“Stop!” I yelled and began running after what I perceived was a man. “Help, Paul, someone is here,” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
The man had a good head start on me. By the time I reached the end of the hallway and worked my way back to the lobby, I hadn’t found anyone.
“What is it?” Paul demanded the second he laid eyes on me.
“I saw someone … a man maybe … but he darted so quickly out of sight, I didn’t get a good look at him.”
“Which way did he go?”
“I don’t know … maybe over to Engineering.”
“I just came from that sector and didn’t see anyone.” He sighed. “Let me take you back to your office. Once you’re safely locked inside, I’ll check the place out.”
As soon as Paul had me secured in the Accounting Department, he left to search for the man. While he went off to catch my bad guy, I couldn’t resist checking out my old computer. The monitor was still showing the company’s background picture of an oil rig in the middle of a bluebonnet field with a longhorn standing next to it.
With a few clicks from my mouse, I brought up the search history from my computer, which not only showed the last program opened, but the time and date.
My stomach crawled into my throat.
While I waited for Paul’s return, I placed a call to the lead detective who was handling Julie and Penny’s deaths. Detective Sutton was nearby and agreed to come over, but Detective Andrews was out of town for the next few days.
“Please hurry,” I begged. “I don’t know what will happen to Paul if he encounters this guy.”
It was sixteen long minutes before Paul returned. “Paige, I didn’t find anyone. No one else is on this floor. Are you sure you saw someone? You know the doctor said you might experience hallucinations … and remember, right after the accident and while you were in the hospital…”
He stopped talking when my face pinched together, and my eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “I never had a hallucination,” I strongly advised. “And there was someone in here.” I gestured toward my computer. “Someone hooked up my computer. And they know my passcode. Look at it, Paul, the search history shows my computer was recently opened to last month’s payables. Someone’s been using my computer.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
David Ross
David was so out of shape he barely made his escape. Just in time, he quickly hid under the receptionist desk. While Paige screeched for the attorney to come and help her, he tried to quiet his laboring breath. Luckily, Paul – the asshole’s name – took Paige back to her office under the guise of protecting her so Paul could return and valiantly search for Paige’s supposed assailant.
As soon as they were out of sight, David crawled from underneath, scrambled to his feet and made haste to the entrance. Locking the glass door behind him, he didn’t waste time waiting for an elevator. Instead, he bolted into the stairwell and was long gone before Mr. Superhero began hunting for him.
Last night, as David drifted into slumber, he realized Paige had endured a rough week. Between having to put the office back together, dealing with disgruntled employees and being blamed for Penny’s death, she hadn’t had a chance to get a grasp on things. Knowing his love like the back of his hand, he anticipated she would more than likely come to the office today to get a handle on her new job while everyone else was away and the place was quiet.
David planned to surprise her around lunchtime with two servings of his famous homemade chili. Then he was going to set up her computer and suggest she sit beside him – like she always had – to reenter the last’s days data. It would be the two of them … alone. Just like a date.
When he first arrived and didn’t see her anywhere, he went ahead and hooked everything up.
He knew Julie had accused Paige of embezzling from the company and a fight had broken out in the stairwell. According to rumor, Paige had deliberately pushed Julie to her death. David knew it was a vicious, unmerited lie. Paige wouldn’t do such a thing. And because David wanted to defend his girlfriend’s honor, he decided to help her along. After sitting beside her for years, he had watched her enter her password a million times. He knew it by heart. So, he logged in. Maybe he could move things along that pointed to someone else, Lidia perhaps, and he could clear Paige of any wrongdoing. He'd bet Paige would notice him then.
He busied himself, poring through Paige’s electronic data until he needed to use the men’s room. He had just stepped out when he heard a noise. Fully expecting it to be Paige, he smoothed out his dark hair, pumped some breath spray into his mouth and went to greet her. He spotted her heading down a side hallway.
