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She changed into workout clothing and stretched her arms toward the ceiling, feeling lighter now that she was free of her belt and the Kevlar vest she always wore on duty. But she never minded the additional weight. The vest and the belt protected her on the job. They were the only security system she needed.
In the kitchen she grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge and stepped to the four new monitors that took up too much space in her tiny living room.
The first monitor showed a view of her hallway leading from the camera over her door to the elevator and the fire escape stairwell beyond. Every five seconds the view flipped to show the hallway to the second fire escape. She could see anyone who exited the elevator or the stairs on her floor.
She unscrewed the cap on her water. Right now the hallway was empty.
The second monitor revealed the main entrance of the building. Even before the new system, every door was always supposed to remain locked and residents used a fob to enter and exit any egress point. Management provided a phone so guests could notify residents of their arrival, but the phone and camera to view guests seldom worked, so someone had disabled the locks.
Trey’s new electronic door couldn’t be tampered with, and the camera functioned perfectly. Taking a long drink, Kelly watched people enter and exit the doorway on her monitor. It was 8:00 p.m., so the view was fairly active.
She waited while the third monitor rotated between two separate views of the parking lot, the two fire escape exits on the ground floor and the various stair landings on all six floors.
No monsters anywhere. At least not in real time.
The system kept the video for forty-eight hours, and then recorded over the loop. She switched on the fourth monitor and scanned the recordings in triple time, looking for anyone that resembled Adam Chandler. She’d done this for three nights and had come up empty. She pulled up a chair and wondered how long she’d continue this routine. She was already bored. That was the problem with these passive types of security systems.
She yawned, her mind wandering to the workout she’d do later. When Kelly refocused on the screen, she bolted forward to freeze the recording on a figure trying to open the east fire exit door. Hadn’t she seen the same person trying to access the west door at some point? She made note of the time signature, backed up the video and slowed the recording to normal time to watch the man again.
Yeah, maybe this guy was Adam Chandler, but maybe not. Body type was the same, but the face was in shadows. Definitely similar hair. Long sleeves, so no way to make ID through his tats.
Well, whoever he was, he definitely wanted in her building but didn’t have a fob to open the door.
She checked the instructions from the security company, located the time signature for the west door and sure enough the same guy was trying to gain access. He even kicked the door in frustration, and that was likely why she’d remembered him.
He’d made a mistake.
She repeated the process for the main entrance and found the man again. The lighting was better here. Kelly’s heart pounded. He definitely resembled Adam Chandler. The FBI could confirm it with their face recognition program.
The timing, if it was accurate—but then of course it was; Trey paid for it—showed he’d started with the fire escapes and then moved to the front door. Why would a resident do that? Or a guest?
Last night this man had tried to get inside where he didn’t belong. It didn’t mean the man was Chandler, but Trey’s new security was working to keep whoever he was out.
She watched him read the instructions that told guests how to notify residents of their arrival. He picked up the phone and punched in some numbers. He turned his face away from the camera, so she couldn’t tell if he spoke to anyone. Maybe no one answered. Whatever occurred, he dropped the receiver and stomped off the visual field.
She waited. When he didn’t return, she sped up the recording. According to the time stamp, forty-five minutes later a resident she recognized from the gym approached. Shaking his head, he placed the phone back in its cradle and used his fob to enter. This had all happened yesterday evening at midnight when the front door was fairly quiet. And she’d been at her most vulnerable. Sound asleep.
