Love’s Forgotten Bloom

Emma Robertson

5/23/2012

Table of Contents

Foreword              3

Chapter 1              4

Chapter 2              13

Chapter 3              32

Chapter 4              54

Chapter 5              78

Chapter 6              101

Chapter 7              123

Chapter 8              143

Chapter 9              165

Chapter 10              184

Foreword

Victoria was always puzzled by the fact that men found her desirable, and she made friends easily, but none of them turned out to be the thing that she craved the most:  a deep, passionate love that couldn’t be deterred by money, distance or jealous rivals.

It wasn’t that she didn’t have her share of suitors, but all of them were found wanting in some respects.  Her friends told her to stop being so particular, but she simply couldn’t settle down with just anyone.  This craving for the ideal man was thought by some of her family to be just a neurotic fantasy that could never be fulfilled, since the perfect guy just does not exist.

Still Victoria kept waiting and hoping that her Prince Charming would come along, hopefully sooner rather than later.  Little did she realize that sometimes love has a strange way of knocking on the door…

Chapter 1

The moonlight was always so wondrous and cool as it cast its shadows on the bay.  Victoria Masterson had always loved this spot ever since she was a little girl.  The family had settled here in the summer that she turned 11 years old.  Her dad used to take the kids down to the dock after the sun went down to catch the spectacular effects that only a full moon could display.

Went night fell, the winds died down and the bay was bathed in the kind of iridescent light that only a lunar body could provide.  Victoria love to just sit and listen to the gentle lapping of the waves as they gently made their way to the shore.  The only thing missing from her life was a special person to share in the joy she found in this magical place.

Men had always told her that she was beautiful, but somehow she just couldn’t believe that when she brushed her long auburn colored hair in the mirror.  Her brown eyes sparkled when thoughts of romance seemed to fill her very being.  It just seemed odd to her that finding somebody to settle down with could be so hard.

She was told by several of her girlfriends that she shouldn’t be so picky, but deep down, it was apparent that only one man would hold the key to her heart and she still hadn’t met him as of yet.  Although Victoria longed to meet somebody special, she refused to settle for somebody less than her ideal.

Whether it was fate or merely destiny, she believed that her perfect match was out there and their paths had yet to cross.  Although not old by any stretch, her 30th birthday would be approaching in two years and that is one hallmark that most women look at to be either married or engaged to their soul mate.

It wasn’t as if she was wanting for company.  Men seem to be naturally gravitated toward her long, flowing locks, pretty eyes and nice smile.  They were captivated by her willowy figure and nice sense of fashion as well.  However, most of them turned out to be rather shallow, with only materialistic goals – not the kind of man that Victoria desired.

And they were everywhere it seemed.  At work, in the market, at the gym, even sometimes while taking a bike ride.  She was naturally flattered by the attention, and was usually nice to these men too, but didn’t see that spark in too many of these suitors.

Some of them were very persistent however, and didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer.  In fact, Victoria had to get a restraining order against one of them who turned out to be a stalker, popping up in almost every place that she tended to frequent.

This left her somewhat shaken by the incident and quite frankly a little leery of men in general.  It took almost a year from this occurrence for her to begin dating again.  But these men that were naturally drawn to her seemed to cut from the same mold:  successful, driven and in desperate need of a trophy wife.

Victoria never seemed to think of herself as simply eye candy for somebody’s arm.  She knew that her true love would hold her in the highest regard, with an equal partnership that each would contribute towards.  There had to be a man out there that valued a woman for more than just her physical beauty.  She was determined to sift through all of the candidates until her prize was found.

There were lots of dates as her job with a public relations firm availed itself for plenty of opportunities with the opposite sex.  With a pleasant personality – not too pushy, Victoria often found herself with a surplus of gentlemen callers to choose from on occasion.  This sometimes led to awkward situations between junior executives from rival firms who thought they had an exclusive with Miss Masterson.

None of these confrontations turned out to be anything major, as Victoria tended to smooth things out quite easily.  Her pleasing demeanor typically turned most men into mush although she was quite unaware of this fact herself

Still it was hard to find a man that wanted to be friends first before wanting something too much too fast.  She found this to be rather incongruous as it wasn’t not the physical contact that she longed for the most, but rather a spiritual connection between her and her soul mate.  A one of a kind love that only happened in the movies.

While this seemed to be almost imaginary when she thought about it, there was no real evidence to support this line of reasoning.  However, that did not stop Victoria from secretly wanting this scenario to come true.  And this fact seemed to count against any man who dared dream of a future with her.

One of Victoria’s associates at the public relations firm was Ashley Harrington.  A looker in her own right, she was secretly envious of all the attention that men seemed to naturally shower on Ms. Masterson.  While always cordial and proper to her face, these deep seating feelings were bound to come to the surface at some point, leading to a final confrontation between the two.

Mr. Jeff Perkins, CEO at Wright-Staples public relations firm had chosen both women initially for their ability to make quick decisions and think on their feet.  While their beauty was definitely an asset for the position, it certainly was not the main reason they were brought aboard in the first place.

Being in his early fifties, Jeff had spent a quarter century in the business, watching the trends and carefully crafting the kinds of ideas and people that he hoped to hire some day at his own company.  It didn’t seem possible that only 5 years ago, he had ventured out on his own to make his dream a reality.  With 20 employees, Wright-Staples was hardly the largest firm in town, but it certainly had made a reputation for getting the job done.

A whole host of the largest companies in this area of the country were already counted as successful clients and their fame was spreading quickly, through both word of mouth, and advertisements in the local trade papers.

Both Victoria and Ashley had risen quickly, starting as junior account executives, before going on to manage several of the larger business deals.  This fact had pleased Mr. Perkins greatly as he considered himself a good judge of character.  To have both of these talented young ladies among his ranks was quite a boon.

The one thing that Mr. Perkins didn’t notice was the natural rivalry that was developing between both of the young women.  Although it was a friendly competition, Ashley seemed to come out on the short end in most deals when both of them were involved.  The fact that Victoria was most gracious when she was deemed to be the assistant, only grinded her associate even more.

It never occurred to Ashley that it wasn’t her work ethic or preparedness in most cases, but men were naturally attracted to Victoria because she possessed the rarest of human gifts:  personal magnetism.  It was as if clients couldn’t help themselves for the most part.  Even women felt compelled to do business with Victoria if the opportunity presented itself.

This was most fascinating to Mr. Perkins since he knew his subordinates were talented, but did not realize the amount of appeal that each young lady possessed.

Victoria on the other hand was almost completely oblivious to the fact that she possessed some higher power that most males found irresistible.  She certainly did not come on to any potential clients, instead using her personality and strong business acumen to win them over.

Unfortunately this sort of attention was often taken the wrong way by potential customers who thought that Victoria was interested in a personal relationship to further the professional one.  This was the case with Ashley, but she tended to come on too strong on occasion, turning off many a potential investor who considered her to be too calculating.

However, this kind of odd teamwork also tended to keep customers who found this kind of attention fascinating.  It was almost a good cop – bad copy kind of scenario with both of the account executives focused on landing the big fish.  Furthermore, this distinctly affected the bottom line for the company since these two were rapidly becoming major earners.

While business was good, Victoria still longed for that personal connection in her life.  It wasn’t for lack of dates as she could have one every day of the week if she wanted.  Suitors seemed to be everywhere, but most of them only wanted to be seen with her and weren’t interested in what she had to say.

This was something that she could simply not deal with, and so the outings became more perfunctory in nature rather than a more enjoyable experience.  It wasn’t for lack of trying on her part, but most of these men couldn’t see past her outer beauty to find the genuine nature of her personality that lay hidden inside.

Ashley on the other hand, enjoyed this kind of attention and thrived in the company of men.  She too had a number of admirers, and counted them among her company as her burgeoning rivalry with Victoria extended to matters of the heart as well.  This meant a lot of dates as well, and while she wasn’t looking to settle down anytime soon, the attention sure was flattering to her.

Neither young woman really had time for a long term love interest at this point in their careers.  Since both were making a lucrative salary with fringe benefits in accordance with their contracts, it made the necessity of having a significant other a moot point.  That is not to say the Victoria wasn’t interested in getting married at some point, but she wanted to see where her career was headed before settling down with Mr. Right.

Thus both ladies were interested in a relationship, but for very different reasons…

Chapter 2

One of the major firms that Wright-Staples dealt with on a regular basis was Robert Majors.  It was an old and prestigious manufacturer of upscale clothing for gentlemen.  The business had been in the family for generations, starting with the great-great grandfather of the current CEO Stanley Majors.  Each of the eldest sons had taken his turn at the helm, with 68 year old Mr. Majors being the latest heir to the throne.

He had been in this position for approximately 25 years, following the sudden heart attack death of his beloved father; Robert Majors III.  All of the employees considered him to be more than just a boss, but somebody they could actually count on when things were less than great.  While the son tried to emulate his father in many ways, his personal charisma simply did not have the universal appeal of the old man.

It wasn’t so much that he tried too hard, but people skills were not his forte so much as keeping the business afloat during several periods of economic hardship.  He secretly yearned for some adulation for maintaining the company in its place of prominence – especially when many of his competitors were laying off employees at an alarming rate.

However, despite his best efforts, there was still a wide gap between Stanley and the majority of the people working at the facility.  Although he was very cordial, it was his understanding that workers needed to be at arm’s length in order to facilitate an effective work environment.

For most business people, this is the typical model that is followed, and it works nicely for the bottom line.  Nonetheless, in order to win trust and gain a favorable place among the staff, sometimes it is necessary to show a human side.  Unfortunately, this is one area that Mr. Majors didn’t feel comfortable in showing.

Thus Robert Majors maintained a rather healthy balance sheet and its employees were able to exist in a comfortable, although not extravagant lifestyle.  With several additional locations under advisement for potential future growth, the firm looked to be on stable ground well into the future.  Stanley knew that his immediate family and future heirs would be well provided for if sound business principle were followed.

The one person who didn’t fit nicely into the master plan at Robert Majors was Davis Knowles.  He was a business school graduate of a prestigious Eastern University and came to the company straight out of college.  Mr. Majors had taken him under his wing personally as he saw something in the young man that would prove to be advantageous to the corporation.  Davis knew that he could never be CEO under the current set up, and he was actually okay with that fact.  Mr. Major’s 41 year old son Robert Majors IV was being groomed to eventually assume the mantle of leadership once his father stepped down.

Davis, despite his formal education, was somewhat of a throwback to the times when business was done with a handshake over lunch (although sometimes that also occurred during a round of golf).  A great deal of the older set still preferred to do business in this manner, and the young man was definitely a rising star at the firm.

This degree of confidence did not sit well with Robert IV since he viewed Davis as a natural rival in the company.  Although he knew deep down that there was no way for Mr. Knowles to assume leadership of the firm, stranger things had actually taken place in the world of business in the past 20 years.  Robert knew that the young man needed to be watched.

The bottom line was still business however, so having an employee who could negotiate deals and keep clientele happy was not only good for productivity, but also contributed to the financial health of Robert Majors.  It didn’t really matter the method that was used to keep the interest of the client as long as it didn’t involve anything illegal that would besmirch the good name of the enterprise.

What the CEO and his son didn’t realize however, was the fact that not all of the mid level executives looked favorably upon this way of doing business.

As winter inexorably passed, there was always a rush for new strategies and campaigns to keep the public interested in purchasing the latest products.  All companies experience this phenomenon as part of beating the winter blues.  Almost all consumers who did not enjoy the cold weather and snow systematically looked for an excuse to buy something to remind them that spring was close.

And so, the public relations firm of Wright-Staples experienced a rush of activity at the first sighting of a robin.  Most of the staff had come to expect the initial surge and were geared up for eager clients who needed something “yesterday” in order to sell their latest promotion.

Victoria was still the golden girl for many of the established set, and was also often the one who was send out to recruit new clients to the firm.  This was simply a combination of her disarming personality and natural beauty that helped to persuade businesses that her firm was the one to choose.

Of course to help ensure matters would go his way, Mr. Majors often sent her colleague Ashley along with the small group.  She did not lack for looks either and had a tendency to pout when things did not appear to be going their way.  This in fact often produced the desired result – especially when the opposite side of the table was made up by a majority of males.

Still in all, Victoria was the choice of a number of top shelf advertisers who were taken by her entire package of beauty, brains and knowing just the kind of campaign that would sell.  The fact that she didn’t flaunt her obvious attractiveness to the client only served to further infuriate her colleague Ashley who couldn’t understand why she always seemed to finished second best.

While the burgeoning rivalry continued between the two young women, only Ashley really seemed to care about it.  Victoria was almost entirely selfless, worrying more about how she could help with the current sales pitch than coming out on top.  She was truly unique in this field since most of the professionals were likened to barracudas in a school full of minnows.  That was the primary reason that new and existing firms were taken aback by her unique attitude and dedicated response to their proposals.

Ashley, try as she might, could not bring herself to maintain the sense of professional decorum as displayed by her colleague.  This was primarily due to her playful nature at heart, although she did love to flirt with the more attractive younger males across the boardroom table.  Not many clients were put off by this attention, and this helped to explain why she could maintain such a lofty rating at her firm.  After all, Mr. Perkins did pay strict attention to his bottom line also.

It was on one of those mid-Atlantic type weather days that two distinct worlds collided.  The climate here was unlike any other place in the world.  Weather patterns tended to hover and remain affixed much to the dismay of the locals.  Much of the blame for these daily tribulations was attributed to the large bodies of water that were in close proximity.  Actually, only a small part of the equation was ascertained to be caused by water.  In point of fact, having a mountain range nearby played a larger role when it came to precipitation amounts.

Still, it was this place that Victoria had grown up in and had fallen in love with, preferring to settle down even after experiencing life in a college town in the South.  No, there was something magical about the area that she just couldn’t put her finger on exactly.  But there was assuredly something afoot on that cool May morning that was destined to change her life forever.

The day began like any other.  She awoke at the normal 6:15 am rising time, her radio alarm clock blaring a popular song by one of those classic British rock bands as she struggled to brush away the cobwebs from a long night’s slumber.  “Why do they make mornings so early?” she wondered to herself while making a path to the kitchen to start brewing some coffee.

This part of the routine was actually the most soothing as the early morning hours tended to be so unhurried as opposed to the rest of the day.  Victoria tended to reflect at this time anyway, recalling how her own mom and dad were always so glad to see each other in the morning – even though they had been married for more than 20 years at the time.

It was the kind of relationship that she longed for deep inside.  A love so deep that it was sometimes painful to be without the other.  Her mom and dad had that kind of chemistry and she refused to settle for anything less than a union of this nature.  It may have ultimately cost her a number of relationships, but she saw no point in continuing down a path that would ultimately lead to nowhere.

While the coffee was slowly brewing, Victoria allowed herself a leisurely 20 minute shower, letting the water softly caress her body, cleansing the pores and washing away frivolous cares and worries from the day before.  It was also the day to wash her hair and this process alone took 10 minutes since a special shampoo was needed along with conditioner and rinse in order to maintain that luster that she was used to seeing.

Upon exiting the shower, she carefully toweled herself dry and began work on brushing and blow drying her long auburn hair.  It was probably time for another perm she thought silently as the brush massaged her scalp ever so gently.

By this time, the aroma of fresh Columbian coffee began to permeate the entire domicile, reawakening her taste buds and spurring the call for breakfast.  Victoria didn’t have a set plan like everybody else, and typically made whatever seemed the most appealing that day.  This morning seemed to be a time for cold cereal and milk, so into a bowl went some bran flakes, one teaspoon of sugar and some cold skim milk.  Since she had left yesterday’s newspaper on the counter, this was a good time to skim the stories from the previous day.

There was really nothing of interest in the daily, with nothing related to her industry or clients, so she simply skipped to the comic section to get some amusement for the upcoming work day.  That silly dog always cracked her up so that was the first strip to be read.  There was also a couple of kids and one reality type panel that she also read every day so that would finish this moment of leisure.

Once breakfast was over, she piled the dirty dishes in the sink and padded her way into the bedroom to decide upon what to wear.  After mentally checking the schedule of events, Victoria chose a matching pink skirt and blazer with a high collar white blouse and choker.  This had always been one of her favorite outfits and she wore it at least once a month – usually for good luck.

She knew that a new client would be coming in today and Mr. Perkins would be counting on both her and Ashley to make him feel welcome.  They made quite a team Victoria thought to herself, both of them young, attractive and able to communicate effectively on different levels.  It would be too long before each of them had one of the larger offices on the top floor of the building.  At least that was her 5 year plan.

She donned her favorite pumps, grabbed a trench coat and proceeded to the kitchen to turn on the radio.  This was a precaution that she took every day.  Even though the neighbors were vigilant, it didn’t hurt to do the little things necessary to protect one’s property.

After dead bolting the door behind her, Victoria walked to her car, hitting the remote to unlock the door in the process.  She carefully got into the driver’s seat, making sure not to get any unnecessary wrinkles in her outfit.  Once all of the mirrors were carefully adjusted, she slowly backed out of the drive, looking up and down the road for vehicles.  Her dad had taught her these safe driving tips and she mentally thanked him for putting these good notions in her head.

The road leading past her house took her directly to the freeway, where it only took 20 minutes to reach her destination.  She usually spent her time planning the day’s events, although it was also a time to pop in her favorite CD as well.  The routine varied from week to week, but at this particular juncture, jazz was the instrument of choice.  Being an absolute timeless form of the arts, the smooth, melodic tones soon filled the cabin and made the ride into work even easier.

Upon arrival at Wright-Staples, Victoria pulled into her assigned parking space and took the winding, 39 step walk past the finely manicured landscape, up the large granite stairs and through the double glass doors.  With a quick nod to Katie, the receptionist, she pressed the button for the elevator and waited patiently for the doors to open.  Once inside, she nodded curtly to a few associates and noticed that her floor was already lit.

The smooth ride had an almost hypnotic effect and it was over before you could blink an eye.  Mr. Perkins had spared practically no expense upon the construction of this building and this tended to make employees much more content with their surroundings.  New members of the team and visitors alike were almost in awe of the amount of detail that extended from the main office all of the way to a special room for visitors to use for communication purposes.

Upon reaching her moderate office, Victoria noticed that her message light was on and made a mental note to check this before the 10 am meeting.    She first had to get settled in, and being a creature of habit, it was important to get everything arranged just so in order to make the day a success.  These included such things as sharpening pencils, firing up the computer and checking her schedule to make sure that everything had been arranged properly.

Traits such as these and her attention to detail had helped Victoria to ascend in the company and most of her co-workers noticed her can do attitude as well.  It wasn’t often that someone with her credentials and physical beauty were combined in the same package.  When humility was thrown into the mix as well, this made for the perfect employee.

While she knew that her work was well received (several commendation letters from Mr. Perkins were in her personnel file), she was somewhat oblivious to the impact that her personal attractiveness had on potential clients. For most people this would seem less than genuine, but in her case, this was her true make up.  Men were often puzzled by this, but they were often so shallow that Victoria had long since given up on what they thought of her.

Once everything had been arranged to her satisfaction, it was time to check messages to see if anything had changed overnight.  There were the usual greetings from her girlfriends and one from a former classmate who was in town and wanted to get together for lunch later this week.  With this out of the way, she could concentrate on getting the necessary documents for the 10 am meeting in the main conference room.

Due to the fact that this was a new client, Victoria had to make sure that things were spelled out clearly.  It was very important to spell out the firm’s capabilities and how they could assist with product promotion.  This was a role that she cherished – meeting new people and helping them to create a vision that would be indelibly etched into the minds of potential customers.

After she was satisfied that everything was in order, she checked her watch to make sure there was sufficient time for a quick bathroom break before heading downstairs.  Seeing as it was only 9:40 am, a stop in the Ladies room was warranted before the meeting.

The main conference room at Wright-Staples looked as if it had been hewn out of a Brazilian rain forest.  There were exotic woods everywhere.  The wall paneling had been imported from a Dutch manufacturer and finished with natural oil that only served to accentuate the beauty of the grain.  The large conference table that dominated the space was carefully crafted from Teak – one of the hardest species known to man.  While it never really took any kind of abuse due to the numerous coasters and placemats that were used, this massive display often served to overwhelm visitors at first glance.

Even the 20 chairs that ringed the table were handcrafted from a furniture manufacturer in North Carolina and were created from aged Curley Maple and Hickory.

The only thing that wasn’t wood in the room was the floor as it was covered by a low pile carpet that allowed the chairs to be moved silently and without incident.  It was the one concession that Mr. Perkins had made to the designer when he wanted to build the perfect conference room in his new facility.

With all of the surrounding wood, it seemed that the firm had made a commitment to nature and would be somewhat antiquated in its’ dealings.  This was certainly not the case as a state of the art 80 inch flat screen plasma dominated one wall of the room.  It could be used in an almost infinite number of ways, but was most impressive when detailing the capabilities of Wright-Staples as THE firm to get the word out.

There was also a hidden acoustical system that was tied in to the visual components, providing a seamless marriage between the two.  Microphones and speakers around the table were low profile, but omni-directional, meaning that there was no need to redirect them when somebody spoke.  All of this technology added up to an effective way of communicating thoughts and ideas between the two sides.

In the far corner, there was also a moderately sized food preparation station that also doubled as a wet bar.  There were fountain drinks readily available that could be changed out between flavors depending upon clients tastes.  Coffee and cappuccino were also in stock, and could be brewed in single servings if necessary.

This was truly a Renaissance room in sum total and many clients were already sold on doing business with this firm before they even saw the presentation.  Mr. Perkins considered this money well spent and it had almost paid for itself with the number of new customers that had been secured for the firm over the last year and a half.

Today’s agenda was a new outfit South of Baltimore, Maryland that was looking for away to publicize their newest offering. They had been in the fishing industry for a number of years and while it had been moderately successful, they were looking to branch off in a slightly different direction.  This was the primary reason that the meeting was taking place today.

At 9:50 am, the contingent of 4 people arrived, and was quickly ushered into the waiting area where outer garments could be properly hung before formal introduction would take place.  Mr. Poning was the head of the group and he was accompanied by his personal secretary Miss Ware, the head of operations; Mr. Boone and Wade Hatch the director of sales.

Mr. Perkins like to greet potential customers himself before excusing himself, leaving the meeting to his trusted staff.  Once introductions had been made and everybody had their favorite beverage in front of them, Victoria gave the usual speech about the capabilities of the firm and how they could help grow the business.  She paused a few times during the program to let certain points sink in before continuing.

As with most of the previous groups that had seen this video, this one seemed to be in awe of what they had just witnessed.  Before the question and answer period began, Ashley typically would survey each member of the visitors and ask them for some feedback that could be used at a later date.  This often broke the ice and allowed for more free exchange of ideas between the two parties.

Mr. Poning was the first one to speak and he complimented the ladies on what was a first rate presentation in his opinion.  He did express some concerns on whether or not the agency had enough staff to satisfy hi s needs.  After being assured that much of it would be viral in nature and would not be run as campaigns had been in the past, this seemed to be the type of placation that he was seeking when initially launching the query.

The other members quickly fell in line and after a short break for lunch, the final details were ironed out with a final proposal to be written and submitted by the Friday of the following week.  It was at this juncture that Ashley briefly excused herself and left the group in the capable hands of Victoria.  While brief small talk was being exchanged, Ashley reappeared and was there to escort the visitors from the building.  The entire process was wrapped up in under 3 hours; the company standard being 3-1/2 maximum for an initial get together.

