Page 39 of Redemption
“I am. What happened here?”
He looked over his shoulder at the scene. “Someone, or multiple someones, broke in to your office last night. We need you to get us the surveillance footage. There is no sign of forced entry, no broken windows, no kicked-in doors. The only sign this place was robbed is, well, your office.” He looked at me thoughtfully, as if my face might reveal something. “Whoever did this planned it well,” he said.
Sophia and I got out of the car and walked together toward the building with the cop. “What exactly happened to my office?” I asked.
We passed by Edward and some other employees sitting in the common area, their eyes lingering on me like deer in headlights. The officer stopped. “You’re free to take a look, but don’t touch anything. We still need to take some pictures. Meet me back down here with a copy of the surveillance footage and we will be out of your hair.”
Sophia and I climbed the stairs in silence. The long, dark hallway leading to my office felt darker, more narrow than I remembered. In the corner of my eye, I noticed Sophia wipe her face. She was successfully holding back her tears silently, until I opened the door. My office was unrecognizable. Papers were scattered across the carpeted floor, files turned upside down, every drawer on my flipped-over desk open and empty. The large window that offered a view of the town now bore the haunting reflection of Sophia’s distant stare. Having seen enough, I came up behind her and held her around the waist. For a long while, neither of us spoke.
“Are you going to check the footage?” she asked, her voice monotone.
I stepped away from her without a word and lifted my desk upright. I opened my backpack and pulled out my laptop before glancing in her direction, thinking about telling her to come over, then deciding against it. She didn’t need to see this. I logged into the security software and played the footage. I saw a man clad in black clothes, his face and head shrouded in a hood and mask. He casually approached the building, then pulled out a set of lock picks. He got through the front door as fast as he could have with a key, then disappeared into the building. I clicked on the next camera, just past the reception area. He stared right at the camera, but only his eyes were visible. I wasso focused on the video I hadn't noticed Sophia had left the window until she gripped my arm. She shifted, resting her chin on my shoulder as she watched, her tears dampening the side of my face. The man entered the elevator and stared deeply into the camera again the entire ride up. When the elevator door opened, he winked before stepping out.
“Fucker.” I muttered as I switched to the next camera covering the hallway and a small portion of my office. He knew exactly where it was. I could feel Sophia's racing heart beating against my back. He strolled down the hall, tried the handle on my locked office door, then pulled out his lock picks again before slithering through. Through the open door, I could hardly see what he was doing. He walked over to my desk, opened it, and grabbed my whiskey, then sat at my desk and yawned with an exaggerated stretch. He propped his feet up and took a long swig, then absentmindedly opened all the drawers. He read through each paper, dropping some, collecting others, then slid the blue folder containing the incomplete pollution report into his satchel.
“Oh my god,” Sophia said with a wince.
The man laughed, then came back into the hall and addressed the camera. “Sorry about this next part, Gabe,” he said blankly before returning to my office. With a grunt, he flipped my desk. The sound of it crashing to the ground was mixed with static as the video feed shook. He moved onto my bookshelf and pulled everything down. He wasn't looking for anything now, just destroying. I couldn’t see what he did next, but the results were in front of me. The cushions on a chair in the corner were cut open, the carpet ripped up in random areas. I was still watching, trying to see if he did anything else, when Sophia slumped to the ground, sobbing with her face in her hands. I paused the video and looked at her. I was about to console her but heard voices in the hall, coming toward myoffice. As quickly as possible, I began deleting every video from last night. A knock echoed from the door.
“Sir, are you in there?”
I clicked the delete button relentlessly on the last video, as if that would make it delete faster. “Dammit” I said under my breath before slamming the laptop closed. I slipped out of my chair and positioned myself down by Sophia, patting her back as the cops entered. I looked up at them with forced sorrow and weakness in my eyes.
The officers looked surprised to see Sophia huddled on the floor, her body heaving with sobs. One of them stooped down, offering a hand to help her up. She didn't take it. Instead, she shot me a glare through her tear-streaked face before standing up on her own.
"Sophia," I started, but she cut me off with a wave of her hands. She pushed past me and walked out of the office. I watched her retreat, her sobs growing louder as she made her way down the dark hallway. I wanted to follow her, to fix this, but the cops were expecting me to turn around and talk to them. One of them was taking pictures of the cut-up chair and the papers on the floor while the other approached me.
“So did you make a copy of the footage? Did you see anyone recognizable?”
“No, there was no footage from last night. It looks like the cameras haven’t been recording for days,” I lied, forcing my voice to stumble with feigned anxiety.
The cop taking pictures took an interest in the conversation and walked over. They looked at each other like they suspected the intruder was somehow responsible for the missing footage. “That’s not a good sign, but if it was deleted, our forensic people should be able to recover it. Could we take your server for a few days?” the second cop asked.
I waved a dismissive hand and began my next lie. “I think it would be pointless. I know why there's no footage.” I sat down, looking distant while shaking my head. “Our IT Guy left a couple of weeks ago. We’ve been looking for a new one, but haven’t had any luck. The cameras weren’t recording because he wasn’t here to maintain the system.”
“Talk about bad timing,” one cop said to the other before responding to something unintelligible over his radio. “Well, you probably know this, but without anything to go on, we won’t be able to look into this any further. Give us a list of what you find is missing and we’ll keep our eyes out, but don’t expect much.”
“You’re just giving up?” I asked, feeding them the line they expected.
The other officer looked a little sympathetic but mostly just tired. “Look, we understand how you feel, how everyone here feels, but the fact is, there is very little to go on. We will keep this case open, but I just want to set up a realistic expectation for you.”
“I understand.” I reached out to shake their hands before they turned to leave. “Thank you for your service.”Fucking pig
“Thank you for your support,” one of them said without turning. I watched from the window as the last cop car drove away. I sat back at my desk and saw the whiskey bottle on its side, half-spilled. I reached for it, then stopped at the sound of a harsh voice in the doorway.
“Gabe,” she said accusingly.
I stood and faced Sophia, forgetting the bottle. She walked past me toward the window and stared into the distance. I reached out my arms and hugged her from behind, relieved when I felt her hands on top of mine over her stomach. Then her grip tightened and ripped my hands off of her. I took a step back in surprise. Before I could say anything, she whipped around, staring daggers into me. Her face was wet from tears, but hersadness had passed. Only anger remained, twisting on her face as it fought for dominance over fear.
"That man. He knew you, and I think you know him. No, I know you know him. He called you fucking Gabe.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off before I could. “Don't even try to lie about this." Her eyes burned with anger as I walked toward her, arms outstretched.
“It’s alright,” I said casually.
“No.” She slapped my arm, but I held her anyway. She unleashed a torrent of slaps, which painlessly hit my arms, chest, shoulders. I gripped her tighter.
“Enough, stop.” I said calmly. Her soft little hands continued padding against my hard muscles, then her hand bounced off my shoulder and grazed my face.
