what it seems? What is that supposed to mean? Look at this.” He was almost shouting now, as he leaned into the desk and rested his elbows on the surface.
I did. I stared at the smoke detector. It was preferable to staring at his face, which was covered with a deep scowl. His eyes were wide open, and I was glad the man was behind his desk and
not in front of it. His hands were clenched tightly around the white detector.
“According to Mr. Wireman, your friend installed a—” he paused, looking into the section that housed the camera lens and card. I closed my eyes and held my hands at my side, fingernails digging into my palms. “Installed a piece of crap. A smoke detector that is barely functional, and you chose this one to install in my office. He tells me that it’s a very unorthodox piece of equipment. That no company should ever use something this bizarre and you chose this to install in my office?”
“Sir—”
“Moore, as I pointed out, we hired you for the quality and speed you could bring to this project. Right now I’d fire your ass. If you weren’t already into the project, I’d have you out on the street.” His eyes had narrowed and he was breathing heavily.
I should have been petrified, but all that was running through my head was the fact that he didn’t know it was a camera. Obviously he didn’t have a clue. Not the first hint that he held a camera and microphone in his hand. I wanted to jump up and down. I wanted to shake his hand and hug Andy Wireman. I kept my emotions under control.
“I’ve got a very important project that needs major security. I’ve got a timetable that is tighter than a rat’s ass. And I’m dealing with crap like this? It went off today, Moore. Screaming that intolerable shrill scream, and there wasn’t a fire. There was nothing. Do you hear me? Nothing.”
With that he threw the detector against the far wall. It hit with a thud and fell to the floor. Just like the coffee mug Sarah threw against the other wall.
“Mr. Moore, Mr. Wireman. Get this project under control. Get it done, and get the hell out of here. Do I make myself clear? Perfectly clear?”
“You do.” I shouted it. “I’ll see to it. Andy and I will get it done in record time, and there will be no more screw-ups.”
“Take that piece of crap with you.”
I looked up again. Not so much at the ceiling, but just up, thanking God. Silently thanking God, over and over and over. I picked up the two halves of the detector, nonetheless for the wear, and exited the room. I was dizzy with excitement and could feel the blood pounding in my head. He’d asked me to take it with me. The evidence. I was convinced I would be walking out in handcuffs. Instead, I had the evidence in my hand. I wasn’t sure things could get any better.
Wireman walked out and closed the door behind him. He gave me a sheepish look. “I’m sorry, Skip. When it went off, he blew up. I told him the truth, that it was an inferior piece of equipment, and he asked that we wire him a new one even though it was after hours. Of course, we did it. It was his idea to call you in tonight. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble. Honestly.”
“Andy, no problem.” I was elated. There were no problems in the world. “It was my mistake. Totally mine. I never, ever, should have put that detector in.”
“Just out of curiosity—”
“Yes?”
“Where did you get that? It’s got some things in it I have never seen. Some card, and a tiny glass—”
I interrupted. “The main thing is, Andy, I’m not going to install anything like that again without your approval. Got it?”
He looked at the detector in my hand. “The insides of that thing are strange, Skip. Do you mind if I take it home and study it?”
That didn’t sound like the plan I had in mind. “Andy, no more problems. Let’s just get this thing done, take our money, and go home. Is that okay with you?”
He smiled. “Got it.”
I walked through the building, out the door, into the parking lot, wanting to jump up high and kick my heels. Looking down at the smoke detector in my hand I saw the card, clipped tightly to the case. We could actually play it on the computer tonight and see and hear what happened today. We could listen to the recording from The Sound Max and analyze what Feng and Chen were talking about. I could get out the calculator and once again add up all the money that was mine once this project was completed. I could even dream about what I was going to spend that money on. I figured I’d better stop at Gas and Grocery and get a case of beer to celebrate.