The two young women reported their findings to Mr. Perkins and left the decision as to who would be leading the advertising campaign up to him.  As this was usually the case with any new client, Jeff liked to size up the group and see which of his employees that they seemed to gravitate to more easily.

In this case, it was definitely a tough call.  Both young associates had made a good impression on the potential customers and it would probably come down to who seemingly had more free time to devote to the planning and implementation of a full blown media strategy if it came to that.

There was seemingly little to choose from when picking the right person for the job as both were very attractive candidates.  Each of them had lead very successful promotions and the feedback from clients had been superb.  Indeed, in Jeff’s mind these were two of the shining stars in his company.

If there was any discrepancy to be had, Victoria seemed to be a slight bit ahead of Ashley on the organization front.  This was more a matter of her personality than anything else.  He had yet to meet anybody with the kind of mind for this work as she had.  However, this was a brand new client and the job itself was rather simple once it was up and running.  These two factors combined with the fact that Ashley had two less items going on at the present time made her the logical choice to lead this one.

Jeff called them both with predictable results.  Ashley was ecstatic while Victoria handled it with her typical aplomb.  He knew that they would still be a great team no matter which one was in charge and so the choice seemed both rational and fair.  That is how he liked to do business, with each employee getting a share of the work and allowing them to develop a specialty.

With only one more meeting that day, Victoria was secretly thrilled that she wouldn’t have to take the lead on the latest customer if it came to that.  It wasn’t so much the fact that she had enough work, but there was something about Wade Hatch that didn’t sit quite right with her and she couldn’t quite place her finger on it.  By not having to contact these people directly, she wouldn’t have to worry about any potential issues since her associate would be handling all of the communications.

Once the 3:30 meeting was over, it was almost time to leave for the day.  She carefully shut off all the office machinery and shredded the old proposals that had come back negative.  These would be later incinerated for confidentiality reasons.  At 5:03 she headed for her car and a relaxing drive home.

Chapter 3

Upon arriving at work the next day, Victoria noticed that there was an overnight delivery for her left next to her door.  It seemed odd that the service had bypassed the receptionist and left it there by her office.  After unlocking the door and setting down her satchel, she picked up the parcel and examined it for a return address.  However, there was only an address to section filled out and no return label affixed to the box.  This was confusing and she debated as to whether opening the package was safe.

A quick shake determined the contents to be light, but just to be on the safe side, she was determined to consult with Mr. Perkins to see what the proper protocol was in a situation such as this.  Since he was schedule to be out of the office until mid afternoon on this day, she left it off to the side, but it was a constant source of consternation all morning as she wondered about its contents.

Could it be a thank you?  What about a gift from a secret admirer?  Was it possible that it was also a fake present?  All of these thoughts passed through her consciousness as mental images were conjured about from a thousand different scenarios.  She was determined not to let it get the best of her however and she would wait patiently for the boss to see what was contained inside of this mystery item.

Without having any real close friends at the agency, the entire burden was left on her shoulders and she dared not call anyone lest she be labeled a worry wart.  Since the advertising agencies in this locale were a tight knit community, word would spread quickly about any unfortunate circumstances and this could more certainly castigate her in this small circle.

No, the best move was simply to sit tight and imagine the possibilities that were contained in the bundle.  Still it was hard to pay attention to work and she caught herself dialing the wrong client number at one point in the morning.  The clock did not seem to move the rest of the day and it was not until Mr. Perkins arrived at 2:30 that Victoria was able to present her dilemma.

Jeff knew never to take a risk such as this, for even a package this light could contain some kind of harmful substance that was capable of injuring one of his most valuable employees.  At first glance he was tempted to just open the box and check the contents.  This was mainly to assuage the fears of his young associate, but in the end, a call was placed to a friend on the police force for sage advice on how to handle a situation such as this.  Mr. Ken Gartner was a 34 year veteran of the military and civilian police and had been recently promoted to head of the bomb squad.  He had handled many cases like this before and it was his opinion that only an experts should attempt to break the seal for inspection of the contents.

While this was good enough for Jeff, Victoria still had anxiety about why she would be receiving this kind of delivery.  She couldn’t think of any known enemies and had yet to meet the man of her dreams so what kind of middle ground was there?  Who would bother to send something to her place of employment without placing a return address on the outside?

It had to be somebody that was familiar with her and/or where she worked to go through this much trouble.  A secret admirer perhaps?  The thought sounded romantic at first, then a little creepy since he didn’t have enough nerve to even show the place of origin.

They would just have to wait until Mr. Gartner got there in order to find out what mysterious contents were in this bundle.

In the meantime, there was still about an hour and a half left in the work day.  Thankfully, there were no more clients to call, just some follow up paperwork that had to be signed and sent out with the next day’s post.  This was quickly dispatched and Victoria also confirmed a noon lunch with her old friend from school.

Presently Lieutenant Gartner showed up, accompanied by one of his specially trained dogs and the parcel was deemed to have nothing illegal inside.  Still he liked to take every precaution and insisted on taking it outside before breaking open the heavy cellophane tape that was binding the cardboard flaps in place.

Using a sharp knife, he quickly cut through both sides and sliced down the top as well.  Carefully lifting the cover flaps he saw a small envelope and a single black rose that was tucked away in bubble wrap and surrounded by hundreds of packing peanuts.  It seemed to be a lot of trouble to send out one communication he thought, but he had seen situations that were 10 times worse than this.

Removing the bubble wrapped envelope from the box, the delicately sliced through the tape that was holding it in place to extricate the letter.  One the outside was written in fancy script lettering V.M.

Lieutenant Gartner knew that it wasn’t addressed to him, but he also wanted to take every precaution and so took the time to remove the fine parchment from its outer sheath as well.  There didn’t appear to be anything abnormal with either item and without examining what was actually written down, slid the communiqué back into its envelope.

Of course this had attracted somewhat of a crowd as the presence of a police vehicle tended to do when stationed in front of any type of building.  Since there were rarely called to a business of this sort, it just made the staff and onlookers all the more curious.

In order to disperse the crowd of onlookers, he made a big show about finding nothing, acting disgusted in a way and dismissing the dog and the assistants before heading back into the building to consult with his friend Mr. Perkins.

The Lieutenant had a big smile on his face as he pulled on the front door handle in order to give the impression that there was nothing seriously wrong.  While nothing was physically evident here to cause any harm, he had seen cases in the past where a simple item had begat deep emotional scarring.  For the victims, mental anguish was nothing to be taken too lightly, so Gartner took every precaution to brace both Mr. Perkins and Miss Masterson the possible contents of the letter before placing it in her hands.

With trembling fingers, she carefully removed the inner parchment from the envelope and opened it to read the message.  To her surprise, it was simple and to the point: “Victoria, Thanks for everything darling!” with no signature, just the initials K.B.

She showed the page to her boss who immediately gave it back to the lieutenant.  Both of them turned to look at Victoria who was still shaken by the event.  She didn’t speak immediately as her brain raced to come up with a person from her past with those initials.  After regaining her composure slightly, she was able to ask the policeman in a halting tone “what does this mean?”

The lieutenant had wanted to ask her the same question, but realizing the somber situation in the room did not answer right away, but instead stroked his chin while trying to ponder a valid answer.  It was actually Jeff Perkins who broke the ice, asking Victoria if she would like some time off.  He too didn’t know what to say and was trying to put his young employee at ease.

She didn’t know what to think at this point since there didn’t seem to be an answer.  None of the men that she had dated for any length of time had gone by those initials.  There hadn’t been a single contact in the past year who matched the two letter combination either.

Who would have come up with this method of contact?  It didn’t seem very romantic to her unless it had been somebody that she deeply cared about who was having some innocent fun.  But none of her romantic interludes seemed to have this type of intent.  No this had to be something else entirely.

Since there didn’t seem to be anything else to do at this point, Victoria decided to call it a night and thanked both her boss and his friend for their concern.  She also made the decision to take the next two days off to clear her mind.  After all, her docket was relatively clear and the firm could surely do without her for a couple of days.

She gathered her belongings and slowly made her way to the car.  It was late and everybody else had gone home already.  However, since the days were growing longer, there was still plenty of sunlight available to illuminate the winding walkway to the parking lot.

Popping in her favorite CD, Victoria wondered whether she was making a big deal out of nothing.  After all, it was only a simple note written on parchment paper right?  And it did say thanks, not something that sounded sinister.  But who would take the time to write out something, package it carefully and send it to her business address and not include their name?  Adding up all of the details didn’t make any sense.  She decided to be extra careful in the next week or two just in case.

Ashley wondered what all of the fuss was about.  There had been no alarms pulled, and the police had just shown up out of nowhere.  Since it was late in the day, she didn’t really have time to ask any of her co-workers what was causing all of this commotion.  She did see an older man in uniform come back in the building brandishing a small item in his hand.  He went into Mr. Perkins office and it looked like another person was in there with them, but she couldn’t see who it was.

Because nobody seemed to be out place, there didn’t seem to be any cause for concern, so upon completing all of her duties, it was time to head for home and enjoy a cold beverage and soak her tired feet.  This had become one of her favorite things to do after a long day and provided an inexpensive way to wind down. Other methods had always left her wanting and proved to be cost ineffective as well.

Mr. Perkins had thrown some strong hints that she could get a nice promotion if the next year or so went well for the firm.  Of course, this meant that clients had to be satisfied with the performance of the team.  Since each member must do perform effectively in order to make the machine run smoothly, it was imperative that Ashley integrate herself without the kind of jealousy and backbiting that goes on often in these types of situations.

Still, it was hard not to begrudge coming up second so many times to Victoria.  Even though she would not show any signs of envy outwardly, secretly there was an agenda being planned that would square the tables and put her at on the fast track.  Mr. Perkins would sure see then how valuable that she, Ashley was to his firm!

The next day dawned clear and bright and Victoria slept in well past her anointed time.  She followed this up with an extra long shower, letting the warm water gently caress her hair and run down to the small of her back where it pooled in a small depression just above her derriere.

After toweling off and slipping into her favorite robe, she thought today would be a good time to shave her legs again.  This routine was typically done in the shower with a razor and cream, but she occasionally liked to change things up with an electric model that tended to do a nice job as well.

Once all of the personal grooming was completed, she had time to reflect upon the events of the previous day and wondered exactly what all of the fuss was about anyway.  There didn’t seem to be any reason for excessive concern – at least that was the vibe that was given off by the Lieutenant.  Even Mr. Perkins didn’t seem overly worried about the package and its contents once his friend had examined the insides thoroughly.

Was she becoming too paranoid she wondered?  It just didn’t seem possible that anybody of substance would take the effort to send her that package.  Maybe it was a practical joke?  That sounded plausible, but Victoria didn’t know anyone who engaged in this type of activity anymore.  She decided that the best course of action would be to keep her guard up and see if anything happened in the next few weeks.

One nice thing about being home during the day was to enjoy the great outdoors when it was usually time to be working.  She did get to travel somewhat, but there was always such a rush that there was never time to sight see or check out the local culture before having to catch a flight home.  With her work schedule at a hectic pace already, Victoria was determined to enjoy the next couple of days and return to the office refreshed and ready to go.

Mr. Perkins called his friend at the police station to get his professional opinion on what had taken place the previous day.  Having witnessed the practiced countenance of officer Gartner left him with the impression that there was something more to the story that remained to be said.  In point of fact, this turned out to be quite true.

Events of this type often proved to be the tip of the iceberg for consequent actions to take place.  This could be anything from a jilted lover to a stalker who didn’t feel confident enough to approach a beautiful woman through the normal channels.  It was the policeman’s opinion that there was more of this story to be told.  He informed Mr. Perkins that it may be advisable to carefully monitor Victoria’s mail for anything shady.

Another good measure would be to check the records to see if any clients had been dissatisfied over the past couple of years.  There was really nothing either of them could do regarding her personal life without her permission.  But until something else happened, they decide it was no use to give her something else to worry about.

The first day of her leave flew by and Victoria was starting to feel like her old self again.  After a leisurely walk around the neighborhood, she had hit the gym for some cardio work on the stair climber and then retired to the sauna for an hour of steam.  This tended to open up the pores and was a great cleanser for the skin.

A trip to the frozen yogurt store completed the mini excursion, allowing her to indulge her one vice:  a double strawberry banana flavor sundae.  It was the only treat that she allowed herself during the work week, preferring to eat more whole foods and less sugar in order to maintain a healthy weight.

After parking her car, she decide to flip on the television to see what was on the local news.  As always, they were debating about what the weather would be like the next several days, and the anchorman exchanged witty banter with the sports guy regarding their local hero and his prolonged slump.  She silently derided herself for not having anything better to do with her time.

It was different being around the house all day and Victoria really didn’t know what to do with the remainder of the day.  Usually her routine meant arriving home about six pm and making a light dinner before grabbing her latest novel and reading about 60 pages before turning in.

Due to the fact that it was only 4:30, she thought that it might be time to look around her domicile and see what area might be the best place to start spring cleaning.  Normally it would take at least two weeks for the entire process to wrap up, but this was mainly due to the fact that she sometimes had to go in on Saturday, leaving only a few hours each week along with Sunday to take care of this yearly maintenance.

After quickly scouting her home, the garage seemed to be the perfect place to begin.  Victoria didn’t always park her car here, preferring to actually leave it outside when the weather was nice because it gave her a chance to enjoy the morning air for a brief moment prior to the ride in to work.

Technically, there was nothing out of order here, but as with any room in the house, a few touch ups were needed in order to declare the space complete.  She also packed up a few things into paper grocery bags for donation to the local charity.

Following a thorough sweeping of the floor, she then brought in the garden hose to wash off the floor, adding a little detergent to help wash off the grease and oil that tended to drip from her car’s engine in the winter and accumulate in the middle of the floor.  With yearly maintenance, she found out that it was easier to keep the entire area much nice as it only took a couple of hours out of her schedule.

Looking at her watch Victoria discovered that it was almost 6:30 and almost a half hour past dinner time.  Scanning the refrigerator for leftovers proved fruitless, so she took out a frozen dinner from the freezer and popped it into the microwave.  This was her favorite brand and didn’t taste like the normal bland globs of nothing that so many other varieties seemed to offer.

Once dinner was over, she retired to her favorite easy chair after slipping on some comfortable fleece clothing.  Grabbing her comforter, she nestled underneath, flipping on the reading lamp and found her book mark to pick up where she left off in her latest mystery novel.

Although she favored different genres, Victoria always loved a good mystery, especially when the characters were true to form and the writer made them believable to the reader.  Many times she had borrowed a book from the library, only to return it shortly because it seemed to be more science fiction than a good mystery thriller.

Being engrossed in the spellbinder made her lose track of time, and although she didn’t have to return to work for another day, being a creature of habit, it was nearly time to retire.  Carefully putting the marker on the right page, she checked all of the doors, dead bolting them, and left the front light on to illuminate the outside.

Lying down on the bed, she soon fell fast asleep, dreaming the images of a faraway land where fantasy often met reality…

Work at Wright-Staples was enjoyable for most people.  That was because Mr. Perkins looked out for his employees and tried to foster an environment that was businesslike, yet not so austere that associates couldn’t express their personalities.  It was also one of the main reasons why clients like to hold their meetings at his place rather than their own.  They knew that all of the amenities would be available, and business could also be conducted without a hitch – even in case of an emergency.

The docket for today included a couple of major clients who had been with the firm for several years.  As such, the schedule had been broken up into an AM and PM session to accommodate each company and also allow enough time to get everything in order between meetings.

Mr. Grayson lead the first group and all went swimmingly well.  In fact, the negotiations were finished well before the allotted 3 hours that had been set aside.  This was due in part to the fact that they were an established client and didn’t have the usual questions that were often asked by newcomers who didn’t understand what they needed.

Of course the staff at Wright-Staples was quite pleased that this process had gone so smoothly since it gave them more than ample time to reset everything for the arrival of firm number two.  They would be probably more difficult to contend with since things had turned upside down in their particular industry over the past year.  It was likely that they would be seeking a brand new campaign strategy for the company and usually this meant a long day.

As it turned out, most of the prognosticators were dead wrong.  There was a new direction to be take for sure, but essentially the advertisers were given a couple of ideas to ruminate upon and they would present their findings in a couple of weeks time.  This was how confident that Ms. Jennings was in the abilities of Jeff Perkins and his crack team of associates at the firm.

Leaving with a handshake and a smile, Ms. Jennings and her entourage made their way out to the two extended vans that had transported them to this location.  She thanked Mr. Perkins for his time and efforts and was looking forward to what they came up with for the new advertising slogan.

For the most part, this was the normal daily routine at the agency, with meetings held in the expansive conference room that could easily accommodate gatherings of 35 people without too much trouble.  Account executives also made trips to various client locales as well, but if anything major was brewing with one of their customers, it would typically take place within the friendly confines of Wright-Staples.

Mr. Perkins was especially happy that he hadn’t needed Victoria’s special skills today.  She had such a way with clients that he had started to mentally refer to her as his “special troubleshooter.”  Nobody else had the special combination of talent that could effectively diffuse a situation as quickly as she could.  He planned to give her a call at home later in the afternoon to see how things were going.

Ashley found herself playing “Queen Bee” for the day without her associate being present.  She relished all of the attention that was lavished upon her, but wondered why Victoria hadn’t been at work since these two clients were typically a part of her team.  Mr. Perkins had simply stated that she was taking a couple of days off and had left it at that.

Still she did appreciate the chance to show off her skills and since both of the conferences had gone extremely well, this had to count as a positive mark in her ledger.  The boss always said that the client knows best and due to the fact that each group had left with a smile, it was logical to assume that there was satisfaction with the plans that were presented.

It wouldn’t be long before she would be promoted to one of the larger offices on the top floor.  Probably another one or two years at the outset, and a new place complete with a private bathroom would be made available.  They usually came complete with a title on the door and a company car as well. Since Mr. Perkins valued good employees, he typically took extra special care to make sure they felt wanted.

At 5:30 pm, the phone rang at Victoria’s house.  Checking the caller id she saw that it was Wright-Staples calling.  Picking up the phone she was happy to hear Mr. Perkins on the other end.  After assuring him that everything was fine, she informed him of her intention to be back at work the next day.  His tone immediately brightened and she could sense a lifting of spirits upon hearing this news.  After thanking him for calling, Victoria gently placed the handset back on the receiver and thought about what to make for dinner tonight.

She really had a  taste for pizza and one of the local establishments had really made a name for themselves with a thick crust pie that came straight from an old style brick oven model that was modeled after those used for hundreds of years in Italy.  The only question was whether to order in or pick one up.  Victoria decided upon the latter and drove the six minutes to the pizzeria to place her order.

It was there that she spotted a new pizza chef.  He was tall with dark curly hair that framed his tanned face which sat upon an athlete’s lean frame.  She was somewhat startled at the deviation from the usual sights here and could barely get her order out to the counter person.  The clerk told her that it would be ready in 20 minutes, so she decided to visit the market next door to pick up a salad to go along with a cold beverage.

She mentally thanked herself for making this trip instead of getting one delivered.  It was also necessary to play it cool and not act too over anxious.  But this new guy certainly had done something to her mind as she couldn’t stop thinking about him and how he looked in his tight t-shirt.  This was almost too much for her to bear and she couldn’t focus on the task at hand.

Being a creature of habit, the people at the market had seen Victoria on numerous occasions and they had been able to strike up a conversation with her at times.  The produce manager noticed that she seemed distracted and asked if he could help her with something.  That seemed to be all she needed to snap out of her funk, but she replied that it was something to go with a pizza that she needed right now.  Upon hearing this he found her a nice antipasto for one that would compliment her deep dish nicely.

With a nice bottle of wine and the antipasto, she headed straight for the cashier to pay for her purchases and head back to the pizzeria for her main dish.  To her dismay, the tall stranger was gone from view.  Since her order was ready, she paid for the pizza and headed for her car.

All the way home, Victoria couldn’t get the pizza man out of her mind.  Was he a new employee?  Where did he come from?  Where did he go?  She was quite curious, but didn’t want to appear too eager.  There had to be a way to find out some more information, but it would have to wait for another day.

Upon arrival at home, she carefully removed the cover on the box and looked for a bottle opener. After searching several drawers, the special apparatus that she had gotten for a Christmas present last year was located.  Victoria slowly removed the cork to let the wine breathe and got a dish for her meal.

This was the first time that she had felt relaxed in a long time and it felt good to just unwind, even though there had been no “work” today.  The pizza was even better than she remembered and now it seemed doubly so since her “mystery man” brought back fond memories of this place.

Shortly it was time for rest and Victoria afforded herself the opportunity to turn in early so she would feel extra refreshed for tomorrow.  No sooner had her head hit the pillow than she was fast asleep.  It had been a great day…

Chapter 4

Victoria awoke completely renewed.  Having two days off had really done the trick.  She couldn’t remember when she had felt this good in a long time.  Although it wasn’t a vacation per se, just the brief respite from the normal routine was enough to give her a new perspective and this typically made for a productive employee.

The drive in was uneventful, and she smoothly pulled her car into the assigned space and made her way up the steps to the large double glass front doors.  After a brief chat with the receptionist, she gathered her correspondence and headed for the stairs.  It seemed a good time to get a little extra exercise since most of the day was spent sitting and planning.

There was nobody on the stairs (big surprise she thought to herself), so the couple of flights went quickly.  After firing up her computer, she quickly scanned the inbox to see if anything important was waiting to be completed.  With that out of the way, it was now time to grab a quick cup of java and settle in for another day at the office.

On the agenda for the day was one of the few offsite meetings.  Because of their marvelous facilities, Wright-Staples rarely had to go to another office.  But this was a special client, one of the oldest ones to engage the firm for business.  This was one of the main reasons that Mr. Perkins bent over backwards to keep them happy.  It wasn’t a huge deal since most of the previous meetings were always very cordial.

Victoria knew that the core business unit would be attending and she hurried over to see if Ashley had everything ready to go.  Standard protocol for any group that left the office dictated that the associate not in charge took care of any minor details.  Not wanting to leave any minor item to chance, she considered this a prudent practice for any conferences that would be held offsite.

Ashley was not in her office, so Victoria decided to double check the agenda again to see if there was anything else that she could do at this point.  Nothing jumped out at her from the page, so most likely it was a moot point.  However, she was determined to make one final attempt before leaving because it was her very nature to always be prepared for every possible eventuality.

Upon returning to her office, she was surprised to find her message light blinking.  It turned out to be Mr. Perkins who just wanted to check in and see how her day was going.  She quickly returned his call, assuring him that she was well rested and ready to take on the day.  This indeed was good news to his ears as he considered Victoria one of his most valuable assets.

While she knew that Mr. Perkins thought highly of her work, Victoria really had no idea of the tremendous impact that she had on the entire firm.  In fact, her personnel file was overflowing with letters of recommendations from clients who were very grateful of the work that she had performed on their behalf.  It was this kind of employee that every boss dreamed about.

Unbeknownst to her, Mr. Perkins was seriously considering making her a senior associate before the year was over.  It was only a short jump from there to becoming a full partner in the firm.  He was very concerned about anything that could jeopardize this status and that is why the mystery package was so unsettling even though he never overtly showed any real emotion other than concern.

Now that she had touched base with her boss, Victoria looked at her watch and thought it would be a good time to check back with Ashley before getting everything ready.

The two young women actually hit it off quite well or so Victoria thought.  In actuality although each of them was well thought of by the boss, Ashley still had an inferiority complex of sorts that was exacerbated by the clients fawning all over her colleague.  This was the major reason that she had secretly enjoyed the fact that Victoria had spent the past few days at home.  Being the lone female at the meetings was not uncomfortable in the least.  The extra attention was indeed flattering though, and it did not hurt her performance at all.

