WRAITH CASE STUDY AUGUSTA PINE #3
First, there was Centurion: a man of late middle age who had been working for ISD since its inception. From what I knew of him, he mostly focused on identity theft that involved human trafficking.
“It’s not Centurion,” said Prefect. “I’ll vouch for him.”
“Aw, you do have friends,” I said, grinning.
“I don’t have friends,” said Prefect. “I have colleagues that I trust.”
“So you think it’s one of the others?”
“Steve,” said Prefect, “Keiko. Or Leo.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think he’s smart enough to pull this off.”
“It could be an act.”
I shook my head. “He set the office microwave on fire trying to heat up a can of soup. Not in a bowl—he put the whole can in there.”
“He could be the world’s best actor.”
“He once asked me if photocopying his face would give him a tan,” I said.
“Okay, maybe not an act.” Prefect paced back and forth a few steps, rubbing his neck. “Steve. Or Keiko. Opinions?”
“You’re asking me?” I said.
“You talk to people more than I do,” he said. “What do you know about Keiko?”
I considered her. “She’s nice. She’s an artist who went into ink technician work. Transferred in from Detroit. She brought in cupcakes once. I don’t think it’s her.”
“Because of the cupcakes?” he asked dryly.
“Anyone that feeds me gets a little trust.” I looked at Keiko.
I could barely see her silhouette in the dim light.
“Also … hypothetically, I may have hacked into her work computer. She doesn’t have any debts, nothing blackmailable, and she has a lot of photos of her and her family going on vacations to Iceland.
If she’s a double agent or in this for the money, I’d be shocked. ”
Prefect gave me a look. “Do you investigate everyone around you?”
I returned the look. “Do you not?”
“A fair point.” Prefect’s tone sobered. “And Steve?”
I scratched the back of my neck. “Steve is—well. How do I put this nicely?”
“Indecisive, spineless, and only good for grunt work?”
I bit back a smile. “He also has a yearlong crush on Marco that just got rejected because they’re coworkers. He could be upset about that. Maybe it’s a revenge motive.”
“So Steve,” said Prefect.
“Steve,” I agreed. “So how do we confirm it was him?”
Prefect reached down and picked up a stapler. “I have a few ideas.”
TWENTY-FOUR MINUTES REMAINING
It was a rare Saturday that I watched a coworker get interrogated.
“Talk to us, Steve,” said Prefect. “It’ll go better for you if you talk to us.”
Steve looked even paler than usual. He had been forced into a rolling chair so we stood over him. Keiko was still on the phone. There was hold music filtering tinnily through her phone’s speakers. Centurion had his arms crossed. And Leo just looked mildly bemused.
“If this is about asking Marco out, I’m sorry,” said Steve.
He looked from Centurion to Prefect, panic written across his face.
“I admit, I didn’t actually watch the harassment seminar, so I don’t know what’s okay and what’s not.
I put my visor on my dog so it’d look like I was attending.
I was behind on work! So I was doing some at home. ”
“Oh my god,” said Keiko, sounding both horrified and delighted by this revelation.
“We don’t care about that,” said Centurion. He leaned over Steve. It was an impressive lean, I had to admit. “But selling confidential information is a whole different story.”
“What?” Steve squeaked out the word. “I—I would never. If you think I had anything to do with the lockdown—”
“Someone activated the Wi-Fi on that espresso machine,” said Centurion. “Someone could be in our systems right now. If they’re stealing confidential files, you will be charged as an accomplice.”
“Why me?” said Steve. He looked at me. “She’s a hacker! And a wraith!”
“He has a point,” I said.
Prefect didn’t so much as look at me. “Augusta did not have an espresso maker delivered to the office so she could activate the Wi-Fi when she returned.”
“That actually does sound like a decent plan,” I said. “I’ve even got you to alibi me.”
“Stop encouraging him,” said Prefect. “There’s one other very good reason I know it wasn’t you.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you’re the one who’s been keeping the old coffee maker alive,” said Prefect grimly.
If my life had been a film, there would have been a record scratch. I found myself looking at four very appalled faces. Even Steve was horrified.
“No,” said Keiko. “You’re the reason we’ve spent years drinking the worst coffee in the world?”
“You didn’t,” said Centurion, sounding disappointed in me.
“What?” said Leo, utterly confused.
“She’s been repairing the old coffee machine,” said Prefect, with the air of a detective unveiling the murderer. “Every time someone sabotaged it, she’d fix it. So we could never requisition a new one.”
“Why?” said Keiko, as appalled as if I’d been accused of tossing puppies off a cliff.
Because it had been fun. Because I both enjoyed and resented ISD.
Because watching everyone repeatedly try to kill the old machine so we could get a new one had been entertaining.
Because it had become a game to see if I could keep the machine alive, despite all efforts to the contrary.
And because I didn’t need caffeine the way most of these people did.
“I plead the Fifth,” I said.
“We’ll deal with you later,” said Centurion. He turned his attention back to Steve. “Is the countdown a distraction? Or is it actually a bomb to destroy evidence?”
“I don’t know,” wailed Steve. “I don’t know anything, I swear! It wasn’t me!”
“Well,” began Keiko, but then a voice emanated from her phone.
“Yes?” said a raspy woman’s voice. The director of ISD sounded highly irritated. “You better have a damn good reason for dragging me away from my granddaughter’s birthday party.”
Centurion all but lunged for the phone. He took it from Keiko and pressed it to his ear. “Ma’am,” he said, “we have a situation.” He walked away.
“Well, at least we can undo the lockdown before we all blow up,” said Prefect, watching him go. “The director will release the codes, and we’ll be safe.”
A horrible thought went through me. “Wait—what if that’s the goal?”
Prefect looked at me sharply.
“Think of what a hacker could do with the lockdown codes,” I said. “Maybe whoever it is wants us to lift the lockdown while he’s in the system. That way he could get those codes.”
The color retreated from Prefect’s face. He turned and rushed after Centurion.
Which left me, Keiko, Leo, and Steve.
“So why did you do it?” asked Keiko.
“No,” said Steve desperately. “I didn’t do this. You have to believe me. I’m not the greatest employee, I know. But I’m not a traitor. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt ISD. I need the health insurance.”
“Guys, I don’t think he did it,” said Leo.
“And your reasoning?” asked Keiko, her tone dripping with morbid curiosity.
Leo shrugged. “If he gets fired, then he can’t see Marco again.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to see Marco again,” I said.
“But if you love someone, you want to see them again,” said Leo reasonably.