In his mind’s eye, he pictured her grinning from ear to ear at the sight of him. What he hadn’t foreseen was the attorney being within hollering distance. Suddenly his well-laid plans had become a complete failure. Reality set in like a ton of bricks. That attorney was most definitely after his woman. And Paige was encouraging him. Unless he could make her see what a huge mistake she was making, David decided one thing … if he couldn’t have her, then no one could. He’d make sure of it.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The Girlfriend & Lisa Harris
While Paige was busy telling Detective Sutton all about someone infiltrating her computer system, across town, Angela was finishing lunch with Lisa.
“So, what happened?” Lisa asked, meaning Angela’s last confrontation with Paul.
“He won’t take me back. I think he’s hung up on that girl,” Angela griped.
“You mean my new boss,” Lisa spat out with a soured look on her face.
“Yeah, that bitch,” Angela agreed. “Last night he took her downstairs to the fitness center. As soon as the video showed her on a stepper, I used your passkey and helped myself into the facility. While Paul was flexing his muscles in front of her, I sneaked into his locker.”
“Wait, how did you get in the storage bin?” Lisa asked, interrupting her.
“Simple, I have a hidden camera pointed at the dial,” Angela told her, waving an airy hand in the air. “Anyway, I swiped her keys … Paul’s too since he’s changed the locks on me. I took both sets over to the nearest hardware store and made duplicates of everything. I had them back in the locker before they finished their workout.”
Lisa gazed in awe at her best friend, and now new roommate since Paul had kicked Angela to the curb and Tessa’s couch was uncomfortable. “You’re kidding? Do you mean to tell me you have all of Paige’s keys … like to her office?” Lisa’s mind was spinning. The possibilities were endless.
“And her apartment. If she had a key to it … now I have a key to it.” Angela let out a maniacal laugh. “I’m going to get that bitch if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Hurry up and finish your salad,” Lisa urged. “Let’s go over to Harrington Oil & Gas and add some cameras to her office.”
“Oh, let’s,” Angela agreed with a cunning smile and a clap of her hands.
Angela had a supply of cameras in her glovebox … you just never knew when you might need one, or two. The girls hopped into Angela’s red sportscar and zoomed across town. Unfortunately, when they arrived, they discovered Paige was in the breakroom with Paul and that handsome detective.
“I hope he’s here to arrest her,” Angela mouthed.
“Shh,” Lisa warned, placing an index finger over her lips. “We need to get out of here.”
The girls left, disappointed in their plan being nixed. “Let’s go to her apartment,” Angela suggested. “We know she isn’t at home. The timing is perfect.”
“What if she has a security alarm?” Lisa astutely considered.
“No problem,” Angela told her. “While I was rummaging through her purse, I checked inside her wallet. She had one of those In Case of Emergency instructions inside. It listed contact information for her mom and dad, along with her home address and the alarm code.” She giggled. “And it included information on Callie, her cat. So, I don’t think we’ll ha
ve to worry about a man-eating dog.”
“Then what are we waiting for,” Lisa said with a conniving smirk.
“Here put these gloves on,” Angela told Lisa upon their arrival at Paige’s apartment.
“You’re well-equipped, aren’t you,” Lisa marveled.
“I’ve gone through some learning curves,” Angela admitted as they snapped the gloves onto their hands and adjusted their fingers. “Like taking the back stairs, instead of going through the lobby,” she cautioned as they headed inside.
“I hope she keeps her emergency card updated,” Lisa considered, watching Angela unlock the apartment and push on the door.
They stepped inside and Angela hurried to a beeping mechanism on the wall. She quickly mashed in a four-digit number and then they collectively held their breaths, waiting for a blaring sound.
“Oh goody,” Angela expressed when not a peep was heard. “Let’s look around to see where the cameras need to be placed.” With the help of a barstool, she immediately placed a unit in the air vent, making sure it had a good view of the security keypad. “It’s always smart to put a camera where you can get the new codes … in case someone changes them,” Angela explained.