Ashley was in her office and indicated that she had everything under control.  They had decided to use a double team strategy, each presenting a part of the proposal for maximum effectiveness.  While one of them was the better orator, the other had a better handle on spur of the moment questions.  In the past, this had proven to be a great way of handling even the most difficult of hardened businessmen.

With that out of the way, it was time to visit the ladies room for a quick check of her makeup and then it was time to go.  The 3 member group composed of Victoria, Ashley and a recorder made their way down to the lobby and were stopped by Mr. Perkins who wished them well before the departure.  He wanted to make sure that they understood the importance of this meeting and why they were traveling to the site instead of having the conference here.

It was just like Jeff to pay attention to the smallest details.  Even though it was his firm, he didn’t like to leave too much to chance, preferring to attend to matters personally rather than leave it so a subordinate.  Due to the fact that this was one of his oldest clients, he shrewdly calculated that sending one of his best teams made smart business sense.

As they made their way down to one of the transportation vans, Victoria noticed that the landscaping had been altered recently.  The large bushes that had been planted so prominently close to the walkway had been now trimmed back significantly.  She wondered what the change was for, but quickly dismissed it and focused on the upcoming meeting.

Bruno their driver was waiting with the engine running and since it was a nice morning, there was no need to have either the air conditioning or heater running.  The cabin was actually a comfortable 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and the 3 passengers buckled themselves in for the leisurely 25 minute drive.

Upon arriving, they disembarked at the main lobby, with instructions to the driver to return in 3 hours.  Although the meeting was essentially cut and dry, enough time had to be allowed in case there were any follow up questions that needed to be addressed.

Mr. Gables, the CEO and chairman of the board was in t he lobby to greet them.  Like Mr. Perkins, he believed in the old fashioned way of doing business – a smile and a handshake were his main tools of the trade.  The ability to look somebody in the eye and make a snap judgment were skills that the younger generation were rapidly losing with the email and phone call way of getting an idea across.

He thanked all 3 members of the Wright-Staples group for coming and ushered them to his office on the 4th floor.  It was there that his personal secretary made sure that any additional preparations were taken care of promptly.

Once all of this was out of the way, Mr. Gables explained what he was seeking for the new product launch.  Although he was in his mid 60’s, you couldn’t tell by looking at the man.  With a trim waistline and linebacker’s shoulders, it was easy to see why he was a two time all American at Eastern.  This also belied the easy style that marked all of his dealings.  Not many people came away from one of his meetings wondering about any point of substance.

No this was a man who knew what he wanted, and better yet, still had his pulse on what consumers were seeking.  It amazed both young women that he could send a text message so quickly, but preferred to meet in person.  That latter detail only served to emphasize how truly gracious he was to everybody he came into contact with in the business world.

The new campaign was going to be built around one of their oldest products.  It had stalled recently in popularity due to importers who were flooding the market with cheaper imitations that were guaranteed to do the same thing.  A recent market study revealed that this was not exactly true.  In point of fact, a recall had been issued for the product and many customers were unhappy with their purchase.

Mr. Gables wanted to promote his product while not defaming his competitors. Unlike many others in this industry, he did not like the value of negative publicity.  It was an easy way to shoot holes in one’s competition, but this kind of muckraking was best left to the political arena since he had no real use for it.

He spent about 45 minutes going over his plan in detail and what exactly he was looking for in a new promotion.  With the framework already laid out, both Ashley and Victoria knew that their job had been made a lot easier and both of them were mentally composing a few different ways to enhance Mr. Gables’ plan.

They broke for coffee at this point, taking time to relax and savor the delicious home brew that this company favored.  It was delicious both of the young women thought and would make a wonderful addition to the selection at the home office.

After comparing notes, both of them delightedly discovered that they were thinking the exact same thing.  Mr. Gables listened intently as they pored over a new plan, including the traditional media outlets:  newspapers, radio, television and billboards, and combined them with the new media of the younger generation.

Because more and more people were getting their news on their computer, this logically had to be addressed as well.  The best part was that it could be done virally; that is get a few people to start and the rest would snowball from there.  Of course this meant social networking since this was the preferred method for the younger set.

Ashley laid out the groundwork, indicating how cost and speed were likely to get them a big push in getting the word out.  Unlike traditional news sources, the Internet has no set timetable and only needs one spark to get a story going.  This seemed to suit Mr. Gable just fine and they spent the remaining time going over some of the finer points before he was satisfied.

They wrapped up the meeting right on schedule and were escorted to the front lobby by the boss himself as that was his custom.  Ashley promised to relay warm greetings to Mr. Perkins as they made their way out the front door to where the van was parked outside.

The ride home was completely uneventful except for one small item.  While stopped at a traffic light, Victoria turned briefly to look out her window and she noticed a small construction crew working on a beautification project.  This would have normally been completely uneventful except for the tall man wielding a shovel.  He was a dead ringer for her mystery man!  However, the chances of that were almost nil Victoria thought, although she experienced a sudden palpitation of her heart at the site of the tall, dark handsome stranger.

These kinds of random events were seemingly so innocuous as to not make any sense at all.  The odds of seeing the same guy at two distinctly different places in such a short time frame were astronomical.  She didn’t let on about the sighting since nobody in the van knew about her secret.  Once her heart had stopped racing, Victoria allowed her rational side to take over and tried instead to focus on the rest of her day.

Over at Robert Majors, Davis Knowles was just returning from another business luncheon.  Although he had a knack for anticipating exactly what the client needed, his boss still felt he needed observation.  There was something that he couldn’t quite place his finger on, but Mr. Majors himself had been tipped off as to a few situations that had somewhat of a questionable nature to them.

On the one hand, Knowles got the job done and usually on time and under budget.  This would seem to be the type of employee that every firm is in dire need of, but unless his fascination with women was curbed, he may possibly be in line for a major lawsuit – something that the company didn’t need at this point in time.  While nothing major had happened yet, all it took was one irate female to fabricate some kind of story and a bunch of others would come out of the woodwork to pile on.

Stanley Majors was certainly not one to take sexual harassment complaints lightly and although there hadn’t been anything filed against his business; this new era of doing business required everything to be above board.  Davis certainly knew how to effectively flirt, but it could be construed as something more depending on who was the recipient.

It was for the latter reason that Mr. Majors had his personnel director keep a close watch on this junior executive.  In order to effectively balance out work and fun, there had to be a clear line that should never be crossed.  All employees were given training upon orientation and it was updated in a seminar that was also given out once per calendar year.

While most employees took this very seriously, young Mr. Knowles apparently thought that he was above board.  This could prove to be very disconcerting as he was a valued member of the team.  But rules were rules, and they applied to everybody from the most senior level executive to the lowest intern.  It was the only way to effectively run a company and all staff members were aware of the policies that were in place.  Although there hadn’t been anything formal against Davis yet, Stanley was determined to keep a close eye on him.

Davis couldn’t see what the big deal was.  A few harmless comments here and there, mostly flattering he thought to some women that he found highly desirable.  After all didn’t everybody like to be thought highly of right?  Mr. Majors was becoming something of a pain in the posterior with his constant counseling.  Didn’t he know that business in the modern day and age required some give and take?

It was here that Knowles made his biggest mistake.  Mr. Majors thought highly of each employee.  He did a thorough background check before they were hired and would stick his neck out for the staff.  However, he was constantly updating his information, including current business practices and social interaction.

In addition, the personnel staff attended seminars on these topics to make sure that the entire company would always be up to date on what is cutting edge in almost any facet of the industry.

Rules were rules and if a line were crossed, there was no turning back.  Since education was paramount to the success of any firm, Stanley took great expense to making sure that his group would be ready for any type of situation that they encountered.  Davis was fool if he didn’t recognize the type of commitment that the boss made to the enterprise.

Mr. Perkins had long been an admirer of Robert Majors and the way that they handled business.  This was one of the reasons that they had been clients for a long time.  He knew most of the salespeople by first name and each of them was held in fairly high regard.  Being a trusting individual, you really had to do something drastic to get on his bad side.

Jeff had heard rumblings about Davis Knowles via the grapevine and while nothing had been proven, he was seemingly getting too close to the invisible line that should never be crossed.  Having contacted Stanley directly, Jeff was trying to confirm some of the rumors that were spreading in their business circles regarding his employee.

After being assured that he would keep a lid on the situation, Stanley made plans to try and make sure that this potential powder keg would be contained and not blow up in his face.

Just when it seemed that everything was back on track, something this damaging could put a serious crimp in the future plans of the company.  Although it would not be the first time that he had been sued, most of the others were on behalf of disgruntled clients who were seeking consulting services for free.  No, a sexual harassment lawsuit was definitely something new and would undoubtedly leave a black mark on the firm.

Ken Gartner was still investigating how a package of this sort could have wound up at a secure facility such as Wright-Staples without anyone noticing.  Despite all of his years as a detective, there was still no logical explanation as to who left it or how it had gotten there.

The box had no discernable information, and there were obviously no prints either.  Short of sweeping for leftover DNA, there was nothing that he could do at this point.  Mr. Perkins had contacted him specifically about this matter because he had known him for many years and was a trusted ally.    Still, Ken felt bad that he couldn’t provide more information on this matter.

What was really odd was the note that was left inside.  If it had been an old boyfriend or even somebody playing a joke, there would have been a clue there.  Who would write one single line and then sign it with initials?  Was this supposed to be some kind of a game?  These were all valid questions that he was determined to find out.  This investigation would probably take a different tact as more information was discovered.

At this point, there was almost nothing he could do but sit and wait.  All of the staff had been interviewed, and none of them could provide any more insight as to what had taken place.  This even included the maintenance and after hours people who took care of some of the landscaping details.  There had been no scheduled deliveries and even the log book didn’t reveal any new visitors.

Mr. Gartner had sold Jeff on the idea that maybe a few small cameras could be mounted for surveillance purposes on the property.  They could be easily monitored from the front desk and wired to a hard drive in a back room for recording.  This seemed to make sense as all employees and deliveries had to pass this spot, so they could be easily seen entering or leaving the premises.

The installation was done after hours and all that remained was to check out the vantage point to make sure that it covered all angles.  There appeared to be one dead spot and that it why it was necessary to remove a portion of the shrubs that bordered the walkway.  This proved to be the perfect solution as there was now a clear, panoramic view of the entire area.

Monitoring was also automatic as the built in sensors automatically swung the camera into position whenever there was movement.  Recording was also easy enough to maintain as the system simply put the images on a hard drive along with a time stamp.  It then indicated when it was time for a back up as storage capacity was getting low.

Mr. Perkins only made the installation of the security system known to two other people:  his human resources chief and of course Mr. Gartner.  The latter was his semi-official head of security and was being paid on retainer for consultancy.  Without any major threats, it didn’t seem prudent to hire a full time officer to have on staff.

The policeman had a spotless record with a fine standing in the community.  He didn’t mind helping out Mr. Perkins on t his matter even though the stipend was not large.  In the end he smartly calculated that it may bring in a full time income when he retired in about 3 years.  Since businessmen regularly communicated certain aspects of their enterprise, being able to provide security for a great many of the local agencies would be an additional means of support along with his police pension.

Ken had installed a slightly above average unit cost wise, but he had gotten positive reviews from some of his colleagues who had previously retired.  Constant monitoring wasn’t necessary as most of the functions were built in.  As long as the data was backed up to the proper storage media, it was almost automatic.  Because this duty only had to be done once a month, Mr. Perkins quickly accepted his friend findings and elected to choose this model for installation.

The installers were very professional and had gotten the job done over a single weekend when none of the employees were around.  Running the cables and placing the cameras in places that were unobtrusive proved to be a simple task for the trained employees of this firm.  After a couple of trials runs, it was determined that some of the shrubs needed to be trimmed back in order to provide a clear 360 degree field of vision.  The monitor could display anybody who entered the grounds, from the parking lot all the way to the front door.

Mr. Perkins knew that he probably needed to beef up security when his business started to pick up, but the strange package that had been delivered to Victoria was just the impetus that he needed in order to get the process started.  Now that it was in, he rightly calculated that in order to try and determine the perpetrator, it was best that the employees didn’t know about the extra precautions that had been taken.

In order for any plan to foil a criminal, the success rate depended largely upon the number of people that were in the know.  Since secrets largely couldn’t be kept by 99% of the population, it didn’t make sense to give away the strategy to too many of the employee lest the word got out.

For the most part, the general populace is too busy in their own lives to notice any small changes in their environment.  This small fact was what Mr. Perkins was counting on when he made the adjustments to the hedges.  There wasn’t any discernible difference even to those that made the trek every day.  He hadn’t counted on Victoria to espy that the surroundings had been changed, but since part of her “magic” was to make note of items and put them in their proper place.

Of course the new technology had been installed to not only protect all of the employees, but specifically for his young associate.  Jeff had big plans for Victoria, but had been bringing her along slowly, with increasing levels of responsibility that had proven to be the proper tact.  She had shown the type of aptitude for the position, and was rapidly coming of age as far as reaching the highest levels of this profession.

Fortunately for Mr. Perkins, Victoria had noticed the change in the plantings, but she hadn’t said anything, chalking it up to the regular maintenance schedule that her boss liked to keep.  Most of the time, there were additional annuals that had to be planted in order to beautify the grounds.  It was necessary to provide a good impression to potential and existing clients and the new blossoms did smell nice as well.

Many companies did not think that this small touch was necessary and actually suffered in comparison with Wright-Staples.  The little touches affected clients the most and Jeff had realized this early on in his career.  He made mental notes of the places that he visited while in sales and rightly figured that it was attention to details such as this that helped separate the big winners from the rest of the pack.

Davis Knowles was rapidly becoming known in the industry for two things:  getting the project finished on time and borderline sexual harassment.  He was a very handsome man, tall and articulate; the kind of guy that made women swoon when he was in their presence.  Actually, this wasn’t the biggest issue. The big problem was his vanity, since he knew the effect that he had on the ladies and played this to the hilt.

It worked to his advantage on many occasions since invariably there were some females on the other side of the table.  He knew how to effectively flirt with the negotiation team, sometimes overtly, but always with a subtle undertone.  Davis was a smart negotiator though, and was usually pretty astute as to when the point of no return had been reached.  His keen sense of business and knowledge of the distaff side allowed for various openings that would not have been normally possible.

One nut that he just couldn’t crack was Victoria Masterson.  She was very attractive and took compliments in stride.  While most women enjoyed the attention (such as her associate Ashley), there was something different about this woman.  The problem was that he just couldn’t put his finger on it.  She was very difficult to read, seemingly only cared about the job, and put on a positive front to the rest of the people at the table.

Usually Davis could find a weak spot to exploit, and that was how he made his money.  Unfortunately for him, Victoria appeared to see through his bravado and wasn’t interested in anything more than completing the negotiations.  He had made it a point in the past to loiter just to talk with her following a difficult meeting.  Although it had gone well, he couldn’t find a middle ground where they had something in common.

He had prided himself on his many conquests, but these were mostly inexperienced professionals or sometimes interns who wrongly figured that he could advance their career.  Of course all of this was above board as he didn’t want any criminal charges brought against him for unwilling participants.  Typically showing some attention to these ladies was enough to get the ball rolling and then he was able to extract a bit of information for a conversation to start.

Davis knew that once a conversation started, he could manipulate the young woman any way that he pleased.  It was a matter of pride with him and this type of simple strategy was good enough to land almost any junior associate that he wanted.   He hadn’t tried it on anybody closer to his own age because frankly he wasn’t interested.  That is until he had made the acquaintance of Victoria Masterson.

She had gracefully walked into that first meeting like something out of a dream.  Long auburn hair flowing down her back, smart light blue business suit with matching pumps and a smart attaché bag in her right hand allowed her to stand out from the immediate group.   Without saying anything, Davis was immediately captivated by her beauty and knew that he must have her.

That was what made her so darn frustrating.  She was very warm and charming in the meeting, and had a wonderful sense of humor about her.  This made for delightful negotiations since there was a light sense of ambience surrounding the gathering rather than the stuffy air that typically came with this kind of business event.

Victoria prided herself on both her appearance and the ability to be disarming to even the haughtiest of executives.  She had the kind of personal magnetism that is talked about but rarely seen.  People just naturally seemed to gravitate to her, no matter what age group that they happened to be in.  Of course, this was an advantage in any meeting as it was a lot easier to deal with people who were reasonable and able to see both sides of an issue.

Most of the time, she recognized trouble when she saw it.  After the first meeting, though, there was something about Davis Knowles that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.  He was definitely charming and handsome, while also knowing the stipulations that were to be hammered out on the day’s docket.  It was not often that she had come across both of these ideals in the same man.

He definitely seemed interested in her and she didn’t initially show any kind of real response, instead waiting to see how he would react to non-attention.  Victoria was seeking a real gentleman before entering another relationship as she had been burned in the past by men who weren’t totally honest.  One of them had been a stalker who didn’t take no for an answer.  This had taken a tragic turn a few years back when the man was hit by a bus while crossing the street.

Her life was full at the present, but she still longed for a man who would treat her right and make her feel like a lady.  As of yet, she was still searching for Mr. Right and there didn’t appear to be too many prospect on the horizon.  This Davis fellow did have potential though and she would be patient to see if his intentions were real or whether he was another dime a dozen guys that only wanted one thing out of a relationship.  If only she had talked to her boss, the matter would have ended a whole lot quicker…

Chapter 5

Victoria loved her job at Wright-Staples. Mr. Perkins gave her enough leeway to do what she needed to do, but still provided enough insight to progress her career effectively.  She felt that she could talk to him about almost anything business wise and often times would bend his ear if something came up that she didn’t feel right about.

This actually lead to some great exchange between two distinctly different generations of business people.  Victoria had some fresh insight as to how people were communicating these days and new techniques were always helpful to grow the business.  Jeff on the other hand was old school in the fact that he could read people quite easily.  This was something he was training Victoria in and it proved to be very effective based upon the feedback that he was receiving from clients that she had dealt with over the past year.

The only person that she couldn’t get a proper read on was Davis Knowles.  She was charming, enthusiastic and quite knowledgeable when it came to discussing business matters. He had started innocently flirting with her, teasing about how short her meeting were and wondering what the rush was all about.  She responded in kind by stating that it was all about keeping on task and knowing what the client wanted.

This was actually an effective give and take that allowed both participants to understand what the other was all about.  She noticed that he did loiter after meetings in order to make small talk and she wondered what all of this extra attention was leading up to in the future.  Secretly, like all women of this age, she wanted to find her prince charming:  tall, dashing and handsome.  A man who could sweep her off her feet was the idyllic imagery that often pervaded her thoughts.

The critical thing was the spiritual connection.  While there had been a number of men who passed the physical attraction test, the chemistry just wasn’t right.  Victoria knew exactly what she wanted and until she was satisfied, there would be no settling for something less.  Davis Knowles did possess a certain je ne sais qua, but this wasn’t enough to make up her mind completely.  He would have to be observed in different situations to find out what kind of temperament he possessed as well.

A gentleman would inherently know how to behave in a difficult scenario which would separate him quickly from the kind of louts who pretended to be something that they were not.  It was the easiest possible way to tell the wheat from the chaff so to speak.

Back at the police station, Ken Gartner had been going over some of the facts from the Wright-Staples mystery and still couldn’t figure out how somebody could have slipped a package into the building without being seen.  He was confident now that the new equipment that had been installed would prevent this type of mishap in the future.

It had to be an inside job he figured since nobody else had been seen coming or going and all of the deliveries had been logged into the company ledger.  Since there were not a lot of employees on staff, this should be a relatively quick investigation he reasoned.  One by one, he would examine their personnel files at the request of Mr. Perkins who didn’t want one of his most valuable assets to be spooked.

Once enough potential suspects had been eliminated, Mr. Gartner would narrow his search by doing a more thorough background check to see who had red flags that might have been missed by the companies hiring process.  Typically the perpetrator would give himself/herself away when it came down to crunch time and that is what he was counting on.

He had made Mr. Perkins aware of his every move throughout the case so far and this was one of the selling points for the new monitoring system for the grounds.  If all precautions had been taken and still a package slipped through the cracks, upgrades were obviously necessary in order to keep the staff secure.

Ken knew that he must delve deeper into the backgrounds of some key employees, save for Mr. Perkins who was of course above suspicion.  He had also narrowed down his search to only those people who worked for Jeff or had frequent dealings with the company.  The lesser clientele who entered the building didn’t have access to any of the upper floors, so they too were ruled out as suspects.

Actually, when it came right down to it, nobody could be charged with anything more than trespassing.  The package only contained a note and even this was not overtly threatening.  In its simplicity, this kind of mental warfare was meant to intimidate the victim and sometimes make one paranoid.  The fear created can make individuals do strange things.  He had seen this with his own eyes over the years.

No, there had to be something deeper in this mystery.  A secret admirer perhaps?  While plausible, it didn’t make much sense to him.  There had been no follow up of the usual kind (i.e. candy, flowers, phone calls etc.), so Ken essentially ruled out this kind of activity and decided to concentrate on a more serious line of tact.  This was probably the work of some nut job who couldn’t bring himself to talk with Ms. Masterson.  He had definitely seen this kind before, and was now more determined than ever to find this person before something serious happened.

Fortunately, there hadn’t been any more activity since the security system had been implemented.  The plus was that all of the bugs could be worked out before anything of consequence had occurred.  Mr. Gartner was confident in his choice however, so the real focus was turned to the employees and their backgrounds.  He was sure that there was a clue there to be found and it was now just a matter of sifting through the pile until it jumped out at him.

Ashley had noticed the way Davis Knowles often looked at Victoria and she too was smitten by this man.  His dark good looks and confident demeanor had pervaded her very being.  This was no ordinary executive – he had been sent down from Mt. Olympus in a flaming chariot!  But she didn’t have a snowballs’ chance as long as her associate was in the way.

As much as Ashley tried, she couldn’t seem to find a way to attract Knowles attention.  Subtlety hadn’t worked and even phone calls to his office for seemingly unimportant items had left her wanting.  She knew however, that Mr. Perkins didn’t like the idea of inter-office romances, so overt flirting with the man was certainly out of the question.  That is unless she didn’t care about her job.

Probably the most annoying thing about the whole matter was that Victoria didn’t really seem to care.  It was obvious that Davis had a thing for her, but he appeared to be doing all of the work since none of his offerings had been met with even the slightest bit of reciprocity.

What did he see in her Ashley thought to herself; I have the exact same job and am certainly not dog food.  Many of her male clients took turns fawning over her.  This kind of attention was flattering, but she had soon found it to be old hat.  The thrill was in the chase so it had been said.  That is why Davis Knowles was a prize that she was determined to win for herself.

Maybe if Victoria was out of the way, he would turn his attention to her and she could have him as her new beau.  The only question was what to do about her associate.  Various plans quickly raced through her head from the sublime to the absolutely ridiculous.  Killing her was completely out of the question and framing her for something was an idea that probably wouldn’t fly either.  No, it had to be something a little more subtle than that.  She would need time to think up something clever…

Mr. Perkins was going over some of the data from last month when he heard his private line ring.  Picking up, he was pleased to hear Mr. Gartner’s voice.  It appeared that he was narrowing down the search for the perpetrator of the mysterious package and wanted to meet over lunch to go over some of the ideas that he had been formulating.

Jeff thought that this was a good idea and they agreed to meet at an outdoor café downtown; just 15 a minute ride for both of them.  They could easily hash out the details and decide on how to best proceed without alarming anybody at the firm.  After hanging up, he made a note in his planner and told his secretary about the change in schedule for today.   With that out of the way, Jeff decided to take a walk through the building as was his custom to get a vibe about how things were going.

