The waitress came by and delivered their orders. Mel always became hungry when frustrated, so the food was right on time. She thought about it while starting her lunch.
“All I was doing was an internal audit, they happen from time to time. Nothing ever comes…oh shit,” she said, remembering what she had found. Still, she wondered what that would have to do with anything.
“I did find some discrepancies in the books. They actually looked pretty severe. I figured that the boss would want to see them and investigate. I don’t know why that would get me in trouble, especially since I haven’t got a chance to tell the company about it,” she told them before taking another spoonful of soup. The minestrone was excellent as always. It helped her relax. Max looked at the investigator.
“What do you think Dave? It would seem an extreme reaction to some financial squirleyness wouldn’t it?” Max asked.
“Hm, maybe. Depends on how much it was and what kind of trouble it could get them in. Torch the place and blame it on someone else has been done before,” he reflected looking over at Mel. Mel dipped the last of her sandwich into the last of her soup and as usual, once she was relaxed and fed, her mind kicked into gear again. With the release of the initial stress she began noticing everything that should have occurred to her earlier. She felt more than a little stupid.
“Okay this is going to sound stupid guys but if my boss thinks I did it, I should be out of a job, right. I mean I haven’t heard a word from them. No one from work came by the hospital. Isn’t that strange?” she asked. They both nodded.
“Yes, it is. Then again there is no real proof other than you, the janitor and his son were the only people in the building at the time the fire started. So without proof you could have a case against them for firing you without cause,” Dave said.
“So me being there is the only reason they think I did it. I was only there for the internal audit they ordered. I realize it was late but once I get started on something I don’t like to stop before I am done. It is how I usually work,” she told them shrugging. She took some flak for her single-mindedness sometimes, but had got used to it.
“They ordered? How much trouble could they get into with what you found if someone outside the company discovered it?” Dave asked. Mel thought about it. She glanced at Max and he smiled encouragingly. It was a devastatingly handsome smile and she looked away to stay focused.
“I would guess quite a bit if the misallocation of funds I found was actually the company’s doing, instead of one executive they could blame it on,” she told them. They thought about that a moment while finishing their own lunches.
“You were right Melanie; this place has good food. How about this, they were doing something shady and knew that they would be caught soon if they did not make it disappear. So they ordered an internal audit, and torched the evidence. My guess is you were the one they wanted to die in the fire,” Max said softly. Mel was stunned. Dave nodded.
“Even though she did not, the evidence is gone and they can deflect any blame to her as a survivor. Considering the fire though, my guess is blaming you Melanie was a spur of the moment thing. You were lucky Max was able to get to you in time,” he said.
“So they would have expected me to die in the fire and be free and clear. Then why the audit,” she began, but then shook her head. “Because it has to be proved that internal audits are done. Everyone can claim one was done, but oops it is gone. Here are new records you can use for another, except any records they give them will be clean,” she said disgusted. It seemed a roundabout way to get away with robbing your own company. She shook her head and reached into her pocket with a smile. She held up a thumb drive.
“Would a copy of the records help?” she asked. Never before had she been so glad she was so fastidious about her work. Both men were surprised.
“Why do you have a copy?” they both asked.
“I was going to give it to my boss so he could try and find the culprit. I was interrupted as soon as I finished it by the fire and never got the chance,” she told them.
“As intense as that fire was, all records are destroyed, even the digital ones, unless they kept backups offsite?” Max asked.
“I doubt it. They had impressive computer servers and didn’t need to have anything offsite. Security is better that way too,” she pointed out. Dave nodded. They all sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in their thoughts. Mel found that the more she thought about it the more she was convinced their theory was correct. Nothing else made sense. She knew she had not started the fire and was sure the poor janitor and his child had not. So somebody had to have done it, and she could think of no reason to torch the S.E. Super Shoe company unless it was a competitor. If that was the case though, she thought, there would be no reason to go after her as the company was trying to do. She shook her head and Dave reached for the thumb drive she still held.
“It you don’t mind Melanie, I can get that to a financial investigator to go over. Do you mind?” he asked. Mel had decided she did like Dave, and it wasn’t just for his good looks either.
“You can call me Mel, everyone does, and you can have the records. They all have the time and date I saved them. I wrote up a short description of the problem in one of the files too. I hope it helps – if I get accused of any wrongdoing I could have a hard time getting work,” she said. Dave nodded and they finished up. Then the nice gentlemen walked her to her place, a block down from the deli. She thanked them repeatedly and they promised to be in touch before they left. Once she shut the door she leaned against it sighing. Glad to be home.
*****
Home Invasion
“So basically Janey, you don’t know what is going on either?” Mel asked. Janey was an acquaintance from work and the closest person to a friend she had. They were both eggheads and had known each other in college. Janey was working in the marketing department at Super Shoes.
“All we have heard is the shop is shut down for the foreseeable future,” said Janey. “When I heard you were in the building I almost freaked. Lawrence from the executive assistant office said he had heard that they were suspicious of you. That is clearly ridiculous. You are like me, numbers and finishing the job in front of you is all you think about at work. Are you really okay Mel? It sounds like your experience was pretty intense.”