They next went through the living room containing a large-screen TV, two old chairs and an outdated couch. “Put one in here,” Lisa suggested. “We know she’ll be on the couch.”
Angela nodded and clipped a tiny device to the top of a clock directly across from the divan. “Yeah, I want to know if Paul is making out with her there anyway.”
After attaching another gadget to a painting behind the kitchen table, which not only captured the dinette set, but the kitchen as well, the girls trod down the hall to the bedroom.
When they entered, a cat jumped off the bed and scurried down the hall. Both women jumped and let out squeaks.
“Jesus,” Lisa uttered. “That ball of fur scared the crap out of me.”
A second later, they heard a loud crash. “What was that?” Angela asked.
“Beats me.” They backtracked down the hall and found the cat on top of the fridge and it had knocked off a potted plant. Broken pieces of ceramic, dirt, and what was left of an ivy were scatted across the floor. “Shit,” Lisa cussed. “Should we clean it up?”
“Hell no,” Angela told her. “If we clean it up, she’ll notice the plant isn’t there. If we leave it, she’ll blame the mess on the cat.”
“You’re so good at this spying stuff,” Lisa complimented.
“When you have a hunky boyfriend, like Paul, you’ll learn to keep an eye on him.”
“Oh, I should start monitoring Carter,” Lisa mused. “He told me he was visiting his parents today and it was too early in our relationship for me to meet them. But who knows, what if he’s doing something else?”
“I’ll pick up some more cameras,” Angela promised her.
Going back to the bedroom, they rummaged through Paige’s drawers, her closet and her jewelry box.
“Look at this,” Lisa called to Angela, holding out a tattered old granny robe from the closet.
Angela laughed. “That’s nothing. Check this out.” She waved around a waist-cut pair of discolored panties with stretched out elastic. “Sexy shit. I’ll bet Paul loves these.”
Once they prodded through all of Paige’s belongings, Angela mounted a camera on top of a TV cabinet.
“You’re putting a camera in her bedroom?” Lisa questioned.
“Of course, I am. I need to know if Paul’s screwing her. And with any luck at all, she’ll be one of those gals who just lays there. If so, I won’t have to work as hard to get Paul back.”
“Oh, that makes sense. I need to put one in Carter’s bedroom to make sure he’s not cheating on me,” Lisa reasoned.
“Let’s get out of here,” Angela advised. “We can go back over to the office and wait for them to leave. Then we’ll work on surveillance there.”
Angela toured the office parking garage, looking for Paul and Paige’s vehicles. When neither was found, she slotted her car into the closet space to the entrance. With it being the weekend, assigned spots meant little since the place was mostly empty.
Inside the company doors of Harrington Oil & Gas, they stood still and listened for noises. When everything remained quiet, they crept to the Accounting Department and then into Paige’s office.
Angela mounted two cameras, one facing Paige’s desk, and the other taking in her computer so they could get her passcodes. “Now we’re in business,” she announced proudly. “All we have to do is wait for the perfect opportunity to make her life a living hell.”
Chapter Forty
“I hope he believed me,” I told Paul, referring to our meeting with Detective Sutton.
“I’m your alibi. I know we were having lunch when someone helped themselves to your computer. Surely he’ll start looking at alternative suspects for Julie and Penny’s deaths.” Paul gave me a reassuring nod. “And too, he admitted the autopsy report bolstered your story when the results showed Julie also had opiates in her system. Someone drugged you both.”
“Yeah, but how did someone get in the stairwell without being captured on surveillance from the hallway?”
“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “But it must’ve happened.”
The thought of someone pushing me and Julie down the stairs, poisoning my sandwich, and now hacking into my computer had drained my energy. Paul and I agreed to come back and work again tomorrow but, for now, we called it a day when my ability to concentrate had been completely lost.