Not all CEO’s made it a practice to take a hands off approach, but Jeff soon realized that he needed to loosely monitor his employees in order to get a better feel for what was happening in the day to day operations.  Typically he would saunter down the hall to the break room, picking up tidbits along the way.  It was really fascinating what people shared without realizing what they were saying.

An old professor had told him that “you learn by listening and you teach by talking. “  His wisdom held true even in the modern age of technology as people couldn’t hide how they were feeling inside and often made it easy to read what they were thinking as well.  Of course this was a skill that needed to be practiced, but Jeff had used it to hire the bulk of his employees, even sometimes going against the grain when the human resources people did not agree.

The latter situation was atypical, and Mr. Perkins prided himself on seeing past the interview as many candidates were good at putting on a dog and pony show but did not have a real grasp of the advertising business.  Other potential employees weren’t as good at expressing themselves, but had the inner drive necessary to succeed in this business.  These were the golden nuggets that he hoped to train his way and make them a part of the success currently being enjoyed at Wright-Staples.

Since he had hired all of the employees, Jeff found it odd that one of them could have perpetrated such a “prank” on one of his/her coworkers.  It just seemed impossible following the rigorous screening process that he and/or his agency could have missed something when evaluating an individual.  Well maybe Mr. Gartner would be able to dig up something that he had missed.  And it had been a couple of weeks anyway since this little incident had occurred and there had been nothing else of note, he was almost willing to forget about it and go on with business as usual.

However, that was not the person that he was and certainly did not wish to put one of his employees in harm’s way.  By not following up with each and every possible lead, there existed the chance that a small problem could become a big one.  No, Jeff decided, he wanted to find out who was behind this game and see to it that an incident like this was unlikely to happen again.

It was at that point in time that Jeff decided to go one step further and get a hold of his cousin who lived in a nearby metropolis.  This particular relative worked for one of the best private security firms and was in the business of doing private investigation work also.  Although Ken was on the case, it certainly didn’t hurt to have an outsider who was truly unbiased since he was unfamiliar with any of the people and events involved.

Fortunately for Mr. Perkins, there was an offsite meeting scheduled later on in the week where he could kill 2 birds with one stone and nobody would be the wiser.  It was not often that he himself took on negotiations, but in this case, an affluent executive wanted to see him personally; in effect to size the man up in person.  That was okay with Jeff since he had taken dozens of these meets over the years and preferred meeting in person anyway.

Following his stroll around the company, he arrived back in the main office and made another entry in his personal ledger to call his cousin later on.  This particular communiqué wouldn’t be from the office as it was unofficial.  Nobody else would know about it so as to ensure that a leak was impossible. Hopefully, between the two investigating sources, something of value would turn up and things could get back to normal.

Victoria had finally gotten fully back into the swing of things back at the office.  She was determined to put the past behind her and get on with her work.  Although thoughts of the mysterious stranger still ran through her head, she knew that it was probably only folly.  Did she really want to date a pizza chef?  After all her college education had allowed her many different things – luxuries that wouldn’t have normally been afforded her.  It would be like going backwards, seeing a man who was very attractive but didn’t have the kind of intelligence that was also one of the criteria that she used to figure out if a guy was up to her standards.  It’s too bad she thought, because at that point she had experienced sweaty palms and heart palpitations, two physical symptoms that were highly irregular during her lifetime.  In fact, she could only recall two other instances where a man had caused her such an unintended response.

Due to the fact that these were things that couldn’t be controlled voluntarily, Victoria sensed that there was something more there than just physical attraction.  But since she had not seen this man in the meantime, it didn’t make sense to dwell on facts that she didn’t have any control over.  Besides, there was still Davis Knowles to consider.  While he hadn’t directly asked her out, he had been dropping hints which she pretended not to notice.  If he was really serious, the pursuit would continue and she could then make up her mind about this guy.

They had communicated by phone on a few items that needed clarification, but Victoria was trying to play it cool, not showing too much interest until she had figured out if this man was interested in her or was just trying to use her in order to serve his business interests. Time would surely tell whether or not he was serious or not.

The temp agency wondered what all of the fuss was all about.  They had a good record of placing people where they were needed most.  Even the bottom line had been in the black for quite a number of years.  This business about admitting a few people without the usual background check was puzzling to many of the employees.  However, the boss had said it was okay and to proceed with finding the new people work to do.

There was  a great deal of speculation among the associates as to why there was a priority placed on getting work for the new people and most of it centered on big bucks to the boss.  He must be taking some kind of kick back right?  The only other viable option seemed to be blackmail, so they were left wondering what kind of pictures were floating around.  This big guy seemed to go through jobs like water, never being in one place more than a day or two at a time.  He seemed competent and had a nice build too.  If it wasn’t for those thick coke bottle glasses and hat that he constantly wore, he could be considered attractive in many circles.

It wasn’t that any of the new folks were causing any trouble, but it just seemed so far out of the ordinary for most of the associates to essentially bring in a guy off of the streets and put him at the top of the list.  Sometimes this even involved some last minute calls to a business or “phoning in a favor” just to get a gig for the day.  What could be that important to place a few people?  If only they knew what their combined efforts were being used for, it would certainly clear up a lot of the mystery, but then what would there be to talk about?

Over at Robert Majors, CEO Stanley Majors was keeping his wary eye on his young salesman Davis Knowles.  The young man certainly had talent, but sometimes he was taking shortcuts that got the job done, but could prove to be troublesome in the long run.  They had made their reputation on being thorough, while still being able to complete a project on time and on budget.  Not all firms were of this caliber, so he was determined to keep all of their dealings above board.

It had come to his attention through various channels that Davis was somehow entangled with both of the young female associates at Wright-Staples.  While there was no physical evidence to support any allegations as of yet, he had to make sure that the young man didn’t cross any boundaries from which there would be no return.  In this new age of doing business, a sexual harassment lawsuit could do irreparable harm to his company and bring it to its knees very quickly.

Stanley preferred to do his dealings one on one if possible, so he kept a separate folder on young Mr. Knowles so as to not make any mistakes when the inevitable meeting took place.  He really hoped that it would not come down to a confrontation because there was only one direction that such a path could go and it was not a good one.  Typically, anything of this nature was first dealt with through the human resources department before it was moved upstairs.  That was because nobody was dumb enough to risk their job over a foolish affair.  Hopefully Davis knew the consequences of his actions and would recognize where the boundaries were laid out.

Davis to his credit knew that he was being watched, but he also had the reputation as the “golden child” among some of the older associates since it seemed that he was never in any kind of hot water despite his growing reputation.  He knew that his boss liked his work, but he also had a sense that there was something afoot.  This had lead him to pull back on the reins a bit, using less of his own personality and more common sense when closing a deal.

Ever since college, he had a way with the ladies, being able to recognize which ones were interested and making his play when the time was right.  His success rate was phenomenal, drawing envy from others who were in the same program.  This was often due to the fact that they attended the same functions and knew the same women.  If Davis decided a lady was to his liking, then typically the others didn’t stand a chance.

It wasn’t all about his looks however, for he had a certain bravado that combined sheer nerve with a disarming ability that made him irresistible to women.  They found themselves immediately talking incessantly in his company within 30 minutes of their first meeting.  Everybody else marveled at this fact, dumbfounded by how he was able to get even the most tight lipped person to instantly share personal details.

The real secret of Davis Knowles’s success was his personal magnetism.  This was an attribute that either you had or didn’t have and it is a quality that is only found in one person out of 100,000.  He also got the most out of this fact by knowing exactly what kind of opening line to use in any situation.  It was almost like reading off of a script for him it sounded so natural.

These kinds of qualities were a rare combination in one individual, and they were also what made him an excellent salesman.  While he related best to women, men also seemed to want to be his friend too.  So no matter who was across the negotiating table, there was sure to be a free exchange of ideas flowing rather rapidly whenever Davis was involved.

While he wasn’t in any hurry to settle down, Knowles was quite smitten by Victoria Masterson.  She was unlike any other woman he had ever met.  Nobody before had ever been able to resist him like she could and the thought of this made him want her more than ever.  He would pursue her to the ends of the earth if that is what it took to try and win her over.

Victoria on the other hand was not quite so enamored with Davis Knowles.  She did consider him quite handsome and he was definitely engaging with a dry, charming wit.  When negotiating, he seemed to know exactly what he wanted, and this made for a better flow to the meeting.  Usually all of the details then fell into place and they could leave early.  Of course, this made the entire group very happy – especially if it was one of the Friday afternoon kind.

There was just something about him that she just could not quite put her finger on.  On the exterior, he seemed to be the perfect business executive, knowing exactly what to say at the right time.  Always well prepared for a meeting, you never had to worry about what the other side needed to accomplish.  Almost all of the young women dreamed of being on his arm at least once.  That included the entire support staff at Wright-Staples who carefully primped when it was known he would be in the building.

Davis on the other hand had no trouble selecting who he wanted to be with at any particular time.  The women virtually threw themselves at him, pumping up his ego in the process.  Although he considered himself handsome enough, this only served to validate his convictions and make him believe that he could have any woman he wanted.

Victoria Masterson would be his next conquest he thought.  She would be unattainable to most men, but after all, he wasn’t most men now was he?  She had a certain elegance that went very well with her natural beauty and throw in the business acumen and that was truly a winning combination.  This was a rare combination, something that Davis had never been able to find up to this point in time.

He was dead set on making her his lady – even if it meant violating some of his basic tenets…

Ashley Harrington was one of the women who were angling for Davis Knowles affection.  She had always considered herself a touch better than the rest of the associates in the firm, an attitude that hadn’t won her many friends along the way.  Even the support staff had come to see her as sort of standoffish, leading to some wild speculation and conjecture among the water cooler crowd.

She had seen the natural attraction that Davis had for Victoria and knew that she stood in the way of any chance of having the dashing Mr. Knowles for herself.  Up to this point in time, Ashley hadn’t done anything too ridiculous, but love is a cruel mistress and feelings of the heart often caused rather absurd behavior even in the most cultured people of society.

It was important to show him that she was the one he sought, but in order to that, something had to be done about Victoria.  However, it couldn’t be something that would be so drastic as to cause debilitation, no there must be something more subtle in the works that would make this plan viable.  Psychological warfare was in order here as this course of action could be planned and implemented without fingers being pointed in her direction.

Now the plan would have to be subtle enough to work, but complicated to a certain degree so that there would always be an escape route if necessary.  It would definitely take time to think up and put a plan in motion.  But Ashley thought the time was right and the sooner the better.

Ken Gartner was still hard at work on the matter at Wright-Staples.  He mentally gave himself kudos for implementing the safety practices that were in place there, including having the employees notify the proper authorities when anything seemed out of order. This package business was certainly mysterious, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it sooner rather than later.

Jeff Perkins was an old friend after all and his firm had seen some tremendous growth over the past several years.  Most of this was due to the keen eye for talent that Jeff had and his ability to weed out the wrong type of personalities for the job.  Victoria Masterson seemed to be the apple of his friend’s eye as there was a great deal of consternation over this matter. However he had seen many cases of this type over the years and it wasn’t that unusual – usually somebody too shy to express his feelings up front.

For Victoria however, things weren’t so simple.  She was still putting on a good front at work, but things just couldn’t seem to get back to normal.  Most people would have been able to put the matter behind them, but she did tend to fret over the small stuff sometimes.  At least when her subconscious made the case for its importance.  She would be so glad when this thing was over and a regular routine could then be implemented.

For the most part, Ashley was a good co-worker, able to bend as the situation called for it, she handed most difficult situations with aplomb, which pleased Mr. Perkins to no end.  There seemed to be something troubling her associate that had Ashley puzzled however.  Victoria was a little bit off her game lately and while that given her more attention (and more of the spotlight), she was wondering how long her good fortune would last.  Mr. Perkins always seemed to favor Victoria no matter how hard that she tried.  Maybe this was her time to show him what she really could do if given the chance.  She was determined to put her best foot forward no matter what it took.

With all things suddenly going her way, it was easy to get greedy and want it all.  This is when even the best laid plans go awry.  But Ashley was determined to move ahead at the firm and show the boss that it was she who deserved more attention and responsibility.  The question was just how far she would go to achieve this goal.

Mr. Perkins was doing everything in his power to make his business run smoothly while still trying to sort out the mess with the package.  It was bad enough that one of his most valued associates was seemingly being targeted, but the entire affair wasn’t going away quietly.  Ken hadn’t made any significant progress in the investigation even though he had kept Jeff in the loop at every possible turn.  No, Mr. Perkins would keep adding money and resources until the situation was settled for good.  This could mean hiring some additional security people to follow up on some leads through channels that Mr. Gartner couldn’t/wouldn’t be able to use.  He made a mental note to call his friend to run some of these ideas past him to see what he thought.  In the meantime, he ran down the docket to see what was on the agenda for the day.

Jeff was a careful, yet thorough man and he was doing his level best to shelter Victoria from any more undue stress until he was sure that she could handle more work.  Ashley seemed to actually be thriving with more duties and he was glad to see that.  It was certainly nice to have two young associates that were willing to go the extra mile when necessary.  It reminded him of earlier years when he was the young trainee, determined to help his boss whenever he could.

Mr. Worth was a good man and had plucked Jeff right out of school.  It was a time when few firms were taking on any new employees, but he had seen something in the young man when others had missed it.  He didn’t have the prestigious college degree, and even though his grades had been good, they weren’t eye popping.  No it was his countenance that Mr. Worth favored above all else.  Jeff knew how to carry himself and related very well to people.  He could size them up with just a glance and make a judgment on whether or not an arrangement could be made without too much undue stress.

Jeff had risen quickly through the ranks at Mr. Worth’s company, mainly due to his straight arrow way of doing business.  He had saved his boss countless hours of headache and loads of money by his unique talents.  For this he was rewarded with the perks that go with being a successful businessman:  a company car, corner office, personal secretary and an expense account.  While all of these were nice amenities, Jeff really couldn’t have cared less.  If he could please himself and the boss was happy, that was all the mattered.

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy having a few things to make his life easier, but he was certainly not snobbish enough to rub anybody’s nose in it either.  On the contrary, if you met Jeff at a high level meeting, or even outside work, he acted as if you were his best friend that he hadn’t seen in a number of years.  And these weren’t false charms either, for he was as genuine as they come.

When he finally had accomplished everything he could under Mr. Worth, Jeff decided to strike out on his own.  He took everything that was good and implemented some of his own unique business traits into his own company.  Working for somebody else has its advantages, but when you own the firm, all of the weight is now on you.  Even the tiniest details are sweated by those people on top who want to remain there.  Good associates are hard to find and Jeff wanted to keep Victoria around at almost any cost.  He saw the same kind of principles in her that Mr. Worth saw in him so many years ago.

No, if some nut case was trying to sabotage his company and take his best employee, there would be hell to pay first…

Chapter 6

Victoria somehow knew that today would be a special day.  She awoke even before the alarm clock and turned the switch to off from automatic.  It was a glorious day and the sun was just starting to peak out from over the horizon.  Following a leisurely shower, she decided to splurge on some pancakes with fruit and whipped cream topping.  Flipping on the television, she lounged on the sofa and watched the early morning news show.  There seemed to be nothing of interest, so after viewing the weather report, it was time to get dressed for work.

Mentally reviewing her appointments, she knew that a few familiar clients would be coming in, but nobody new to the firm.  That would help to decide the mode of dress for this particular day.  Normally she took extra special time to impress a visitor who might be a new client, but today that wouldn’t be necessary she decided.  After selecting a most conservative tan skirt and jacket, she added a white blouse and a nice broach and earrings to complement the ensemble.

With a quick check of the mirror, she was off, locking and dead bolting the door behind her.  The car was left outside last night due to the milder temperatures that were becoming more common this time of year.  Getting behind the wheel, Victoria fastened her seat belt, adjusted the mirrors (as her father had instructed her so many years ago) and put her foot on the brake.  The engine purred to life and she slowly backed down the drive, looking both ways before pulling out onto the street that connected her driveway to the main road.

The ride to work was uneventful as usual and she enjoyed the compact disc of her favorite tunes that somebody had thoughtfully put together last Christmas.  It was becoming one of her favorite all time presents and helped to pass the time away rather pleasantly.

Pulling into the parking lot, she noticed that the landscapers had cut back a few more bushes (probably spring time pruning) over the last couple of days.  Gathering her valise, Victoria headed up the steps and through the double doors.  As was her custom, she was one of the first people in to work, generally beating even Mr. Perkins by about ten minutes.  The receptionist handed her a few items addressed to her attention and curtly nodded good morning.

It seemed like a good day to take the stairs as she was feeling mighty chipper, so a detour to the stair well was warranted on this day.  Opening the door to the main floor she was on her way to her office when she spotted something leaning up against her door.  Victoria’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the same kind of packaging as last time along with the identical address label.  Not wanting to touch anything, she decided to wait until Mr. Perkins arrived before making any kind of decision.

She made her way to the ladies room quickly in order to compose herself.  Her mind was racing now, a million thoughts pulsing through her mind.  “Who was doing this?”  “Why am I being targeted?”  “What kind of person would do this do me?”

Victoria waited patiently for Mr. Perkins to arrive at the office, her heart beating very rapidly as she pondered what might be in this newest package.  It seemed like it was taking her boss forever to get there even knowing it had only been approximately 5 minutes since she found the brown box laying against her office door.

She still did not understand why somebody was playing these kind of mind games with her and she didn't know quite what to do still at this point. However, there was no sense in getting all upset at this point she smartly calculated, it was probably better off to wait patiently and let cooler heads prevail. It didn't seem possible that it only been a couple of weeks since the last package had arrived since she had finally gotten back to her normal routine.  And now something like this happened again out of the blue.

She waited patiently in the office lobby for her boss to arrive.  Fortunately no other employees had come in to work as of yet as was typical as Victoria and Mr. Perkins were usually the two of the first on the scene. After an eternity, her boss finally pulled up and saw her sitting there with quite the worried look on her face. He immediately knew something was wrong and sat down beside his young associate. She immediately began weeping and trying to tell the story, but was completely incoherent and took at least 15 min. before Mr. Perkins could calm her down enough to figure out what was going wrong.

Victoria explained that she had arrived at the office as per usual when she noticed that again it was a brown package leaning up against her door. As per protocol, she had not even looked at the address label and had immediately withdrawn from the area. Mr. Perkins decided right then he needed to call his friend Detective Gartner. He led Victorian to the break room and he fixed her a cup of coffee and had her sit down to compose herself. At this point he didn't know whether to tell her to go home or have her stay on until they knew exactly what was going on with the package.

Detective Gartner picked up on the second ring and knew who was calling since he had caller ID and the phone rang before normal business hours had started. Only a few people had this number and all of them were close personal friends. When Ken saw whose number it was, he knew that this must be trouble for there is no reason for Jeff to be phoning at this hour. After a short conversation, they decided it was best to get some additional help before examining the contents of this latest package. Because it was early enough in the day there was no reason to evacuate employees.

Taking every precaution however, a black-and-white patrol car was dispatched to make sure that no employees entered the building until everything had been deemed safe. When Detective Gartner arrived, he had a few employees of the bomb squad in tow.  They carefully made their way up to Victoria's office and silently crept up on the box. The address was the exact same as the last one, with no return label and the standard brown paper wrapping. It was carefully examined and dusted for fingerprints but this proved fruitless.

Placing the box into their special container, it was taken from the building. The ordeal took approximately 45 min. by this time a small crowd of employees had begun to gather in the parking lot. What really got their attention was the black and white patrol car which had been stationed there to make sure that nobody entered the building. However since most people are by nature very curious there was lots of speculation regarding the reason that work had suddenly become off limits. It was not until Mr. Perkins made a public announcement that put everybody's mind at ease (sort of).

Of course just being able to enter the building did not end the conjecture or rumors as to why they had all been locked out this morning. Mr. Perkins had planned to address the entire staff but wanted to get a report back from Detective Gartner as to the contents of the mysterious package. He did not see any reason to alarm any of his staff unnecessarily.

By this time Victoria had composed herself sufficiently and she was able to communicate to her boss as to her state of mind. He gave her the choice of remaining at work or taking the rest of the day off since the docket was extremely light. Although initially she had want to flee the scene, it seemed to make more sense to remain and find out what Ken Gartner would report on the parcel left in front of her office. This may have been a case of curiosity getting the best of the cat, but Victoria knew that somehow she must face this and when.

Mr. Perkins promised to abide by her decision and was somewhat relieved that she was feeling better. He offered to take her upstairs, but she waved him away saying it was unnecessary. Victoria did not want the spotlight to be on her and knew that people would wonder why the boss needed to accompany her to her office. The trek seemed like it took forever, but in actuality was only one flight of stairs. She went to the office opened the door and sat down in her desk chair.  Maybe the day would be all right after all she thought silently to herself. If only she knew just how wrong that statement was...

When Ashley pulled up, the crowd was just beginning to disburse from the parking area. About 15 employees were filing in groups of two or three at a time, seemingly making small talk but with a puzzled look on their faces. She quickly pulled into her parking spot, gather her belongings and hurried to catch the last group to find out what was happening. Since nobody seemed to know except for Mr. Perkins, there wasn’t a whole lot of news to share. This made Ashley a bit agitated as she liked to know what was going on at the company. Some people thought this made her a bit of a gossip, but she really didn't care.

Ashley thought to herself it would all eventually come out, but she would like to find out sooner rather than later. Could this possibly involve Victoria she wondered? Her colleague had not been in the parking lot when she pulled up and either had Mr. Perkins leading her to believe that both somehow may have been involved in this intrigue. If so her master plan to win Davis Knowles for herself, may have just gotten a boost. Getting her associate out-of-the-way so as to get a better shot at the handsome young agent could only boost your career. At least that was what she thought. Little did Ashley know that several people were keeping close tabs on her, among them her boss Mr. Perkins and the head of personnel.

While Jeff favored hard-working, dedicated, get-the-job-done types of employees, he also despised office politics, pitting one person against another for personal gain. Although he had no solid proof, there was something about the way Ashley was behaving lately that made him wonder if there was some alternative motive in the works. Only time would tell…

The people at the temp agency were wondering why all the sudden they had to pull so many strings for one person. It seemed as if every day there was a different job. Although most of these assignments did not require a high level of education, it would not seem that anybody could actually do the work necessary to satisfactorily complete all of these jobs. Why then were most of the rules thrown out for this one guy? They had had to shoehorn him in at a pizza parlor, a road crew and a few separate instances as a courier. This was not normal and some of them were beginning to wonder why he rated such high privileges. If only they knew the whole story...

Detective Gartner was overseeing his crew as they brought the parcel back to their lab for analysis. They had already determined that it was safe to be moved, but wanted to examine the contents in a secure facility. Dusting for fingerprints and samples of DNA had proved fruitless. This guy was a professional Ken thought to himself. Neither this parcel nor the previous one had contained any real clues as to who he was or why he was doing this. The assumption was that the perpetrator was a man, however it was possible the net should be widened to include females as well. That just made good sense Ken thought, as he had seen many jilted lovers or love triangles go haywire in just the past five years.

After his team had examined the outside of the package they carefully unwrapped it, saving the paper just in case the sender had become careless and there might be a sample of DNA inside. Having previously tested the box for electronics and other harmful devices, it was deemed safe to open. However the team like to take every precaution just in case a new method had been devised that they were not aware of. The team leader carefully pried open the lid to find the box filled with tissue paper and a small note. There was nothing else inside.