Mel could hear worry in her voice. She was touched by Janey’s concern and wondered if maybe she had a friend after all. Since she had drunk three glasses of wine and was working on her fourth she felt less inhibited and told Janey about the fire and her rescue.
“Damn, girlfriend! You are lucky to have made it. It sounds like those firemen are calendar material on top of being so brave, huh?” Janey asked. Mel blushed a little but smiled. She had seen a few office gals with firemen calendars and Janey was right. Max and Dave would not look out of place with those men in the annual calendar. Mel giggled.
“Well, they are pretty damn good looking but I am more concerned with saving my butt from an arson charge. I mean, I know I did not do it and there is no evidence, but Super Shoes has long arms. You remember how they got that building permit in an area not zoned for it last year?” Mel reminded Janey. Janey snorted. It had been a topic of whispered conversation in the break rooms for a few weeks.
“Yeah I remember. You be careful, you hear me? Ah crap, my boyfriend is here. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” Janey said.
“Okay, thanks Janey. Have a good night,” Mel told her and they hung up. Mel finished her wine with a smile. Janey had always been preoccupied with her boyfriend of the moment. She had also been a big proponent of setting Mel up with some of her male friends, but Mel had always been too busy. Janey’s words did get her thinking of Max and Dave though. They may be worth the time, she thought with a giggle. Then again, which would she choose? They both had their good points.
Mel decided to call it a night when she yawned three times in a row. The wine was going to her head and she was feeling the stress of the last few days
. She went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and hung up her robe. She glanced in the mirror on the way out. Not bad for a geek, she thought with a smile. Her waves of red hair looked good around her heart-shaped face. Her nightshirt and pants showed off her voluptuous figure nicely too. Maybe she should consider Max or Dave after this was all over. She was sure it would be over soon. She just wished she knew how it would end.
Shutting off the lights she went into her room and sprawled on her bed, pulling the blankets up and it was not long before she was asleep.
Her dream was a replay of the dreams she had experienced in the hospital. The room filling with a hot black smoke and she could hear the shouts of the janitor and his son from down in the basement. There was no way she should have been able to, but she was desperate to get through the door to go help them. She called out, but it was futile as she tried to rush out of her little office door. Her actions became desperate and she began sobbing as she was driven back inside by the roaring flames. Then she heard voices, angry and demanding. She felt hands on her arms and she tried to turn, screaming herself awake.
“Stop screaming bitch, you have enough problems,” said a gravelly voice she did not recognize. The only light was a little night light she had in the outlet on the far wall. There were three men in her room. They looked huge in the darkness with shadows that were frightening and she froze.
“Who are you?” she asked in a trembling voice.
“We are the cleanup crew darling. You should not be here, so we are going to make sure you die this time,” said one, as she was yanked out of bed. She felt weak and unprepared to defend herself.
“Why, I didn’t do anything!” she cried out.
“That is not what your suicide note will say. I wrote a good one for you. Listen to this,” he said. Mel felt tears coming down her cheeks as she trembled in the men’s hands. Suicide? What they were talking about?
“I cannot live with myself. I caused the deaths of the poor Mr. Jones and his son Harry. I just could not stop myself from that, so I must do this to make amends. I cannot help myself and must light the fires. God help me I am coming to you,” the man finished.
Mel felt coldness in the pit of her stomach. The company could have her killed and blame her for the deaths. Did they know she had proof of the financial misdeeds? She kept trying to come up with distracting questions as she was hauled across the room toward the bathroom. She tried to struggle but the two men holding her arms were too strong for her. She began crying out, then yelling for help and she was slapped once.
“No, don’t hurt her. She can’t look like she was hit. She did this to herself remember. Jeez you guys are idiots. How you got this job is beyond me,” said the man who had read the fake suicide confession. Then Mel heard a shout that made her heart soar. The men holding her were shocked and the shadows around her all turned to the door. Something flew through the air and the man next to her cried out and fell away. Mel jerked her arm free from the man still holding her as two bigger shadows came into the room. Suddenly there were curses and the sound of punches being thrown and connecting. Mel dove to the floor, rolling up against her dresser in the corner to stay out of the way. The cursing got louder as her tormentors seemed to be getting beaten.
“Damnit, who are you guys? Shit stop, oh, ow!” cried the voice of the man who had read the note to her. She heard another of the bad guys crying out as well and furniture fell over with a crash. She heard rapid footsteps and her front door sounded like it crashed open. Mel trembled in fear and hope until there was silence. She slowly uncurled and began looking up as the light was turned on.
“Melanie, are you alright!? Shit, come here Max!” Dave said as he bent over Mel. Mel began sobbing in relief and threw her arms around him. She had been saved. Max was next to them in seconds and checked her out for injuries.
“Are you alright Mel? I can’t see anything wrong, talk to me,” he asked and she forced herself to calm down and her sobbing slowed enough to speak.