After changing the entry code to my computer and locking up the office, Paul had followed me home. When I unlocked my apartment, Callie greeted me at the door with a dirt-filled face, a trail of potting soil pawprints, and a guilty look on her face.
“What have you done?” I immediately accused. Making my way into the kitchen, I found a filthy mess on the floor and a broken ivy pot. Callie had followed behind me. “Did you do this?” I gave her my best you’re-in-trouble look and she gave me her best big, old round-eyed, please-don’t-be-mad-at-me look. “What were you doing on top of the fridge?” I asked her but, of course, she didn’t answer.
“My Freddy pushed a plate off the counter the other day and broke it. Cats … they have their own agendas.”
“Apparently,” I agreed while getting the broom and a dustpan. As I began cleaning up the mess, I remarked, “Callie never gets on the fridge, unless she’s scared of someone. She thinks it’s her safe spot. It’s surprising to find she did this.”
“Well, your door was locked, and the alarm hadn’t gone off. Maybe a noise from the apartment next door spooked her.”
“Must be,” I agreed, taking into consideration how thin the apartment walls were.
After a thorough search of my living quarters, I didn’t discover anything missing or disturbed. Perhaps Paul was right. My cat had reacted to an exterior commotion.
“Would you stay for dinner?” I invited Paul, thinking I could prepare a chicken and rice casserole within 45 minutes.
“I’d love to,” he readily agreed.
There was an undeniable attraction between us, but Paul wanted to maintain a professional relationship until the charges against me were dropped, which he thoroughly believed would happen. Until then, we hadn’t so much as kissed, although he had comforted me in his arms a few times … which felt amazing.
“Smells wonderful,” he said, breathing in deeply as I pulled the dish from the oven.
“Onion soup mix,” I explained. “It’s tantalizing.” I too enjoyed the smell, placing a serving on a plate, along with a side of green beans and a salad, and then handing it to him.
“Thank you,” he said as we took seats opposite each other at my small table.
As soon as we’d eaten, Paul helped with the dishes. Not long afterward, he left with the understanding we would continue working tomorrow with him being in the common area of the accounting room to keep an eye on me.
Later, afte
r retiring to bed, I awoke with a strange sensation that I wasn’t alone. I told myself it was ludicrous considering I had set my security alarm and it wasn’t going off. But as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw a balloon floating across my bed. As I grabbed for it, it floated higher toward the ceiling and out of my reach.
Flipping on the light and climbing on top of the bed, I jumped high enough to reach it. When I did, it snagged on a ceiling fan blade and ruptured. I placed the deflated piece on my bedside table and grabbed a gun from the drawer. Creeping down the hallway, I did a thorough inspection of my premises, only to find it, just as I thought, with the doors and windows locked and the alarm remaining set. Briefly I considered calling the police, but without any signs of a break-in, I wasn’t sure how they’d react to my finding a balloon. Since I had what was left of the blow up, I decided it made more sense to present it to Paul tomorrow and together we’d hand it over to Detective Sutton.
Assuring myself of being safely locked inside, I returned to my bed, hoping I could get back to sleep. But even though I closed my eyes and tried to relax, I couldn’t stop my brain from wondering where the balloon came from. My thoughts kept me awake for hours before I succumbed into a restless sleep.
When I awoke, my first memory raced to the popped balloon and I immediately looked at my bedside table, only to find it had disappeared.
* * *
Lisa and Angela had waited for Paige to fall asleep and then they had crept down her hallway and released a balloon into her bedroom. After skedaddling out of her apartment, from Angela’s car they watched the video of Paige retrieving the balloon. They laughed themselves silly when she jumped on the bed to reach it, and then nervously searched her apartment.
It took a long while for Paige to return to sleep, but when she did, they sneaked back inside and took the remnant.
“Point to remember, she has a gun,” Lisa noted.
“We’ll be careful,” Angela assured her friend. She giggled again. “Wasn’t it fun?”
A Deadly Promotion Page 16