The note was carefully extracted and placed on the examination table. It was then dusted for fingerprints and scrutinized thoroughly for any signs of DNA including hair, sweat and skin cells. The latter was a great identifier and could be matched against any of the normal police databases to see if this was a person with a criminal history or possibly one link to an ongoing case. A small vacuum was used on the note and the contents emptied into a small container. However the crew would disappoint again to find out that there is nothing of value.

Fine parchment paper made up this particular correspondence and it was short and to the point, reading only one short phrase: it's almost time! Ken felt chills run up his spine. He had seen many cases like this, and most of them had ended badly. He was starting to feel real concern for Ms. Masterson as it appeared she was becoming the target of a sick, twisted individual. Again it was his professional opinion that this man needed some help.

Detective Gartner was now pondering his next move and was determined to bring this person to justice. For this he would need additional assistance and that would be in the form of a profiler, someone who could get into the mind of this individual to see what made him tick.

Jeff Perkins waited patiently all morning for his phone to ring. He was becoming worried that it was becoming too complicated for even his experienced friend to handle. Finally, at a 11:45 he recognized the incoming call as being from his friend at the police station. A short conversation followed where Ken relayed the contents of the package, and stated the words on the note. He promised a black and white patrol car would be in the area most of the day in case any further disruption could possibly ensue.

Mr. Perkins thanked Ken for calling, and wondered if it would be advisable to hire a permanent security guard for his building. Detective Gartner advised him against it, saying it might throw the staff into an unnecessary panic, and this would surely disrupt the workflow for the next several days. No, it should be business as usual with a close watch on Victoria as she appeared to be the target of one serious nut case. And while Jeff did not necessarily agree with these recommendations, he decided to follow them for the time being.

After hanging up with his friend, Jeff phoned another old associate, a friend from his early days in the military when he was just a young man. If anybody could find out what was going on, this was the guy. He ran a very secretive intelligence gathering operation, kind of an underground facility very much out of the public eye. However, his small band of associates could find out things that most everyone else could not. That is what was really needed at this point in time. Mr. Perkins also sensed an abnormal amount of unrest amongst his employees he thought this might be a good time to address the situation.

At precisely 1 o'clock everyone gathered in the main conference room, Victoria included. There was a great deal of curiosity and speculation amongst the balance of the staff for there to be a black-and-white police car periodically cruising their parking area. This is quite uncommon for both the neighborhood and agency. Everybody wondered what was going on and without any definitive answers from the boss, rumors had run the gamut. Mr. Perkins intended to end all this nonsense once and for all. He had intended to handle almost everything internally even to the point of exclusion for his employees, but now he sensed that everything had to become public in order to clear the air.

Jeff talked for about 30 minutes, going into great detail about the need for a patrol car in the area, why new security measures had been put in place and the potential for an actual guard in the building. He also explained that this was caused by two separate incidents of a mysterious package being left after hours for one of the employees. As it was against policy to disclose anything of a personal nature regarding this incident, he conveniently left out the fact that it was Victoria was being targeted.

Mr. Perkins saw that this talk had a calming effect on the staff and he knew that going any further would probably jeopardize any chance they had at flushing out the perpetrator of these dastardly deeds. There had been a great deal of time and energy invested already into the investigation and between him, Mr. Gartner and the police force, an inside job had not been ruled out. So even though the staff knew the hows and whys they still had not been informed of who. If someone in the agency was trying to bring down his best associate or was helping someone outside of the firm Jeff wanted to catch them red-handed.

Victoria had attended the meeting, and she tried to act as surprised as everyone else when Mr. Perkins had announced what had happened.  She even went so far as to ask a few of the other associates if they knew anything else. This was playing it very close to the vest, and even Ashley who seem to be a harbinger of the office gossip didn't know anything. Victoria was determined to finish out the day at work, even though every fiber of her being said to run. She had reflected upon this thought and decided that if somebody was out to get her she was definitely safer at the office. Going home would only lead to more feelings of despair and the potential for irrational behavior.

No she had talked it out with Mr. Perkins who concurred with her decision. Since it was also extremely light day on the schedule she could concentrate on finishing up some paperwork, sending off some e-mails and finalizing a few points on a contract before sending it out for a signature. That would take up most of her afternoon since his it was already 2:30 PM.

Ashley sensed something was up even before the meeting had started. Although the milling about in the parking lot was a huge tipoff, there was also something in the air today. It was hard to put her finger on but the amount of electricity in the building was way higher than normal. She thought maybe their plan was working to get Victoria out of the way and have Davis Knowles all to herself, but this situation seem to be even greater than that. Her associate Victoria did not seem to be all that bothered as most of the others or was allegedly putting on a brave front. Still in all, actually knew that she would have to keep close tabs on everybody involved.

Kenneth Gartner was becoming extremely frustrated, he had never seen a case quite like this one in all his years of police work. Examination of both boxes had proved rather fruitless. Nobody was this good, there was always some small slipup that led to the capture and arrest of even the most clever criminal. But this guy was good! No DNA, a standard packing box you could buy at almost any department store or shipping outlet and parchment paper which was sold at no less than two dozen shops in the general metro area. What was really crazy he thought to himself what the lack of any evidence through the new video surveillance system that had been installed. This was supposed to ensure that nobody could enter the building without being observed, if parcels were being delivered they were totally unaccounted for by the staff.

This was one facet of the case that led him to believe it might be an inside job. There was just no way for anybody unless they knew the inner workings of the security system to be able to bypass all of the measures he had put into place. But why would anybody target an advertising junior executive? This did not make any sense, but he had seen far more heinous crimes committed for a lot less. Mr. Gartner was determined to bring this perpetrator to justice.

By the end of the business day everything had calmed down to the point where it was business as usual so to speak. Victoria completed all of her assignments and was packing up when the phone rang. She saw from the extension that it was Mr. Perkins, so she picked up the receiver to ascertain what her boss needed. Jeff asked her to stop up before she left for the day and she quickly agreed. Victoria finished up siding her desk and picked up her personal longings before heading up stairs to see her supervisor. She was wondering if there is something else to this affair or whether it was business-related.

To her surprise Mr. Perkins had Ken Gartner, a police officer and a man she had never met in the officed. They were all seated waiting for her arrival. Jeff motioned her in and waved to a nearby chair. This seemed out of character for her boss and Victoria was wondering what everyone was doing there. After a brief introductory session, the purpose of the meeting was quite clear. They were trying to find out if somebody was out to get her or possibly sabotage the company. While neither possibility could be conclusively ruled out, it made good sense to sort this mess out early, but they did not want her to feel as if she was being used simply as bait. Although this did not serve to calm her nerves, Victoria thought it made good sense. The meeting lasted for about 90 minutes. and wrapped up with assurances that everything was being done to make her feel safe.

After she had left, Mr. Perkins allowed the police officer to leave asking Mr. Gartner and the other gentlemen to remain for a few minutes. The patrolman simply gave a report as to the events of the day not noticing anything unusual or of the ordinary. He was simply there as a visible deterrent, but was not part of a permanent solution. The three gentlemen continued to discuss possible strategies and solutions for bringing this mess to an end. They all agreed that it simply could not continue otherwise more drastic measures would have to take place.

Victoria was being extra vigilant these days even on the way to her car from the office building. Even though she felt safe in this environment, it was wise use to use extra precaution when considering the events of the past few weeks. Upon reaching her automobile the hairs on the back of her neck felt a little prickly. This had always been a sign to her that something was amiss. She quickly looked around but did not see anybody in sight. Still this had always been a failsafe for her and was something that she never took for granted. It was going to be very eventful ride home.

Because she was not trained in police procedure, Victoria failed to notice a vehicle that was following her about five cars behind. He was careful not to speed up or slow down when she did, preferring to hang back and assess the situation from there. Although she was vigilant and a careful driver, there was no way for her to see the tail. It was a nondescript sedan, dark in color with license plates from a local car dealer. Unless you were very observant, there was no way to tell that the driver was doing anything but getting to his destination. However that was the very last thing on his mind.

Upon reaching her exit, Victoria signaled her intention of getting off the freeway, and eased off onto the exit ramp. The trailing car continued on the freeway and made his exit a few turns down the road. His surveillance was finished for today and he made the necessary notes for his boss, noting what time she left work, the route taken home, and the exit number on the freeway. These would all be compared to the past data in a composite drawn up. Everything was going to plan and his boss would be pleased with the work completed.

Victoria pulled into her driveway and noticed there was a spot on the cement. She had her car meticulously maintained at the local auto shop and knew that there were no fluids leaking from her automobile. This had to mean somebody was here earlier in the day. There were no flyers or packages left on her doorstep or in the storm door as per usual when visitors or parcel delivery companies made a stop there. She shrugged, figuring it could not have been anything too important, and made her way inside. Upon opening her door, she was left speechless at what she saw.

Mr. Perkins old friend ran an intelligence outfit so secretive that it didn't even have an acronym. These are the best of the best, all former military men and women who served with distinction. Only the best had a chance to interview here, and not everybody was accepted. The hours tended to be somewhat irregular, but the pay was outstanding – – approximately 10 times what they made while in the employ of Uncle Sam. While this made for a spectacular landing area, not all of the candidates work cut out for this kind of work.

" Mr. Smith" ran this operation in a military style; that is, everything went like clockwork. If an operative could not make or meet an assignment he/she was quickly evaluated and let go. There was no room for weakness as client’s paid top dollar for their services and expected results yesterday. The weak were weeded out quickly as there was no room for error at this place.

As a result the small cadre of employees prided themselves on the fact that jobs got done quickly and quietly. Gathering intelligence was not something that everybody was good at and these people were extremely cognizant of that fact.

The newest assignment involved of all things an advertising executive. She appeared to be the target of some psychopath who did not have a grasp on reality -- at least that's how the boss paraphrased the situation. This did not look to be a hard job so only three employees were assigned the task. They were told to wrap this up quickly so anything more than three days was a waste of time. Each one of them immediately put out feelers to see if anything was in the air. Since typically all of the information they needed was back within three or four hours, they decided to put a game plan together and figure out who they were dealing with. Two men and one woman were selected to help out the young woman in question. The woman obviously brought a female perspective while each of the man had his own particular set of skills which would be necessary for this case.

They quickly devised three scenarios that could be utilized depending on what information was received from their sources. Each of the plans could vary if necessary as things often went awry when dealing with people who did not have a solid grasp on reality. They were all hoping that firearms would not come in to play, but each one of them was an expert in this area as well. It would truly be a bad day for this criminal if he decided to use deadly weapons…

Jeff Perkins as per usual was the last one to leave the building. He made a final check of the office ensuring that all the promoter doors were locked and only a few solitary lights were left on in the interior. Once this mess was over he was seriously considering employing either a couple of security guards and a monitoring system 24 hours a day to keep the building secure. After all this was a major investment in his lifelong dream. There was no way someone was going to chase him from the business he loved.

He thought about Victoria and made a note to call her once he got home to see if she was okay. This young woman was a major part of his enterprise and she had grown greatly in her job over the past couple of years. It seemed like every client was a little bit in love with her as well, as the feedback he had received was overwhelmingly positive. While this was in a written format, the industry itself was rather close group meeting so any kind of verbal chatter tended to make or break a firm. Word-of-mouth after all with the best advertising and something that money just cannot buy.

To have an associate like Victoria was the dream of any CEO. The best part was she truly enjoyed her job unlike some of her colleagues who basically went through the motions. It wasn't that they weren’t any good, but essentially they were there for the money, trading their time for the compensation they received. No, only a very few had the kind of fortitude and passion in this field. They were few and far between. Jeff considered himself extremely lucky to have a young woman such as Victoria he had molded over the past few years.

Now with the danger of losing such a valuable asset appearing somewhat likely, he was determined to use every resource at his disposal to make sure that this would never happen. If he only knew how prophetic that actually was…

Chapter 7

As she opened her front door, Victoria was stunned at what she saw. Her living room was a shambles, but there were three vases of red roses sitting on the kitchen table. Furniture was turned over, her plants had been hurled against the wall and the television had a big hole right in the middle of the screen. She was momentarily frozen in place, but a voice inside of her said back up and she did so. Common sense told her that nothing was to be touched and this was something for the proper authorities to take a look at.

Dialing her cell phone, she first called 911 and tried to report what had happened at her residence. Victoria fumbled with the words at first as she was still shaken up from the sight of her house in disarray. Eventually the dispatcher was able to clarify her meaning and promised to send a patrol car right away. The next call went to Mr. Perkins her boss who would know what to do. Fortunately he was still at the office and thus could be there in 20 minutes. Knowing that she was shaken up, Jeff advised her to seek temporary shelter at one of her neighbors.

Fortunately Mrs. Evans was home just down the street and she saw the Victoria was an emotional wreck. Taking her by the hand she set her down at the kitchen table and offered her a couple of hot tea. Knowing that this was not a good time, she simply sat and held Victoria's hand until she saw the police car pull up in front of her house. Both women went out to meet with the officers were there to take a preliminary report and talk to the victim. Although each of them was very nice, they were both fairly young without much experience in this type of activity.

Victoria explained that she had gotten home from work, saw the mark on her driveway and had gotten as far as opening the front door when she noticed the inside was a mess. She also stated that nothing else had been touched except for the front door handle. They wrote down all of the information and asked her a few questions related to the incident.

As standard protocol, the officers went out to canvas the immediate neighborhood asking if anybody had seen anything unusual. Since most of them worked during the day there had been anything of the order to report except for Mr. Donovan who noticed a floral van sometime around 2:30 PM that afternoon.

At least this was something to go on and the officers promised to report back their findings to the Detective branch who would be making a visit shortly as this was more of their specialty. By this time Mr. Perkins had arrived and was able to calm Victoria down. He knew not to push too hard as his young associate was clearly still quite agitated. She tried to go through the scenario once again with her boss, trying hard to think of anything she might have missed. No such luck though as the entire process took about 10 min.

Jeff was clearly worried about his young protégé, he knew that someone was really trying to mess with her head and was succeeding. The past attempts had been mainly psychological, but this time there was some physical damage, with a break-in and to top it off, those three vases full of red roses. A guy like this was really twisted as he not only toyed with her mind by breaking into her house but also left a present to boot. That was assuming it was only one individual. Could he work for the floral company and was he a delivery person? Or were there two people working in tandem to mess with Victoria? A third possibility existed however and that was two separate individuals one making the delivery and the other waiting to wreak damage inside the house.

Of course these were all matters for the police, but Jeff would pose each of the scenarios to his friend who was already putting a plan together. In the meantime he was trying to figure out where Victoria would stay for the night. He had plenty of space at his house, but that did not seem to be an option. She did not have any family in the immediate vicinity either, but he definitely did not want her anywhere in the area. Probably the best move was to confer with Mr. Gartner to pick his brain and find a safe spot for Victoria to get some rest.

By this time the detectives had arrived with Kenneth Gartner in tow and asked Victoria to repeat her story yet again. She was much more practiced now and was able to provide a coherent statement that both parties could understand. Wisely a woman was sent along on the case to provide not only a female point of view, but also to act as a consoling party if necessary. She might be able to provide some insight that her male partner could possibly miss.

Everything in the house was examined, dusted for fingerprints and swabbed for DNA analysis. Each of the rose bouquets was taken and bagged up for examination at their facility. Hopefully this would provide some kind of insight as to how and why this individual was trying to get her attention. Each of the detectives got a different slant on the case which would prove valuable later. By adding a woman to the team, they had actually shortened the length of this case without knowing it.

This was definitely odd behavior – – on the one hand a violent streak whereby furniture had got broken up and personal belongings destroyed. But there also seem to be a sense of kindness as per the three vases filled with red roses. What sort of individual were they dealing with Jeff wondered? He definitely appear to be conflicted, on the one hand there were feelings of kindness with hope for a relationship as evidenced by the flowers. However, this person also seems realized he had no chance with this woman and therefore demonstrated his frustration by destroying some of her personal property.

Having broken into the house demonstrated that he was willing to do almost anything even committing a crime. No this was not just a simple crush gone awry.  There had to be deep seated psychological issues that needed to be addressed here and the sooner the better.

In the meantime it was necessary to find Victoria somewhere safe for tonight. He knew a few places that she could stay that would be confidential. Kenneth recommended a few to Jeff to see what he thought. Out of the three possibilities Mr. Perkins favored a small hotel that was family owned and operated. These people were salt of the earth and had run their business for the last 70 years as it had been passed down for three generations now. This was a perfect place for somebody to get some rest.

They broke the news to Victoria assuring her that she would be safe and offering to stay if necessary nearby. Her first instincts were to say no, but the looks on both of their faces served to provide a sense of calm. She knew her boss would put her safety before that of even his own so he thought this was a good idea and his friend it also she would go along with it. Since her house had become a crime scene, she had to take whatever possessions were in her car and go the hotel. Jeff didn't think she was in good enough shape to drive so he offered to do that duty as well. Their first stop was to pick up a few toiletries before heading on over for the night.

There were only three people who knew where she was going that evening. This was to ensure her that the loop indeed was small and no unnecessary information was being leaked. Even her neighbors were not informed of her whereabouts. At this point almost anybody associated with Victoria was a suspect. While some people should have been able to be ruled out based solely on merit, Ken was taking no chances considering even her coworker’s potential problems. He was determined to get to the bottom of this case before something happened that could not be reversed.

Jeff drove Victoria to the nondescript hotel and simply told the clerk that she needed a room for the night, not providing any more information than that. He did not want anybody else in on this case. They have stopped briefly at a convenience store where they had picked up a new toothbrush her favorite soap shampoo and conditioner. He was determined that she was going to get a good night’s sleep even after the day's ordeal. The young woman had been through a lot that day and sleep was probably going to be hard.

Although Jeff offered to stay in the hotel as well, Victoria would not hear of it. She was a proud young woman and did not like to demonstrate unnecessary weakness even though in this case it was well warranted. So even though she told him good night, he had arranged for some security measures of his own, securing a room in the hotel for a trusted associate of his who would spend the night watching over her silently.

A final call that evening went to Mr. Smith who was provided the details of what a taken place just hours earlier. He added them to what the team already knew and now a case was starting to take shape. It wasn't that Mr. Perkins didn't have faith in Kenneth Gartner, but stuff was moving way too slowly for his taste. Besides, Mr. Smith had demonstrated a capacity for getting results in record time. Although he was not cheap by any means, how much is a human life worth anyway?

Now that Jeff was satisfied Victoria was in good hands, he decided to call it night. Checking his watch he noted that was almost 10:30 and was definitely time to head home; it had been an extremely busy day. He headed for his car unaware that he too was under observation.

The detectives had dropped off their evidence to the forensics lab for analysis about two hours ago. Although it was too early to come to any kind of definitive conclusion, they knew was it was their best chance of coming up with any kind of solid lead. In the meantime, they were trying to run down the only potential break they had: the neighborhood man who had spotted a floral delivery truck at the residence in question. However even this was kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack as they were over two dozen florists in the general metro area. All of them had delivery trucks out and about on this day so unless the neighbor could remember something more conclusive, it might prove to be fruitless as well.

Once Mr. Smith received a job, his teams knew that they were on the clock 24/7. Since they were well compensated and had many days off in between employment, this had come to be readily accepted. Although they had only taken the case a short time ago, they had already ruled out a number of individuals. Most of the staff at Wright-Staples was clean, with no background and no history of violence. None of them had a record or was predisposed to this kind of activity or behavior. This left about 10 people who Victoria interacted with on a regular basis. These were the persons who they would concentrate their attention on for the next two days. For the most part, all of their cases were wrapped up in less than a week. It was a perverse point of pride for the team and not be able to meet this deadline lest it caused them to be internally castigated.

If Mr. Perkins had been able to see their final list he would have been somewhat shocked. Even though most of his employees had been cleared in this case, there were still some familiar names on it. Mr. Smith believed in being thorough so his employees made sure that every possible candidate was examined first before being rolled out. Jeff would have been flabbergasted to know that his name was still on the list along with that of his employee Ashley Harrington, Davis Knowles one of his regular clients, and that of his friend Ken Gartner. Typically it was just run-of-the-mill investigation work, but the people that remained as potential threats were there mainly because they interacted more than anybody else. In addition, their history with Victoria was too lengthy to be covered in a couple of hours as with most of the other people.

All three members of the team were sifting through various documents that had been obtained through a special service they used over the Internet. Most people would be amazed at what could be gathered regarding their personal history, financial records and even personal interaction for such a small fee. Social networking has become a huge part of the business world, and many employees did not bother to check what they wrote before allowing it to become part of the public record. It was very easy to find out detailed and intimate knowledge of almost anybody on their list. The bulk of the potential suspects had been ruled out rather quickly as they did not have the time or inclination to cause Victoria harm.

Jeff Perkins arrived at home exhausted from the day's events; at this point all he wanted to do was get some sleep. He pulled into the garage and shut off his car. Closing and locking the door of his automobile, he then headed for the point of egress between the house and garage.

Tossing his keys onto the buffet table by the door he flipped on the kitchen light. From there he poured himself a small glass of Chardonnay and slowly sipped it while examining today's mail. Being a creature of habit, all of his clothes were carefully hung up and he turned down the sheets on the bed. Flipping on a lamp beside the bed, Jeff padded back to the kitchen to hit the switch there and make sure the doors were locked.

All of this activity was being carefully monitored by an unseen observer. Although his arrival time at home varied from day to day, most of the events that happened at this point were pretty much the same. It seemed as if the man did not take or make phone calls once he gained entrance to his domicile. The man thought they might not even have to tap his phone in this case. However that was not his call, and he would report his findings back to the boss.

Victoria was trying to settle in at the hotel, but as with anybody trying to get used to different surroundings, sleep came hard. When factoring in the events of the day, it was not hard to see why she could not find the Sandman. At least this place was comfortable she thought herself and made a mental note to visit once things have settled down. The innkeepers were very pleasant and made every effort to ensure their guests had a pleasant stay. She could see herself visiting this inn for a weekend getaway – – with some of her girlfriends or even that special someone.

Mr. Perkins had arranged a special security detail to spend the night at the hotel as well. And since he was not being paid to sleep, there was not much to do at this place either. Although the room was equipped with cable TV and a cash bar, none of this was interesting to him. He decided his best bet was to peruse a novel that he had brought with him. Fortunately, he was a night owl and did duty of this type quite frequently. There would also be some exercise as well since he was determined to canvass both the inside and outside of this establishment at somewhat irregular intervals to ensure that Ms. Masterson was safe.

There hadn't been any undue activity at this hotel in quite a long time. It was a mom-and-pop shop operated by the same family for almost 75 years. The actual building was constructed during the Great Depression and had served the area quite well, undergoing numerous renovations until it reached its current capacity of 122 guests. Typically, there were approximately anywhere from 60 to 80 guests at any time. This didn't change much unless there was a large convention or sporting event in the greater metropolitan area. Good news for the staff since room rent is usually doubled and they received a bonus any time they were full up.

One of the quirks however was that the builders had constructed a series of secret passages, many of which had gone undiscovered to this point in time. The owners knew several and only used them when it served their purposes. Those times had been few and far between, once when a couple of fugitives had accidentally stumbled upon this place in the 1940s. At this time the grandparents had been running the establishment, having purchased it from the previous owners about five years past. They were given the blueprints for the building which showed all of the different areas that were hidden. Over time unfortunately these had been lost, which meant that only the local legend got passed down from generation to generation.