“I am fine, really…just real…scared,” she told them.
“Whoever they were got away, they weren’t up for a fight. Too bad, I would have liked to have someone to hand over to the cops,” Max said. Both men were bending over her with concern. She wiped her eyes feeling like a wimp, but so glad they had come.
“Why are you guys here? I have never been happier to see anyone, believe me, but…” She trailed off, unsure how to ask the question. Dave smiled and pointed at Max. Max shrugged.
“I was worried about you and it occurred to me that if they had tried to kill you with the fire, they might try something else, so I called Dave and he agreed so here we are,” he said humbly. Mel smiled shakily.
“Thanks Max, Dave. You have saved my life again. They were planning on killing me and making it look like a suicide,” she told them. They both cursed and helped her up. Her room was trashed. Her end table was broken and so was the lamp from her second dresser. Max found a piece of paper on the floor and grimaced.
“Here is the note. Shit, it’s not even any good. It makes sense though, in a twisted way. It is a story that would be bought by the brass with the pressure from the company. I am not comfortable with turning this over to the cops yet, now that I see this. These people are going to stop at nothing to clean up their own mess,” he said. Dave frowned.
“That is what one of them said. He said he was the cleanup crew and that I would die this time,” she said, beginning to get angry. They really did want to kill her, she thought, angry and welcoming the anger. It was better than the trembling fear. Mel realized she had not been taking the whole thing seriously enough. Well that was going to change now!
“We should report this, even though we don’t even have a description to give the cops. We have the “suicide note” but that could have been written by anyone. But then again there are plenty traffic and security cameras on this block so they may be able to get a look at whoever it was. Anyway, if we don’t report this incident now, we won’t have any credibility when we eventually bring it to light. I agree though that I don’t trust your safety to anyone else. I have no idea how far Super Shoes can reach to get you. Do you trust us Mel, enough to let us look out for you?” Dave asked. Both men looked at her.
She knew that she had only known these men a short time but the look in their eyes convinced her that she could trust them. Not to mention they had saved her twice. She smiled at them and nodded.
“I would rather have you two looking out for me than someone I don’t know. My trust level for strangers is at an all-time low. Know what I mean?” she asked. They both agreed.
*****
Saviors and Lovers
The next night Mel was settling into a motel. It was nice enough without being high end. Max and Dave thought it would be safer and had been very careful getting her there, to be safe, they said. All of the cloak and dagger secrecy made her a little nervous, but at the same time she was glad she had such careful protectors.
All three of them were sticking to their theory about Super Shoes and the company’s intentions. As odd as it seemed, Mel could see a kind of logic to the whole thing. With everything being digital it was harder to keep separate books. If just one outside auditor, or even the IRS saw something strange they could conceivably could strip the computer system’s hard drives to uncover whatever it was that they were looking for. Mel sighed as she stepped into the shower.
She continued to go over everything in her mind as she lathered up her hair and body. Enjoying, as always, the soft feel of the shampoo and body wash she used. It occurred to her that she may have just touched on the surface of the financial shenanigans that Super Shoe was perpetrating. She had only been looking at it for that one day in the office. How long had they been doing it? How long had they been planning the arson?
Mel used a soft luffa over her body before rinsing. She ran it down to her flat belly and then thighs with an unconscious smile for the lovely feeling it evoked. If Super Shoe had been planning this
for a while, then it could have been extremely calculated. She knew that the last year’s taxes had been squeaky clean. She had worked on them and knew it for a fact. So everything she had seen and anything else they were doing had taken place only this year. With this year’s records destroyed in the fire (or so they thought), they could use previous years’ records as proof of their fidelity, if asked for financial records by the government.
Mel rinsed off then, enjoying the clean, fresh-scrubbed feeling. She always felt energized after a good shower. The government would quite likely accept the old records, she thought, as long as there was a provable reason as to what happened to their current records. If that was the case though, then why use such obvious arson? Why not try to make it look more like an accidental fire? Dave and Max said there was no doubt about the fire being deliberately lit.
Perhaps, thought Mel, the company wanted to be obvious about the arson in order to scapegoat me, and so divert investigators from looking into the company’s financial malfeasance. That made sense.
Pleased with her deductions she got out of the shower and dried off. The motel had decent towels, soft and big. Mel got into sweat pants and a tank top before going to watch some television on the bed. Max and Dave had said they would be bringing dinner. She did not pay too much attention to the television as she wondered about the message she had received on her phone. A missed call from her work.
It had been from her boss’s boss, politely asking when she would feel ready to go back to work. His message was kind and sweet, yet she had never actually spoke to the man before. Besides, there was no reason for him to be calling; her normal supervisor could have done the job just as well. When the call first came in she had let it go to message because Dave had said she should not answer the phone. If someone was trying to find her and had the right equipment, answering a call could be disastrous. The message made her nervous and glad Dave had warned her. Of course Janey had called as well and she felt bad about not answering that one. She promised herself to get back to her as soon as she could.
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