As Victoria's guardian was preparing a rendezvous about the premises he happened upon a creaky floorboard. This didn't seem right as the rest of the room seemed quite solid. Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to investigate further. As he paced the floor, this was the only spot that made any noise at all. Knowing the basics of construction, he realized that there might just be a nail or screw loose, but he couldn't find either in this area. Moving aside the area rug to get a closer look, there was one hardwood floorboard that appeared to be different. This had to be the one that was making the noise.

While it didn't seem to be out of place size wise or color wise, there was something unique about this particular piece of wood. Towards one side he noticed that a plug had been fitted into the grain. For a floor insulation of this type that was atypical. All in all though, it was a good job. The wood grain had been oriented correctly and the diameter was a perfect match. So why was it here he wondered?

He had been walking on this floorboard for quite some time and nothing had occurred up to this point. However this plug was only 2 inches in diameter. It may be that his foot was too large so he determined to depress the piece of wood by hand. Using his right thumb he pushed down hard, although there was resistance, it also moved down about one half an inch. In a split second, part of a wall behind him moved aside, revealing a dark passage. Being naturally inquisitive, it appeared to him that this place was not all it was cracked up to be and he needed to explore the area between his times of reconnoiter.

Grabbing a flashlight, he headed for the passageway, first making sure to deadbolt his door in case somebody wandered up here by accident. On the walls there appeared to be ancient wiring of some sort and a fixture that he dared not turn on lest the electrical circuit was faulty. It was a fairly long corridor that led due east towards the lobby. Up ahead a flight of stairs loomed that looked to go down at least one level. Although they were old, they were also well constructed, leading him to believe that there would not be much creaking if he were to go this way. Glancing quickly at his watch he saw that there was still 30 minutes before the next tour about the hotel, so he pressed on.

Victoria still couldn't sleep, since the day’s events had been playing over and over in her mind. There was the package by her office, her home had been broken into, and now she was staying in a strange hotel. Combined these would serve to play havoc with anybody. If it had only been one thing, she might have been able to handle it easily, however there was just too much happening her life right now.

As with many victims she wondered whether or not she had somehow caused this mess. An objective observer would be able to tell her that she was simply a victim – – a target of somebody with a sick mind. Maybe it was her general goodness, but Victoria typically saw the positive side of any situation and yet she was having a hard time justifying this to herself.

It was now three in the morning and she could not remember any time in the recent past where she had been awake at this time. Somebody to talk to would have been a real boon to her, but being isolated in this manner was probably best. There were just too many people to account for to really know she could trust. Victoria was determined to get through this mess unscathed if possible, but none the worse for the wear.

She kept imaging things that weren’t there, it even sounded like the old building had ghosts in the walls.  The aged structure was probably still settling, but creaks and groans really sounded as if they were coming from right behind the main wall of her room.  Could she really be going crazy or was it just the product of an over active imagination?  Without confirmation, these were the kinds of questions that were racing through her mind.  Harder still was the fact that this was not her bed that she was trying to sleep in tonight.

There it was again!  These “ghosts” certainly were not very accommodating, being up all hours of the night when most decent folk were in bed counting sheep.  No, this was definitely footsteps that she had heard.  The big question was where were they coming from?  It made no sense that there were still spirits alive here, but weren’t the halls all carpeted?

No, Victoria was positive that the noises were emanating from inside of the building.

The corridor was long and the stairs were constructed very well, although there had been some problems with noise as he got to the bottom.  He had heard some strange noises of his own while traversing the passage as the walls on the inside contained no insulation whatsoever.  This made sense since building codes that long ago did not require that kind of treatment.  It was also less costly to do construction this way also.

It looked as though he was facing a dead end as there was a wall right ahead of him.  That didn’t make too much sense since why would a connecting passage only have only point of egress?  No, somewhere there had to be an exit door, and it was probably under some kind of pressure switch just like the one in his room.  He would just have to find it somehow, but the task would prove arduous since the light was fairly dim and he did not wish to provide further illumination for risk of discovery.

While all of this was going on, Mr. Smith’s team was still hard at work on trying to discover what the motive was behind all of these actions against Miss Masterson.  The only female member of the group was focusing her efforts on failed suitors, while the other two were looking at work failures and past history.  She appeared to be clean of the latter, and most of her work was sterling in nature.  This left only frustrated lovers – too often the issue in most of their cases lately.

They had cleared almost everybody that Victoria interacted with on a daily basis except for Jeff Perkins, Kenneth Gartner, Davis Knowles and Ashley Harrington.  Each of them had legitimate reasons to be around Victoria for extended periods of time, and these looked to be proper as well.  However, it was usually the underlying circumstances that proved to be the criminal’s undoing in 95% of the files that they had become familiar with up to this point.

One of the main questions that was always asked involved “who had the most to gain by her absence?”  Out of the four people still under consideration, Ashley was the obvious choice.  She was an excellent executive in her own right, but was a strong number two to Victoria in the pecking order at Wright-Staples.  By getting her associate (and rival) out of the way, it would be much easier for her ascension to the top.

However, it was always difficult to prove motive as many people didn’t do things rationally when it came to love or money.  When you got rid of somebody in your way at work, there were always consequences that followed.  For the most part, a CEO favors loyal employees, so those who chose to follow their own path, typically ended up on the outside looking in.  That is not to say that Ashley wasn’t smart enough to know this on her own, but stranger things had happened in their experience.

Jeff Perkins was an odd choice all of them thought.  All of his dealings had been above board with his protégé.  He seemed to go out of his way to protect her at significant costs.  But he too could be providing a major smokescreen, as everybody would be caught off guard since he was a major supporter of Victoria, so why would he want any harm to come to her?

In these types of cases, it is hard to believe some of the results, even when viewed with 20/20 hindsight.  They had witnessed scores of events over the years where individuals committed crimes for no good reason.  Maybe it was revenge, or the victim reminded them of a scorned lover, the point being that even the best citizens sometimes snapped for no good reason.

Mr. Perkins did not have a wife and some of their theories involved him and a “kept” Victoria as sort of a trophy wife to show off to senior executives like himself.  He had given no indication as to this type of behavior, but it was worth checking into anyway, just to be prepared for any kind of scenario.

Davis Knowles was the obvious choice of all three agents working this mission.  He was a notorious flirt, with a long history of enticing and inappropriate behavior towards women.  They had gotten access to his personnel file and it was fraught with complaints, although nothing serious enough to get him in any major trouble.

Still and all, he had been targeting Victoria for another major conquest and she had essentially blown him off a few different times.  Davis thought that she was playing hard to get and didn’t want to appear “easy.”  He also had a history of floral purchases for the women he was interested in and most of the time the bouquet of choice happened to be red roses.  Since these were found at the crime scene, it was likely that somehow he was involved.

Kenneth Gartner was a policeman of superior record and had a fine reputation in the community. He had been instrumental in providing security measures to help protect the employees at Wright-Staples and was the first call that Jeff Perkins made when the first package had arrived.  They were old friends and Jeff trusted Ken more than any man that he knew, so it made sense that Mr. Gartner would have access to Victoria in order to protect her.

As they were being thorough, it was also noted that he was not married either, although their ages (like Jeff) were too far apart to have any kind of romantic relationship.  He was apparently not interested either in pursuing this young lady even as attractive as she was.  His work took up way too much time with side jobs for clients in the security field supplementing his own pay as a detective.

These four were an interesting lot, and although it seemed that there was a clear favorite, nothing had been proven as of yet.  The next two days would tell a great deal since each of them would be followed (surreptitiously) around the clock to see who they met, where they went and a normal daily routine.  The internet made some of this former grunt work much more possible to stomach since anybody’s history can be easily seen using their browser tools.

The next 48 hours would prove to be vital in this case as things were already reaching the point of no return for somebody and it was usually at this point that major mistakes were made, enabling the perpetrator to be caught red-handed.

Chapter 8

Victoria was positive that she's heard something emanating from behind the wall. Although this did not seem possible, her senses were not playing tricks upon her. Although early in the a.m. most people’s normal circadian rhythm are at the lowest point, and this leads to some strange happenings, there was now no doubt in her mind that somebody or something was moving around in the bowels of this old hotel. Since she was already quite nervous due to the fact that the surroundings were not familiar, many thoughts raced through her mind; not the least of which was getting up now and making a run for it.

Although this did sound tempting, her rational side said to wait it out because both Mr. Perkins and Detective Gartner had set up this "safe house" for her and they must've checked it out thoroughly before deciding upon this particular location. That only left a couple of possibilities: one somebody was truly out to get her and they knew something that both of her protectors did not. The second was that somebody she trusted was on the wrong side. Neither one of these scenarios made her feel good, but since her circle of advisers kept growing increasingly smaller; she did not know who to trust.

Victoria quietly got out of bed and look for something heavy just in case. She seized upon a small bust of Julius Caesar that was sitting on a small end table in the corner of the room. It had a rather substantial mass and would probably deliver a stunning blow. If an attacker came into this room, he would have something to be reckoned with – – and a good headache to boot! She now had to figure out where to hide in case there was an intrusion. Besides the door which had been dead bolted, there was only one small window to serve as a point of egress. The corner of the room between them was probably the best place for her to seek refuge and so this became her sanctuary.

Back in the corridor, Victoria's bodyguard was still seeking an access point at the end of the passageway. He could find no loose boards, levers or buttons to push in order to extricate himself from this area. It would certainly help if there had been available lighting to guide his way, but he dared not risk exposure as this appeared to be a secret place and most guests would be frightened out of their wits if a strange man happened to materialize in their room late at night. This meant he had to take every precaution and although the going was extremely slow, he still let a few minutes before his next rendezvous was due.

There did not seem to be anything on the floor or in the areas surrounding him from ground level to 3 feet in height. This kind of made sense because anybody familiar with the passage would simply have to know the mechanism was present in order to finish the journey. Since many times they would probably be in a hurry, which would mean there will be no time for stooping down to find a button or lever to push. He then decided to concentrate on the area between three and 6 feet from the floor. After a few more minutes and with frustration setting in, a small bent nail was pushed aside. That seemed to open up a section of wall approximately 6 inches, enough to see into the room.

Jeff Perkins could not sleep either as he was worried about his star protégé. He thought about calling the hotel, but that might lead to unnecessary worry on Victoria's part and that was not his intention. Many different thoughts were also going through his mind including placing a call to Detective Gartner to see if any possible leads had been obtained. No this would probably be fruitless as well, so the right person to contact was Mr. Smith as his people were most likely hot on the trail of this dastardly perpetrator. Using a special contact number given to him, Jeff dialed his cell phone and waited for an answer.

As with all other cases, the team was used to getting phone calls at all hours of the day and night. After all, these were extraordinary circumstances that they were trying to understand. Mr. Perkins was assured that they were getting close, and only handful of people were left to be checked out. Conveniently he was not told that he was one of them.

Victoria definitely heard something move this time, and she wanted to shriek when the wall moved a slight bit inward. However she was able to muffle a scream and waited to see if anybody would appear out of the shadows. Clutching the statue in both hands, she waited in the dark corner where would be hard to see anybody crouching down. Just as quickly as the wall moved in, it snapped back with a muffled thud. The room then grew deathly silent as she waited in a panic gripping her weapon and trying to contain herself.

A half-hour passed before she was able to calm down somewhat. It was now almost 4:30 in the morning and she had not got a wink of sleep. The good news was that at six o'clock it was probably safe to call the front desk, turn on the TV or call her boss at home. That meant 90 more minutes of pure hell. Victoria thought it best to remain in place at her small sanctuary in the corner as this offered the view of the two previous points of entry to the room along with a clear sight line to the wall that had moved inward. She would not go quietly – – that was a fact!

He had not counted on the wall being set up on a pressure switch, and having it snapped inward in that fashion gave him a momentary start. It appeared that there was a woman in the room as he was sure a scream had been muffled as if someone had been greatly startled. Reacting quickly, he gently moved the wall back into place and retreated silently back down the hall as per his military training. That was enough exploring for this night, and he needed to make his rounds in order to report back to the boss.

It was hard trying to navigate the hallway in the dark, but since he had already traversed the passage once, this made it somewhat easier, but not that much. Attempting to do this in almost total silence was the real trick, but owing to the fact that he was almost one quarter Cherokee, even this seemingly impossible mission was accomplished also.

Once back in his own room, he muscled the wall panel back into position and covered the floor back up, making a mental note to mark the spot for later.  Glancing quickly at his wrist watch, he noted that he was about five minutes late for the last patrol around the grounds.  Grabbing his keys and pulling a dark hat low on his head, he headed out the door, pausing only to deadbolt the lock and glanced around for any sign of something out of the ordinary.

On the far side of the parking lot, he noticed a dark panel van that had not been there earlier.  The windows were reflecting the light from the neon sign outside of the hotel and he could not see anybody inside the vehicle.  This could mean that nobody was actually in it or that the windows had been tinted for privacy.  A further look was warranted, but he did not want to draw any further attention to himself, and wanted to make it look like he was just going for a walk.

Inside of the van, two men had been canvassing the hotel grounds to try and ascertain where their target was staying.  As of yet, there had been no movement or indication that any of the rooms contained anything special.  It had been their past experience that a guard was stationed close by or the subject was moved on a semi-regular basis.  Since this wasn’t the case at this point, they would have to be patient.

The older of the two decided it was best to check in with the boss who wanted to know why they had not returned.  It was supposed to be a simple operation since they only had to grab the girl and bring her back.  He told the boss that they had to make sure that they had the right room and that any security detail was identified and silenced.  The boss barked that he wasn’t paying them to sit around and results were expected sooner rather than later.  With that the line went dead.

Victoria was still crouched down in her corner afraid to move.  Her heart had been racing when the wall moved and the trip hammer it resembled made her wonder who could be possibly targeting her for harm.  She was after all only an advertising executive who worked for a somewhat nondescript company.

Many men had told her that she was beautiful, but could this mean that somebody would go so far as to make her fear for her life because she had refused to go out with him?  Racking her brain, she mentally reviewed the last two years to try and figure out who might possibly want to cause her harm.  The only figure of note was Davis Knowles, and he didn’t seem to be the kind of man who would stoop to such extremes.

The hardest part was waiting until morning, and Victoria figured that she had a little more than an hour to go before it was safe to move.  Reasoning that nothing could happen to her while she was safely hidden in the corner, she neglected to figure that anybody who really wanted to abduct her would just have to break down the door and use brute force.  The little statue would most likely only cause a bruise against a professional of this type.

Of course, when you are fearing for your life, not too many rational thoughts are going through your mind because self preservation is one thing that takes full control of the human brain when adrenaline is at the helm.

Unbeknownst to Victoria, she had somebody looking out for her, and at this moment, he was slowly walking the grounds, feigning smoking a cigarette and taking a slow reconnoiter to find out some more information on the dark panel van that he had noted earlier.  With his past military training, he was able to make keen observations about people and objects in space and whether they belonged.

Most of the vehicles parked in the lot were from the area as evidenced by the license plates that this state offered.  This was not a tourist attraction and there did not appear to be many people even from out of town.  No, the clientele was mainly locals driving the family sedan or mini-van. That is the main reason that the panel van stood out.  When he added the fact that there were different colored plates, it added up to be more than a coincidence.

Moving slowly around the perimeter, he passed the last row of cars and headed towards the outside vending machines, making it appear that he simply needed a “caffeine fix,” using cola instead of coffee.  Purchasing a can of pop, he pulled back the tab and took a swig of the cold liquid.  Continuing on his journey, he made another turn, heading for the far end of the lot and put the cigarette back toward his mouth as if he was taking a pull.  For the most part, this was just somebody out for a stroll, not an experienced reconnaissance person who was trying to obtain vital information in order to protect a most valuable property.  That was the best part of this type of mission, civilians were most easily lulled into a false sense of security and didn’t realize the danger until it was too late.

Doubling back, he was able to effect some kind of coverage between cars and paused as if the blue sedan directly in front of him was actually his vehicle.  Feigning entry, he then took a minute to “finish” the cigarette and then stamp it out on the ground.  Bending down and then straightening up, this gave the impression that he was getting something out of the car itself.  In actuality, he needed to get his weapons ready in case the van contained some unsavory characters.

The two men in the van had noticed the earlier morning stroll, and gave it no notice when he was seen smoking the cigarette and then buying a pop from the outside machine.  They chalked it up to just another deadbeat and were looking for signs of some kind of movement in order to narrow down their target.  The man had continued on his path and they had given him no further thought, a decision that would prove to be their undoing in just a short while.

The three agents looking into Victoria’s case were astounded to find out that both Ashley Harrington and Davis Knowles had posted some incriminating items on one of the popular social networking sites.  Each of them indirectly made reference to Victoria, although not mentioning her by name.  In the case of the former, she noted that work was going great and bragged that soon she would be the top agent at her company.  Davis on the other hand was proud of his long line of conquests and was intent on adding Victoria to his list.  He had posted the fact that it was only a matter of time before his “true love” would be his forever.

These two were quickly moved to the top of the list as evidence of this nature was golden and had lead to many a person to admit their guilt when confronted with that kind of proof.  Most people were not smart enough to read between the lines as to this type of behavior, but trained investigators were actually looking for a link to their subject and this seemed to indicate that one or both of them were involved here.

It was also possible that they were working together in order to get what they wanted.  Having Victoria out of the way would enable Ashley to be the top agent at Wright-Staples and this was something that she had wanted for a few years now.  The female on the team thought that she was their best bet and wanted to bring her in for questioning.  The two males were bent on questioning her co-workers first to see if a pattern existed here before playing this card.

Davis Knowles on the other hand was a noted lothario and had often bragged about his success with the ladies.  His impeccable manners and boyish charm had won the hearts of the distaff side many times.  However, his record also indicated some improprieties and this didn’t sit too well with any of the agents on the team who figured that maybe this time he had gone too far since this woman had given him the brush off in public quite a few times.  Since witnesses were involved, a bruised ego was often enough to make even the most sane person commit acts that they would later regret.

Both of the male team members were in favor of bringing in Mr. Knowles and cross examining him until he told them what they wanted to hear.  The 3 members were at odds on who was most to blame and decided to dig a little deeper before making any final conclusions.

Back at the hotel, the two men in the van were so keen on watching the exterior of the hotel that they failed to notice a third man who had skirted the far side of the parking lot and was closing in on their position.  He was determined to find out more of what was going on inside of the vehicle and had angled his position to get close enough for additional information gathering.  The only flaw in the plan was that one of the two men would have to relieve himself.  The passenger door suddenly swung open and a confrontation was inevitable.

Both men were shocked to be in such close proximity to one another and this was quickly followed by a snap back to reality as the man from the panel van wanted to know why the other one was in this area.  He had a very slight height and weight advantage on his adversary and was certain that he could bully a confession out of him if he had to.  This guy looked like a bum – out of shape with a cigarette and pop habit that kept him up half the night.  A true professional knew that an adversary was never truly sized up at first glance; as an opponent had to be respected first. If only he had realized the errors of his ways before it was too late.

A few words were exchanged and this caused the other man in the van to join the proceedings.  Both of them demanded to know what this fellow was doing so close to their van, accentuating their point with demonstrative figure pointing and posing.  Even though it was still early in the morning, their posturing could be clearly seen due to the full bore of the neon light of the hotel.

Victoria’s “bodyguard” was trying to buy time, quickly doing the math in his head.  Unlike the other two men, he was sizing them up and trying to act innocent at the same time.  It was hard to play down the fact that he was a trained professional and could have taken out both of them in no time flat.  The problem was that it was information that he was after and not necessarily violence.  Were these two men interested in his charge or were they there for another reason altogether?

It made no sense to do harm to two people who were simply waiting in their vehicle, but it was hard to imagine a couple of guys just minding their own business who were suddenly in his face demanding to know what he was doing skulking around their van.  He hemmed and hawed, trying to sound somewhat scared in the face of danger, blurting out that he had just lost his girlfriend and didn’t have anywhere else to go.  The two men weren’t entirely convinced however and decided to rough him up a bit just for good measure.

Each of them connected for a few body shots that were enough to crumple the man over.  They left him lying face down and threatened him with further violence should he come anywhere near their van again.  The message was punctuated by a kick to the short ribs that would have put a lesser man out of commission for a long while.

He lay on the ground for awhile before finally crawling away for a short distance before continuing surveillance on the van.  Remaining there for another 30 minutes, he decided to keep them under observation from another vantage point since it was time to check in with the boss.

Mr. Perkins hadn’t been able to sleep all night, worried about his charge and mulling over the information that he had received from “Mr. Smith’s” team.  Could they really have moved that fast and narrowed the search down to four people?”  He wondered aloud who they were and concluded that these must be dastardly folks who would want to cause harm to such a lovely young lady as Victoria.

She was truly one of a kind and he constantly thanked his lucky stars that he had been able to bring her on board – even though her initial interview hadn’t been as smooth as many of the other candidates who had obviously rehearsed their answers to the types of questions that were typically posed to new graduates attempting to join a new firm.  In the past few years, Victoria had proved her worth to the company and was on the fast track to a new position with much more authority and an office to boot.  Along with her associate Ashley, Jeff thought that both young women merited more attention and was determined to help both along the path they wanted.

He was unaware of the burgeoning rivalry that was also totally one sided.  While Victoria was genuinely concerned for her associate and would provide a most suitable second on any contract that Ashley was in the lead on, if the roles were reversed, the same wasn’t always true.  This didn’t mean that Ashley didn’t give her all, just that she resented the time and attention that her associate received – especially from the males on the other side.

Mr. Perkins was unaware that some of these things were among the findings of the 3 man team that was doing most of the legwork on this case.  They had sifted through tons of files, personnel records, emails and social network postings to work up a profile of each potential perpetrator.  These were intended to help make a case as to why any of them could perform such a disgraceful act.  The how was the one thing that none of them could truly put a finger on as of yet.

In his office, Detective Gartner was already at his desk.  Although it was only six o’clock in the morning, he had promised his good friend Jeff Perkins to give full attention to this case and that meant arriving early to pour over some evidence that had just come in.  Not surprising the phone rang and he talked briefly to one of his operatives working the case. Unfortunately, there was nothing new to report on Victoria’s situation, and he was starting to get concerned that this man was not just a run of the mill jilted lover,  but a psychopath who had some professional training.

There had been no concrete evidence that had come in, and each of the packages had been dead ends.  He had a new security system installed in the building, but when the new package had arrived at Wright-Staples, nobody could recall seeing a delivery service and the video tape system had caught nobody on camera with a package.  Since all visitors had to be logged at the front desk, this had been particularly perplexing because all of the people had been interviewed and accounted for.

That would have normally lead Ken to assume that it was an inside job because how else would something of this nature gotten into the building without any of the built in safeguards that he had implemented showing something?   But none of the people that worked there showed any signs of disfavor towards Victoria so most of them were ruled out.  He knew that he was missing something, but couldn’t put his finger on it.

The only person in the company who had access to and could bypass the security measures was Mr. Perkins, but he was a nonsensical choice right?  After all, Jeff had hired Victoria and had assisted her along the way.  Ken had watched her develop in this industry and was impressed by what he saw.  He had also been hired by his friend to help out with this case so that should have ruled him out as a suspect.  However, that would make a perfect alibi as nobody would think of him as guilty since he was the only to implement all of these changes to make his protégé safe.

Maybe it was time to dig a little more into Mr. Perkins background before pronouncing him completely innocent…

Victoria heard the small chimes from the hallway clock ring six times.  She knew that meant that the night was over and that she somehow had survived.  The only question was who that she should call.  The obvious choice was her boss who had set her up in this place.  Who else could she trust?  Maybe Ken Gartner because he had always seemed to look out for her – especially now that all of this trouble had started.  After all, he was a trained investigator and had connections in the police department.  That seemed to be the best course of action.

She slowly emerged from her sanctuary and on all fours, crawled over to the side table where the phone rang.  Picking up the handset, Victoria dialed the private number that Ken had given her to be used for emergency use.  He told her that was his direct line and would be available any time day or night.  After one ring, she heard his familiar voice and was quite relieved to hear a friend on the other end.

Victoria relayed the events of the night and tried to make sense of it all.  Ken listened intently and asked her to slow down a few times as she was incoherent and babbling on the phone.  He knew that this was natural, and listed patiently as she relayed the story of sounds emanating from inside the hotel walls and even the shifting wall.

She knew that this seemed so surreal that she wondered if it had just been her imagination playing tricks on her or the product of sleep deprivation that would produce such a wild sounding scenario.  Detective Gartner was taking notes on Victoria’s story and was not asking too many questions, just letting her relay what she had seen or heard the past ten hours.

When she was finished, Ken assured her that somebody would be there in less than an hour to pick her up and take her to the station where she could make a formal statement.  This immediately put her mind at ease.  She promised to wait in the hotel lobby until the car arrived for her.

Victoria’s bodyguard had slowly made his way back to his own room when the phone rang.  It was his boss wanting to know why he hadn’t checked in yet.  The recent events were recounted, involving the two thugs in the van and the beating that he had taken at their hands.  While he knew that the boss couldn’t appreciate the restraint that he had used, some things did not have a price and the safety of his charge was the ultimate price to be paid.

The other end of the line suddenly went dead and this immediately raised the hackles on the back of his neck.  Had somebody followed him back to his room?  No, he had been extremely careful in that regard, even doubling back three times to throw off anybody who was more interested in finding out more information on this “bum.”

Peeking out the corner of the window, he could barely make out one of the two men from the van in the early morning dawn walking back with something in his hand.  It appeared to be some sort of cutting tool – bolt cutters perhaps.  Checking the line again, there was no dial tone and this lead him to believe that the main line to the hotel had been cut.  Something was definitely amiss here and these two were up to no good that was a fact.

That biggest problem was that his cellular phone was locked in the glove compartment of his nondescript car as he didn’t want to give the impression of being anything more than a drifter when checking into the hotel last night.  It would be hard to get to it because the path would take him directly past the van containing the two toughs.  However, this was necessary to maintain contact with his boss and was standard operating procedure in case of power failure or other such problem.

No, it would not be easy, but feigning injury was also easier now that he had actually taken a couple of shots to the ribs.  Breathing would also appear to be more labored in case somebody was watching.  To the untrained eye, it would look like he was just another one of the unfortunate combatants who ended up on the wrong side of a fight.  He was counting on the two men letting their guard down now that they had already gotten the “best” of him once.  That would prove to be their downfall.

Victoria was thinking about calling her boss and instinctively picked up the receiver to tell him that she was all right.  When raising the phone to her ear, she noticed that there was no dial tone.  Thinking that she hadn’t hung up correctly, she depressed the button on the cradle for a second before releasing it.  Still nothing there, so she traced the cord back to the wall.  It was still plugged in.  The phone had worked five minutes ago and now there appeared to be a problem.

Normally, this would have been a sign to be heeded, but she was thinking more about leaving this place than worrying about placing a call, so her normal radar was not functioning as sharply as it should.  Glancing at her watch, she noticed that it was almost time to head for the lobby.  Although all of the rooms were connected to the lobby via a series of hallways, she thought it might be a good idea to get some fresh air after the arduous night that had just passed.

It was small decisions such as this that often lead to serious consequences.  Victoria was after all an advertising executive and had no formal training in intelligence work or military planning.  If she had, going outside would have immediately been ruled out as it was the easiest place to quickly grab somebody and whisk them away.  But this was just the opportunity that the two men in the van had been waiting for during their overnight vigil.

Gathering her belongings, Victoria was careful to lock the door and keep her head down as she headed across the parking lot towards the lobby to be picked up.  Immediately, the younger man in the van espied her on the way across the lot.  They had parked there because it offered the clearest view of the building and any of the occupants that were in residence.  He quickly poked his partner and they quickly got out of their vehicle to intercept their quarry.

The sudden commotion had gotten the attention of the third man who saw the movement from the van and cursed silently to himself when he also saw Victoria out in the open.  It looked to be a snatch and grab with her as the prize.  Sensing that they would not harm her out in the open, he decided to surprise them back at their vehicle and make his play there.

Both men played it cool as they approached Victoria, having their fake badges at the ready and convincing her that she would be safe as they had been contacted to pick her up for safe transport.  She was momentarily startled to see two men suddenly show up out of nowhere, but when they flashed official looking identification, it appeared to be legitimate.  They agreed to let her sign out of the hotel and accompanied her to the lobby.  Once that was finished, all three of them headed for the van for the drive back to the “police station.”

Of course neither of the two thugs had any intention of taking her to the expected rendezvous, but another destination altogether.  Unbeknownst to her, somebody else had a major interest in her whereabouts and this would take precedence over her wishes.

As they got closer to the van, Victoria got the sense that this situation didn’t appear to be quite correct.  Neither of the men had actually identified themselves as officers or where they were from.  She tried to hem and haw a bit, once even attempting to turn around to use the ladies room.  At this point, the younger man grabbed her arm and roughly held it, leaning it close to her ear and coarsely stating that she needed to be quiet.  This definitely raised a bit of an alarm, and she was definitely in trouble.  All of her fears had been realized and there didn’t appear to be any escape from this predicament.

Seeing one of the toughs grab her arm raised the ire of the third man who was waiting in the shadows near the van.  He had seen the smaller man say something as well to Victoria and she now had her head down so it was definitely something designed to frighten her as well.  They were getting close now and he would have to act quickly.  Physical violence was now necessary and it was now a choice of whether to permanently injure or simply incapacitate the men. Often the choice was the attackers, but sometimes the other party played a role as well.

Victoria’s heart was racing now as she feared the worst.  She tried to talk some sense to these two men, but her protests were met with an angry stare and a redoubling of the grip about her arm.  This was beginning to hurt and it appeared that they would be taking her wherever they wanted to go.  She silently blamed herself for making the wrong choice here and hoped for the best although every part of her brain was screaming help!

As they got to the van, the larger man opened the door and beckoned for Victoria to get into the back seat.  He was surprised to be bumped by somebody from behind.  It was the bum from before who now appeared to be lost!  Turning completely around, he cocked back his fist in order to put out this guy’s lights and yelled for his associate to get the girl into the vehicle.  Unfortunately for him, that brief respite threw off his aim somewhat and his punch targeted nothing but thin air.  The man had vanished!

Being an experienced reconnaissance agent had its advantages.  You could appear and disappear at will if necessary.  While the larger of the toughs took a brief second to turn his head, the blow intended to hurt the third man had absolutely no effect except to put him off balance.  Victoria’s caretaker only had to kick the side of his knee in order to bring him down where a careful blow to the neck put him to sleep.

The other man had been too busy with Victoria to watch these events unfold in real time.  In fact, it had all happened too quickly for his brain to comprehend.  Before he knew it, a hand had gripped his wrist, spinning him around and a sharp punch to the solar plexus took all of the wind from his lungs.  This man would be given a chance to talk or he would end up like his friend – face down in the parking lot.

Victoria was momentarily stunned at the rapid turn of events, but was too scared to speak at the moment.  He beckoned her to sit down in order to catch her breath.  The low light and the dark cap made it difficult to see who her hero was and it would have to wait for awhile.  He asked her if she was okay and she replied yes even though her arm was still sore.  The other man was now sitting up against an adjacent car, trying to catch his breath.  It was now time to find out what he knew.

Chapter 9

Jeff Perkins had sent a car to pick up Victoria at the hotel and they arrived promptly at the appointed time.  Venturing inside the lobby, there was nobody there to meet them as had been agreed upon.  Questioning the night clerk who was just ending his shift was almost fruitless since it had been a very quiet evening inside with very little movement of guests in or out of the establishment.

Since they were on a confidential mission, the men decided not to ask the clerk any more pointless questions and thanked him for his time.  They then decided to look around the parking lot to see if anything was amiss there.  Searching from one end to the other, neither man could find anything out of the ordinary and they met back at their transport to plot their next course of action.

One of the men produced a cellular phone and placed a call to Mr. Perkins to see what he wanted them to do at this point.  Jeff sounded somewhat surprised to find that his young employee was not at the hotel – at least not in the lobby as had been agreed upon.  She sounded quite nervous on the phone earlier and he wondered whether she had lost her nerve.  He gave the man her room number and asked him to go there and see if she might still be around.  The man quickly agreed and stated that he would call back no later than a half hour to report their findings.

The team meandered back into the hotel as if nothing was wrong.  Fortunately, the day clerk was now on duty and greeted them with a warm smile.  She asked if they needed a room, and they politely declined, stating that they were just there to pick up a friend.  This was met with a quizzical look, but in the ten years she had been working the desk, it had become almost the norm to not get a straight answer from anybody.

They did ask what room their “friend” was staying in, being careful to give a room number that was close, but not the one they were searching for at this time.  The clerk briefly gave them directions and then returned to sorting keys that had been recently cut for the new locks that were going to be installed.

The two men nonchalantly headed in the direction given by the day clerk and were soon out of her sight.  Once at Victoria’s room number, they politely knocked and waited for an answer.  This process was repeated two more times before they decided to use a plastic card in order to force open the door.

Once inside, they silently closed the door to make an inspection of the room and its contents.  There was definitely no one about as there was only the main room and a small bath to be checked.  Nothing had been disturbed, there was no sign of a struggle and the only thing that was not in order was the bed.  Since the maid service would take care of that small detail, that was not something that needed to be reported.

Both men quickly left and took an alternate route out of the hotel in order to avoid speaking with the desk clerk again.  Once they were outside, Mr. Perkins was again contacted to share what they had found out at the hotel.  He was now more puzzled than ever, wondering why Victoria had decided to break her trust and head off without calling him first.  It was time to call his friend Ken Gartner to get some advice.

Victoria was slowly coming out of a fog, in what had seemed like a dream, she had been staying at a hotel and two men tried to abduct her when out of nowhere a third man had disabled one in a flash, knocking him cold before turning his attention to the other to put him down also.  However, this one could still talk and he was quick with the tongue, babbling so incoherently it was hard to understand what he was trying to say.

She had never had a dream so vivid that it seemed so real.  She was so glad that it was over and the day could begin normal with a hot breakfast and then off to work.  Rubbing her eyes and tousling her hair, she felt a small lump on the back of her head.  It was a little sore and she didn’t remember bumping her head on anything.

Once Victoria got her eyes into focus, she looked around, her brain trying to comprehend what the optic nerves were sending its way.  This was not her house, and then it hit her that she had no idea where she was.  A sudden full blown panic attack came in waves as a rush of emotion overwhelmed her, threatening to make her heart explode out of her chest as the shot of adrenaline that typically kicked situations like this was doing its duty.

Racing thoughts, a rapid heartbeat and tight chest muscles all added to her confusion and now she didn’t know if it had been a dream at all since too many things were happening at the same time.  A million different ideas were now flying through her head and it was hard to concentrate on any one thing in particular.  Even her woman’s intuition was malfunctioning since her whole world had suddenly gone topsy turvy.

Victoria sat straight up in the bed and noticed that she was lying on very expensive sheets, made from the finest silk.  Whoever owned this place had very good taste and a sense of style.  She was apparently in a bedroom since the furniture comprised a nightstand, bureau, and chest of drawers plus there was a walk in closet directly to her left.

She now wanted to stand up and move around, but a sudden wave of nausea hit, making her feel woozy all at once.  It took some time for this to pass and Victoria decided to splash some cold water on her face.  Most of the time this made her feel better and today was not the exception.  Her faculties were starting to return and it was probably a good time to look around to see where she was.

Still clothed in only a robe (she had no idea where it had came from), Victoria cautiously looked about the residence, taking time to note that there were no identifying pictures, relics or even papers lying about.  What did this mean she wondered to herself.  It might be a good idea to find a window to look out, but each of them was locked tight with what appeared to be shutters outside.  That was a dead end so maybe the door might provide a clue.  Unfortunately, it was locked and dead bolted from the other side.  She was now a prisoner!

Mr. Smith’s crew had picked up Ashley Harrington and were grilling her about Victoria who had now been officially classified as missing.  At first the young woman disavowed any knowledge of this, including feigning genuine concern that somebody she had worked with for the past couple of years had seemingly vanished.

However, when pressed further, she told a different tale, admitting to a few indiscretions in order to curry favor from a client who worked at another company.  Ashley was startled when the other woman brought up the name Davis Knowles.

Now that the secret was out of the bag, Ashley spilled the beans, including how she attempted to secretly sabotage some of the meetings and left strange voice mails for her associate.  All of this was petty stuff compared to what was actually happening and it is hard to genuinely feign surprise when you know something already.  The female agent told her about the break in at Victoria’s house and Ashley seemed genuinely fearful, bursting out into tears and exclaiming that she hadn’t meant to do any harm, but just wanted to get her out of the way.

The young woman was shocked to find out that there had been actual damage to the house and stated that she was only playing a few mind games and disavowed any knowledge of physical harm to Victoria. Although she seemed quite guilty going into the interview, the agent was convinced that this young woman was too young and naïve to be the mastermind behind the abduction of Victoria Masterson.

Ashley was informed that she was free to go, but could expect a visit from her boss when this affair reached its conclusion.  The female agent drove her home where she alternated between sobbing “I’m sorry” to asking what she could do to help.  After notifying her that they would be in touch, the young woman was dropped off in front of her apartment and warned not to leave town.

With Ashley ruled out as a suspect, it was down to the young sales executive Davis Knowles, CEO of Wright-Staples Jeff Perkins and Detective Ken Gartner.  Both of the men on the team had already ruled out Mr. Gartner as his record was completely spotless.  Mr. Knowles seemed to match the profile that they had put together for Victoria’s “stalker.”  He was single, handsome, and had a hard time establishing a long term relationship.  Davis did not accept rejection very well and although it did not directly affect his work, there had been enough write ups in his personnel file to garner some attention.

He would be the next one to be grilled as they were running out of time to bring this case to a speedy conclusion.  Both men were due to pick up Mr. Knowles within the hour at his place of business in order to find out what he knew and what his plans were for Victoria.  It would prove to be an eventful interview indeed.

Jeff Perkins was now getting frantic and nobody had been able to provide any information on his missing protégé. Ken Gartner had feelers out and Mr. Smith’s people were doggedly following every lead, interrogating anybody who even remotely contacted Victoria Masterson on a regular basis.  He had been told the suspect list was down to only a few people, but was totally unaware that he himself was on the short list.

Since he still had a business to run, Jeff decided to head to his office where he could monitor the situation from there just as easily.  Besides, this would help to take his mind off of the case ever so slightly and that by itself would greatly help at this point.

Victoria had been unable to find out anything about this place or who owned it.  All of the points of egress were locked and there was no way to communicate with the outside world.  She was a prisoner in this place.  It wasn’t a total loss since nobody could get in or out without a key so she was safe from the types of thugs who had tried to abduct her from the hotel.  However, who was the third man who had so swiftly incapacitated the two men and made sure that she was all right?  It had been too dark to get a good look at him, but something appeared familiar to her since she never forgot a face.  That was one of the many reasons why she was beloved by clients who might only deal with her on an annual basis.

Victoria wondered why she was here and how she had gotten to this place.  The last thing that she remembered was sitting down with her heart still racing from the adventure and then everything had suddenly gone black.  Had she passed out and hit her head?  Or maybe somebody had hit her from behind to make sure that she wouldn’t recognize where she was being taken?  What kind of person would save her and then hide his identity? All of these questions were just too much and she was relieved to find that there was food in the refrigerator and some cold drinks as well.

She had suddenly realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since lunch yesterday and her circadian rhythm was crying for some nourishment.  Even without being able to tell what time it is, the human body gets used to a routine and knows when food is typically delivered.  Victoria was a perfect example of this fact since her day was highly regimented, with all three meals being eaten within a one hour window for each one of them.

Whoever set up this place had spared no expense at least food wise since there were several different varieties of meats and cheeses in the well stocked refrigerator.  She also noted that there was a choice of bottled water, fruit juice, cans of soda and even a bottle of wine present in the unit.  Victoria momentarily wondered about the safety of taking this repast, but logic told her that nobody would take the time to kidnap her and then poison her to boot.

She selected a nice roast beef sandwich and a glass of water to go with it.  Since it was easier standing in the kitchen near the counter, this was the obvious choice for her food intake.  The meal didn’t last long as Victoria soon discovered that she was famished as the events of the past 24 hours had finally caught up with her.  The human body is not designed to run forever on adrenaline and sooner or later cries for proper nourishment.

With “lunch” out of the way, it was time to explore this place a little further to see if there was any way of escape.  The windows and doors had already been checked out, but Victoria noticed a skylight in the vaulted ceiling that may prove useful.  However, there was no way of safely reaching it in order to climb through the opening.  Thus it was ruled out as a likely option.  The walls were comprised of heavy plaster and there were no other ducts large enough to accommodate even her relatively small frame. She would just have to patiently wait until her captor returned.  In the meantime, she would look for some way to contact the outside world.

This unit had been set up to comfortably house somebody on retreat or hideaway Victoria rightly calculated.  There was no television or radio evident and no phone line either.  New information could not get in or out and that would be the perfect place of isolation for somebody who was writing a novel or perhaps painting.  Maybe a recluse had owned this place at one time she thought.

The one thing that really stuck out was the number of books that were readily available to read.  This did make sense in a way because they were mostly composed of the classics; some of William Shakespeare’s works, Dante, and modern day authors such as Sidney Sheldon and Tom Clancy.  Obviously, whoever owned this place idled away his time with this most leisurely of pursuits.  She decided to see if any of her favorites were present in order to pass the time more quickly.

After a thorough search of the more than 500 tomes covering one of the walls, she found “Anne of Green Gables,” and decided to lay down in bed to make herself more comfortable. Although it wasn’t her own room, this still beat the uncomfortable night that she had spent at the hotel.

Davis Knowles had been surprised to find two men waiting for him when he arrived at work that morning.  They looked to be official, flashing some identification badges and doing most of the talking.  The upshot was that he would have to accompany them to answer some questions regarding Victoria Masterson. He figured that it wouldn’t take long before he got rid of these two flat foots, so they all left together after notifying his immediate supervisor.

The ride over to their facility was made in almost virtual silence as most of his questions were met with icy stares as both men had no use for somebody who would bring harm to a woman.  Upon their arrival, Mr. Knowles was lead into a special room where his entire interview would be taped.  He was still under the impression that these were the police and would have to cooperate fully in order to be released.

They began with easy questions such as his relationship with Victoria Masterson and what kind of dealings had he had with the young woman.  Things began to get more heated when he finally relented and stated that she had “blown him off” numerous times as his advances were fruitless.

Davis admitted to being frustrated and was willing to go the extra mile in order to seek her favor.  He even admitted to sending her 3 bouquets of flowers to her house in the past couple of days to show that he was a decent guy.  That got the attention of both men who demanded to know the details of this act.

Young Mr. Knowles had no idea why all of a sudden his interviewers had gotten so angry and he considered both of them just a waste of his time.  This turn of emotion had gotten his attention quickly and he suddenly got the sense that there might be some trouble here.  Nonetheless, he tried to remain nonplussed about the situation and told them everything he knew about this particular transaction.

Davis had ordered 3 vases of red roses to try and smooth things over with Victoria as he got the sense that maybe he had come on too strong at one of the previous meeting they had had.  The floral company would deliver them the same day and thus she would be pleasantly surprised when she got home.  The representative stated that the driver would leave them in a nice gift box in order to protect them from the weather near the front door.  Since that sounded good to Davis, he had charged them to his credit card and had the receipt available if necessary.

Both of the agents exchanged glances when he finished telling the story and wanted to know why he had sent 3 bouquets instead of just one.  Davis explained that he felt really bad about coming on too strongly as Victoria had never treated him badly through any of their dealings.  Each of the vases stood for one of the successful contracts that she had negotiated.

The men briefly excused themselves to compare notes and decided to go for broke.  They wanted to see if his expression changed when they told him that Victoria was missing and that her house had been broken into as well.  Nobody was that good of an actor to be able to bail on cue and Davis was no exception. He looked shocked when they informed him that the young woman hadn’t been heard from in the past 24 hours, and since “his rose” were found inside of her home, that he was a prime suspect.

This was too much for Davis Knowles to take and even though he was a smooth talking professional, he began to babble about how he would never see her again and he just wanted to make things right between them.

The agents knew that he was broken, but also that he was not their man.  His story could be easily checked out through a couple of phone calls to the florist.  There had been no evidence of any shipping labels or packages at Victoria’s home other than the actual bouquets so whoever broke in was likely trying to frame Davis as he had readily admitted to purchasing them for her.

They excused themselves yet again to confer with the other member of their team who had been observing from behind a glass panel. She too concurred with their assessment, rightly stating that he looked like a man smitten, not one who was likely to do any harm to his latest crush no matter what kind of bravado he was putting up front.

The two men finished up their interview with Davis and then drove him back to the office.  This ride while being a little friendlier than the first, was still very curt in manner as the two agents actually felt a little sorry for their former suspect instead of pure contempt.

The hunt was now down to two principals: Jeff Perkins and Ken Gartner.  It seemed impossible at a time for either one of these gentlemen to be thought a suspect in the abduction of a young woman.  Both of them had been upstanding members of the local community, winning numerous civic awards in the process.  They would be hard pressed to find two better examples of proper citizenry than from either Jeff or Ken.  Nonetheless, one of them was behind this mess and it was up to them to figure out who it was.

Jeff had arrived at his office and was trying to continue keeping tabs on the situation involving Victoria while still running his business.  Obviously his mind was not focused on his work and this lead to a few silly errors that were not major in nature.  He had not announced to the staff the reason for Victoria’s absence, figuring it was not necessary to trouble them with burden as well.

A short meeting with Ashley had gone well even though he had to reprimand her for less than professional conduct.  This would be a mark on her record and lengthen the time it took for promotion, but a lesson had to be learned here and Jeff thought it better that she found out sooner rather than later that loyalty and being above board were qualities that were favored in his firm.  Although she hadn’t looked too happy, it was with great relief that she still had a job.  Mr. Perkins felt like an old time school marm dealing out the punishment when correcting his young associate.  But it had served to cut some of the tension that was definitely in this office.

Ken hadn’t called back with any news and the team at “Mr. Smith’s” were still conducting interviews of the suspects they had been watching.  Now that Ashley was out of the picture, he wondered who else was in the cross hairs of their investigation.  It would not be long before he found out that very fact.

Victoria had been reading her book and actually had forgotten about her surroundings for awhile.  This had always been one of her favorite books as a little girl and now she was delighted to read it again.  One thought had kept running through her head however, and this harkened her back to the scene at the hotel.  She remembered losing consciousness and a man’s face leaning over her, gently caressing her cheek.  If only she could make it out, but darkness was too quick each time.

After about an hour of reading, she had gotten up to get a glass of water and to use the bathroom when there was a click in the lock.  Somebody was here and coming for her!  Momentarily she panicked and looked for an escape route.  Remembering her surroundings, she headed for the bathroom and tried to barricade the door.  Although this seemed like a good idea, there was no way to actually keep an intruder out.

She crouched low in the bathtub, trying to get as small as possible as if he wouldn’t be able to see her.  Obviously this made some sense in her mind while realistically; it was only delaying the inevitable.  The door swung open and she heard footsteps on the floor.  There was also the sound of the deadbolt clicking back shut and a coat being tossed over a chair.

Peeking out from around the corner, she saw a man’s silhouette on the wall heading her way.  When he started to speak, she was relieved to find out that it was Ken Gartner.  Leaping up, Victoria threw herself into his arms and began bawling hysterically as she knew that as long as the detective was here, she would be safe from the man who had been harassing her.

Ken let her cry until she became coherent and then wiped away her tears with his handkerchief.  She would be full of questions and he would try to answer them as best he could.

Chapter 10

The two remaining suspects in the disappearance of Victoria Masterson would be interviewed today by Mr. Smith’s team of agents.  Jeff Perkins would be first since it was reasonably figured that he had spent the most time with her and had both the means and wherewithal to affect her abduction.

The only thing that was missing at this time was an obvious motive, but unbeknownst to the team of agents, that would soon become very clear.

They headed to Wright-Staples without any forewarning in case Mr. Perkins decided to disappear.  He has a powerful man in the community and had friends in just about every segment of society.  They had been very secretive about the investigation, but sometimes the slightest comment had proven to be an early warning system, allowing a perpetrator to flee the area.

Because he was a powerful and influential man, they also did not want to ruin his reputation on the slim chance that he was innocent.  The judicial system was based upon the premise that every man was innocent until proven guilty and he would not be railroaded into pleading into something that he did not do.

The ride over to Wright-Staples was uneventful and they politely asked for an audience with the CEO.  Quietly flashing their badges and identification cards, the team patiently waited for the secretary to announce them before heading upstairs.  Mr. Perkins seemed a bit confused as to their presence and asked if any progress had been made on the case.  Both men were doubly impressed with his countenance since no sign of guilt appeared on his face.  This man should have been an actor they thought since he had openly displayed concern about his missing associate and total empathy towards their plight.

The agents were almost embarrassed that they had to take him to another location for questioning.  But since he was one of their last two leads, it was absolutely necessary.  The man would be embarrassed at a public spectacle of being lead away in hand cuffs from the agency that he had taken so long to build.  No, it was better to slip away quietly for the interview process than to do anything here.

Jeff took a brief second to grab a few person items and informed his secretary that he would be out of the office for the rest of the afternoon.  He was still unaware of the amount of trouble that he was in and was under the impression that it was background information that these two men were after for the case.

They left the building without incident, as if all three men were heading for an afternoon power lunch rather than an interrogation session.  If this man was guilty, it would take more than just words to break him they both thought.

The ride back to their facility was uneventful, filled mostly with small talk about the weather and the lack of rainfall that seemingly had everything turning brown in this part of the country.  Jeff was well versed on almost any topic and could have talked finance with these two agents if necessary.

Once inside, they got a few cold drinks and then headed for the conference room to give the meeting a friendlier feel.  Jeff was surprised to see that his friend Ken Gartner was there waiting in one of the chairs also.  He figured that a big break in the case had been made and these gentlemen were there to pick his brain in order to wrap up the investigation.  How wrong was this line of thinking!

They let Mr. Gartner lead off the inquiry since he and Jeff had been friends for a number of years and he was reluctant to speak at first due to this very fact.  Ken informed Jeff that he had found Victoria Masterson and that she was safe for the time being.  The only problem was that she was currently in the retreat that Mr. Perkins owned in a secluded area of a rural county.  This was a place that Jeff headed to when he needed a break and could get away from almost all modern forms of communication.

Since only Mr. Perkins, his cleaning service and now Ken Gartner even knew about the existence of his place, it certainly looked bad for Jeff.  Ken said that place had been spotless and the refrigerator completely stocked with food in anticipation of a guest arriving.  That would have been okay, but having checked Jeff’s schedule, it was determined that he wasn’t due for any kind of leave for a month and a half.  Nobody else used the property but him.

Victoria looked a little bit shaken up, but none the worst for the wear according to the detective.  She had been glad to see him and would probably be okay in a couple of weeks. But the whole incident had really played havoc on her well being.

Jeff looked somewhat shocked and this was the first time that the two agents had ever seen him even the slightest bit ruffled. There was definitely something here as it seemed to be more than coincidence that the young woman had been found at her boss’s private retreat and that it had been fully stocked as if he had intended for a lengthy stay for somebody.

This appeared to be the break that they needed and they peppered him with questions about the place and how often he visited. Lying was useless at this point since all they had to do was check his docket to verify the next scheduled date of use.  Being CEO did not allow an individual to just leave on a whim and any time off had to be carefully considered and adjusted to customer’s needs.  Jeff always planned his stays there months in advance in order to accommodate even the smallest of clients.

Ken was not completely finished as he had been holding something additional evidence back.  According to security tapes from Wright-Staples, Jeff was the last one in the building every night that one of the mysterious packages was left by Victoria’s office.  Since nobody was logged in or out as a delivery service, the initial thought was that it was an inside job.  However, the two other potential candidates had already been proven innocent of these charges and that left Jeff as the last man standing. There was a tape showing that it was Jeff who had gone to Victoria’s office to drop off a package.

That bit of news was also met with a change of expression on Mr. Perkins face and the agents were slowly watching a proud man turned to rubble right before their eyes.  His once noble features were becoming turned down as he realized what his plight was becoming.

Detective Gartner went on to add that there had only been one other piece of usable evidence from the break in at Victoria’s house and that was Jeff’s business card which had been found under an overturned chair.  Because he always carried about a dozen of these in his vest pocket, speculation was that it had fallen out during his outburst at her home.

Jeff by now was looking stunned.  He didn’t know what to say and by the look on his face was trying to think up a good alibi in order to talk his way out of the situation.  But all of this news was just too much for him right now.  It was supposed to be only an information gathering session that had suddenly turned into a lynch mob.  Even a practiced speaker as himself couldn’t pull off a decent reason for these events as there hadn’t been any kind of warning.

The agents were looking at him differently now, their practice eyes trained to see any changes in expression and movement of the head. Jeff was looking at his shoes as he couldn’t bring his eyes to meet theirs.  That was almost a sure sign of guilt – akin to how a small puppy looks when his master has caught him doing something naughty.

Ken felt bad for his friend and tried to speak to Jeff, saying that he would get him a good lawyer in order to reduce the severity of the charges.  Mr. Perkins was having a hard time speaking as his mouth had gone completely dry the past few minutes.  He was still in shock and wondered when he was going to wake up from this nightmare.

There was just no way out right now as the mountain of evidence was too overwhelming.  The agents decided to take a break and left Jeff in the room to stew a bit before they would attempt to break him and secure and admission of guilt.  Right now the poor man could not even talk, so grilling him on this matter was pointless.

At the employment agency, they were still puzzled as to why this guy had been getting special treatment.  Nobody else had ever been given the kind of attention that had been afforded him.  Nobody completely understood it and the boss had been mum on the subject.  It was almost like running a covert operation with so many short term projects as they had been forced to create on the fly.

From a pizza parlor to road construction to floral delivery, nobody would have been talented enough to pull off all of these successfully.  What was his deal any way?  And how come they had to call in so many favors to make sure that he was placed in these positions?  Rumors ran rampant and it was assumed that their manager was getting some kind of kickback in exchange for all of these special circumstances that they had been forced to deal with.  Maybe he would share some of it with them, but this too was met with guarded optimism.

It was business as usual at Wright-Staples, even with the boss gone for the day.  Since he had a busy schedule, nobody gave it a second thought when he was seen leaving with two gentlemen in suits.  Everybody assumed that he was going for another business meeting with a potential client.  Jeff had a way of bring people to him, sometimes without them even realizing it. Business had always been good since the boss had a keen eye and good judgment when it came to evaluating potential customers.

Even Ashley Harrington hadn’t really considered the implications of the boss leaving.  After their meeting, she had tried to buckle down and concentrate on her career at Wright-Staples and not just advancing there.  As ambitious as she was, it was time to realize that dreams are realized by hard work and not just schmoozing clients.  It would also help not to intentionally undercut her associates as this practice often came back to bite the practitioner on the backside.

Ken had returned to the conference room to try and talk some sense into his friend.  He assured him that it hadn’t been easy building a case while leaving him in the dark, but all signs had pointed to him and were capped off when Victoria was found at his private retreat – a place that only a few people even knew existed.

He assured Jeff that it would be easier to just confess what he knew in exchange for a lighter sentence.  There hadn’t been any permanent damage done here, although some lawsuits were sure to follow once all the evidence had been collected.  However, is business and reputation were sure to take a major hit once this hit the newspapers and television news.

Jeff Perkins was no fool, and after some deep thought had finally had time to compose himself.  He was still trying to figure out a way out of this mess when the two agents returned to the room and began to grill him about his whereabouts for the past 3 weeks.  They were determined to wrap this case up today and hang another hide on the wall.

They peppered him with queries regarding his relationship with Victoria and wanted to know what his intentions were.  They had seen many serious offenders act as a mentor to a younger associate only to take advantage of her when her guard was down.  Once a confidence had been established, there was almost nothing that a young woman wouldn’t do for somebody that she trusted implicitly.  Jeff was smart enough to know not to answer any questions that were intended to make him lose his cool.  He simply pleaded the fifth in this matter and wasn’t going to answer any questions until his attorney was present.

Victoria was wondering why she had been left at this house.  Detective Gartner had listened patiently to her story and helped to comfort her while she regained some sense of normalcy.  It was hard to have your whole life turned upside down over the course of the last three weeks and she wondered what she had done to deserve this.

Ken had explained the whole story, including how they had found Mr. Perkins card at her home, the fact that he was always the last one in the building and had left the packages.  The topper was the fact that this place was in fact his.  The last fact really caught her off guard and she began crying because Mr. Perkins had always been good to her and had given her the opportunity when nobody else would.

The detective explained how circumstances like this often occurred and that a senior businessman in a position of power was often able to take advantage of a junior female associate because she felt obligated to go along with whatever he promised.  Sometimes this power was used to keep her under his control long after the initial wave of euphoria kicked in.

Victoria was heartbroken to think that her kindly boss was just such a man, but the detective was adamant in his statements and a sterling reputation in the community.  Being an experienced investigator gave him added credibility and this was enough to convince her that he was telling the truth in this matter.

Since Mr. Perkins hadn’t been arrested or charged yet, Victoria was still in danger according to detective Gartner so she had to remain here for a little while longer.  He promised to be back, but had some important business to take care of in order to assure her safety.  She thought that this was a good idea and wished him luck in this endeavor.

All of this had been done over eight hours ago and Victoria was starting to get worried again as Detective Gartner hadn’t reappeared like he promised.  Had something else happened to him?  Did anybody else know that she was here? It seemed like many thoughts were racing through her mind and none of them seemed to have a happy ending.

Maybe the detective had gotten into trouble or the man who was after her had him followed.  None of these scenarios looked good to Victoria and she began expecting the worst.  Every little bump or rattle caused her to panic a bit more until she was positively on pins and needles. None of the methods that she normally used to calm herself seemed to work.  It was at this point that she became terribly frightened and began having flashbacks to the hotel.

Over and over the same scene replayed in her mind until at last the third man’s face appeared over her just before everything had gone black.  It was him; her mystery man who had appeared out of thin air to wipe out the two assailants!  She had managed to get only one good glimpse of his features when the neon light from the hotel sign had caught him just right.

This was something that few people understood; the eye sees everything but the brain doesn’t always have time to properly process the information taken in by the optic sensory organ.  He had taken the time to make sure that she was all right and then hurriedly left when the sound of approaching sirens was heard.  The last Victoria saw of him, he was headed around the side of the building, quickly vanishing before the proper authorities got there.

These facts were rather puzzling, she remembered being escorted to a waiting van and then a man appearing out of nowhere to take down her captors.  How did he know that she was in trouble or was even there in the first place?  And why did he leave when the police arrived?

All of these facts just added to the mystery of her plight and now she was wondering just what would become of her since there was no contact with the outside world at this place.  The only bright side to the whole story was that there were books to read and plenty of food in the refrigerator.  At least she would not have to go hungry here if that was any consolation.

After a long day of waiting, a man appeared from out of the woods on the far edge of the property.  He had been waiting and watching to see if anybody would return.  It had been almost eight hours total and even though his training had steeled him against such a long wait, nonetheless a length of time such as this would be hard on anybody.

It was necessary to make a slow, circuitous route to the house in case anybody might see him coming.  Although there were no other dwellings within shouting distance, he was prepared for any eventuality even though he had reconnoitered the entire  property for signs of life and had found it wanting.

Once close to the domicile, he looked for an easy method of entry.  This might prove to be somewhat difficult as all of the windows were shuttered tight.  The possibility of removing them without the proper tools could cause too great a mess, so he ruled out this method of ingress.

There was one steel door on the front of the house and nothing on the backside.  It appeared to have two locks, consisting of the standard pin and tumbler set along with a heavy duty deadbolt.  While these could possibly be crashed, the resulting damage would probably awaken the dead.

The only other possibility that he saw was a skylight on the south side of the roof.  It was hidden from the small dirt road and looked to be big enough for a man to get through rather easily.  An access point of this type is commonly not locked as it is only used to bring in sunlight and sometimes air into a house.  He decided that this would be the best method of entry as the amount of chaos that he caused could probably be minimized.

Shimmying up a trellis on the back of the house, he easily gained access to the roof.  Wearing large boots is not conducive to climbing around roof tops as the traction is not the greatest, so he secured a line around the chimney in order to more easily maintain his footing.  Once this was done, he decided to make his way up to the skylight for a better view.

Victoria thought that she heard footsteps on the roof, but in her current frame of mind, didn’t know whether to believe it or not.  Maybe it was just the wind she wrongly calculated. No, these steps were regular as clockwork as somebody was definitely up there.  Now her mind was starting to regain its sharpness as sometimes an adrenaline rush could do that to a person. He must be heading for the skylight to gain entry to the house.  She had to find somewhere to hide and fast!

The skylight was a modest purchase and had been added after the house was built.  It allowed a lot of sunlight into the main living area and had saved a lot of money on lighting bills.  There was also a closeable shade to shield some of the hot rays when they weren’t needed.  Fortunately for him, the lock hadn’t been engaged and he was able to lift the edge enough to unlatch the entire assembly.  Peeking inside he didn’t see anyone and this would be the perfect time to gather more information.

Victoria had chosen an inside closet as it was relatively full of various items that she thought would make good cover.  If anybody opened the double doors, they would have to search with more than just a passing glance in order to discover her presence. It was unfortunate that she had left part of her lunch on the counter and the glass was still cold.

The man on the roof carefully unhinged the cover portion of the skylight and set it aside.  There was no reason to be careless at this point as everything could be put back as necessary.  He was still attached to a harness and tied off to the chimney.  Since it was relatively new, there should be no problem bearing his weight on the descent into the house.

He cautiously dropped to the floor, halting twice to see if there was any activity.  Seeing none, he detached himself from the line and began to look around.  Noting the lack of modern communication devices, his eyes quickly scanned for anything else out of the ordinary.  On the counter was a half eaten sandwich and a glass of juice that had condensation on the sides.  This was a sure sign that it had been out for at least 20 minutes.

The man knew that nobody had left since the place had been under observation from his position for the past eight hours.  This meant that somebody was still here.  His senses were now on full alert and he would have to search all of the room to discover what other secrets were hidden in this place.

Victoria could hear somebody moving about, but she was too scared to even breathe at this point.  The man seemed to be quickly searching the premises as if looking for something and he also appeared to be very skilled in this task as well as there was any extraneous effort on his part either.  At least that is the way it sounded to her in these cramped quarters.

With most of the other rooms already looked at, that left only a small back bedroom to be examined.  There was no basement, crawl space or attic to worry about, so if anybody was hiding in this residence, he/she had to be in here unless they could magically make themselves invisible.

There are some people with a heightened sense of the world around them, sort of the same effect that happens when one loses one of the five senses – the others become appreciable sharper in order to compensate.  One gift that this man had was that he was able to feel when he was in close proximity to another person.  That sensation immediately hit him upon entering this room.

He looked right and left, ruling out the chest of drawers for being too small for anybody to fit and decided that there were only two possibilities in this area:  under the bed or in the closet. He checked the former first since it offered sufficient room and was dark, but turned up nothing.  It was then he noticed that the doors didn’t line up correctly.  One was slightly ajar as if it had been closed a little too quickly.  These kinds of observations had managed to keep him alive in many tough situations and he wasn’t planning on losing his edge just yet.

Victoria was on pins and needles now, her heart thumping so hard she was sure that it was about to come out of her chest.  She was sure that he had heard it beating and was making a move straight for her position.  Frantically looking around for a weapon, she espied an umbrella straight overhead hanging on the clothes rack.  It could be swung on an arc to distract the intruder and she might be able to get away or maybe somehow incapacitate him.  Although she didn’t have time to work out all of the details, this seemed like the only logical thing to do at this point.

He opened the far door first, examining the items on the shelves and looking on the floor.  Everything seemed to be in order and nothing had been disturbed here.  There was no possible way that anybody could have come in here and hid on this side. He then closed the door and prepared to check out the other side too.

Victoria braced herself as the door flew open and a man in black appeared.  He first checked the shelves on top and was sure to discover her position at any moment. Since it was dark in the closet, it was hard to ascertain what was on the floor as this side appeared to be a jumble of things quickly stashed away.

When he lowered himself down to get a better view, Victoria put her plan into action, seizing the umbrella with both hands, she pushed as hard as she could, hoping to at least disorient the man so she could make a run for it.  Unfortunately, her plan did not work as the intense training that he had received in covert affairs and his hair trigger reflexes allowed him to dodge the blow before it could do any damage.

Victoria was hysterical now, crying and pleading for the man not to kill her. She kept saying that she was sorry and hadn’t done anything wrong.  He didn’t say a word and simply grabbed her hand to pull her from the hiding area.  It would do no good to try and resist since this man could probably kill her anytime that he wanted.

He was about to lead her into the living room when the sound of a car pulling up could be heard.  Victoria thought that she was saved since it had to be Detective Gartner because he had promised to come back for her and had most likely been detained.  She wasn’t taking any chances however, as this man had the upper hand right now.

The sound of a car door slamming was heard and then footsteps up to the front door.  She heard the sound of a deadbolt unclick and then Ken Gartner stepped through the door and called her name.  He was doubly surprised to see that she was not alone; his eyes going wide with surprise when he saw what appeared to be a Special Forces commando holding onto Victoria.

“Who are YOU?” Ken demanded instantly because he saw that Victoria was still shaking and was probably scared out of her mind.  “I was going to ask you the same thing,” was the reply, “and what are you doing in Mr. Perkins’ house?”  Ken stated that he was keeping Victoria safe here while the investigation into the strange events that had been plaguing her was being wrapped up as they were talking.

Victoria was starting to get a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach.  Both men seemed to know her boss and although she knew one of them quite well, she was starting to get a bad feeling about this whole mess.  It was like being the pawn in a game of chess between two malevolent players with no way out!

Just as suddenly, Ken pulled a gun from his shoulder holster and aimed it directly at the other man’s chest.  Let the girl go now he demanded.  This missive was met with a slight scornful look and absolutely no movement.  Detective Gartner was determined to capture this young man as he was obviously working for Jeff Perkins in his plan to abduct Victoria Masterson.

He cocked back the hammer on his .45 caliber pistol and was ready to fire when the sounds of police sirens could be heard in coming up the road.  This made Detective Gartner grin as there was now no way out for this thug except the front door and he was blocking the path to the exit. It would now be only a matter of time before they took this man into custody as Mr. Perkins’ accomplice and that would wrap up this case.

Four cars pulled up, two black and white patrol vehicles, one plain sedan and a luxury car befitting a CEO.  Eight men got out and entered the small house.  Four patrolmen, two men from the detective bureau and Jeff Perkins accompanied by “Mr. Smith.” The latter duo came as a big surprise to Ken as he wrongly assumed that his former friend was in jail.

Nonetheless, he stated that Victoria was now safe and he had captured the other man who had been assisting Jeff in his abduction of the young woman.  The patrolmen beckoned for her to join them and they walked her outside for some air.

Ken Gartner had a big grin on his face and was feeling quite pleased when he noticed that nobody else was smiling. The silence was deafening in the room.

It was “Mr. Smith” who was the first to speak.  “You had a great plan Ken, but you made one big mistake,” he said.  “The business card that you planted at Victoria’s house was one of his old ones.  The new style that is being used now doesn’t match up in either lettering or font size.  Since YOU found it, the reasoning is obvious that you also put it there.”

Detective Gartner didn’t know what to say and tried to plead his case, but Mr. Smith continued.  “We’ve had you under surveillance for a couple of weeks and have tracked your every move.  The secret cameras that Mr. Perkins installed shows you planting the packages as well outside of Victoria’s office.  This helped to put you in good with her and Jeff as he would immediately turn to you in case of trouble.”

Jeff mentally congratulated himself on his fine acting job earlier in the day and chimed in with the fact that it was Kenneth who advised him against hiring additional security at the firm as he had designs on putting in his own system, probably to further his actions.  It just didn’t make sense to him that such a distinguished detective would throw it all away in such a hurry.

Ken knew that he was finished and hung his head low.  He allowed the police offers to take his gun and badge and prepared to be handcuffed.  The other men pitied him now, wondering what could cause a man to completely lose it, throwing it all away for an affair that could never be?

The patrolmen lead him to their car for the trip to jail.  He would be arraigned and sentenced with all of the evidence that had found against him in this case.  The other patrol car followed, along with the detectives, leaving only Mr. Smith, Jeff, Victoria and the mystery man.

She was looking on in astonishment at the whirlwind of activity that had just taken place.  It had only been a little bit more than a half hour ago that she had feared for her life.  Now, the man she had trusted so explicitly not even 24 hours ago was being sent to jail for trying to abduct her.  What a strange turn of events this had become!

There was now only one question left and that involved the operative in the face paint and dark uniform.  That little detail was quickly supplies by Mr. Perkins who introduced his favorite nephew – Joseph Harris who was busy trying to wipe the camouflage markings in order to properly greet this lovely lady.

With his face clean and hat removed, she let out an audible gasp!  He was the mystery man who she had seen at several locations.  It turned out that her boss wanted to keep a close eye on her and who better than a family member who knew the score?  Joseph grinned at Victoria as he was suddenly aware that she was in on the plan.

That did not do too much good for her heart as it was now racing at the thought of this now familiar stranger standing so close.  He asked her if they could take a short walk and she somehow managed to get out a yes even though her knees were too weak to move.  Nodding at his uncle, Joseph took her hand and they slowly strolled around the house towards the woods where he explained how hard it had been to keep an eye on her while trying to stay invisible as well.

Victoria was still thanking her lucky stars to have such a great boss along with such a tremendous nephew.  She knew that there was only one way to thank him for his services but he would have to agree. Feigning something in her eye, she stumbled a bit and he reach down to steady her.  She looked up at him with a wide expression, hoping that he would take the hint.

The two met with a passionate embrace, Joseph actually lifting her off the ground in a bear hug, wrapping his arms around her waist and swinging her in one complete revolution.  She laughed out loud and flung her arms around his neck.  When he put her back down, their eyes met and she knew that this was the moment that she had been waiting for ever since that first glimpse in the pizza parlor.

When their lips met, her right leg instinctively lifted off the ground and there were fireworks exploding all around. This was the man she had been waiting for all of her life and the future indeed looked bright.  They headed back to his uncle and “Mr. Smith” with some good news.