Maxine Skye, Private Eye

by Monique Smith

  April was right, she did like to run a tight ship. “Come on girl.” Verene said. “I'll take you upstairs to the executive suites where I do my end of shift cleaning.” “Okay cool.” I said. But I was really thinking great now I get to nose around a little and see what I can find. We walked around to the elevators I saw earlier and she opened the doors. We walked inside and she hit two and the doors closed. “Girl, this is where I like to clean when they all go home. It's sweet up here where all the execs sit.” “Who sits up here?” “All of the attorneys, accounting and legal secretary's sit up here. This is where all the magic happens. I like to be nosy and look around after everybody is gone.” The doors opened and we stepped out into a large hallway. For some reason it did look bigger than downstairs. “Now, I always start in Nathan's office, and work my way around. But since you're here if you want you can start at the other end in Steve Hall's office. It looks like everyone is gone.” “Okay I'll start there.” I told her. This was great! I hit the jackpot. Except for the natural light coming in from the windows, it was dark. Steve's office was at the end of the hall, the big corner office. His door was closed but not locked so I went in. I turned the lights on and stood in the doorway looking around. The trash is always a good place to start if you want to know what someone has been up to. I looked underneath his desk and found his trash can. I pulled the whole bag out and replaced it instead of emptying it. I also checked the shredder and there was paper in it so I emptied that into a bag. I tried to open the drawers but they were locked. Darn.

  There was a large cabinet near the back so I tried to open it, and, it opened! Yes I thought. I had to be careful not to get caught snooping before I could even finish my first day. So I took a quick look in the cabinet. There was a suit jacket and pants, a tie and a pair of shoes. There was a woman's red dress, a bra and panties, and a pair of high heels. That was interesting but what caught my eye even more were the manila folders that were neatly tucked at the bottom of the cabinet. There were only five of them that I could see, one of them was labeled personal accounts-LK. Hhhmmmmm I thought. Could this mean Lucy Knight's personal accounts? I didn't want to disturb anything so I took a quick picture of them with my cell phone. I also took a picture of the entire cabinets contents and closed the doors. I started dusting the desk as my eyes continued to search for things to record. I noticed a photo on his desk of a very pretty woman. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. She was very petite and she was wearing a pink Nike jogging suit and Nike tennis shoes. I recognized the well dressed man I saw this morning in the next photo with his family. They were at a park, casually dressed and all smiles. The blonde woman was standing next to him and there were two children with them. The older one looked to be about 15 and the other one maybe 10 or 11. I snapped a quick photo of the photo to have a reference for Steve Hall.

  I was continuing to dust the desk when I saw what looked like white powder on the wood. Before I dusted it I took a piece of tape from the dispenser and pressed in down to collect it. I made a mental note to call my friend Adam at the lab. I went over to get the vacuum cleaner. As I started vacuuming I noticed a small white piece of fabric on the floor behind the chair in the corner. I bent down to pick it up. It was a pair of women's white panties. So who did these belong to? I didn't know what to do with them so I put them in the chair and kept vacuuming. Then just as I was about to leave I saw it. There was another door in the very back of the room. I don't know how I missed it. I vacuumed the entire room right up to the door. I opened it and I could hear people talking. I couldn't understand what they were saying so I pulled out my phone and it put it in record mode. I stood still and quiet and tried to record them. Suddenly they stopped talking and I could hear them walking up the stairs. I quickly wrapped the cord around the vacuum and hurried to the door. I took a quick look around, grabbed the bags turned off the light and closed the door just in time to see Steve Hall enter his office. He was being trailed by none other than Laura. I wasn't all that surprised after hearing her conversation with Angela earlier. I kept watching them through the small glass window on the door. She walked up behind him and whispered something in his ear. He turned around, picked her up and kissed her on her huge breast. She wrapped her legs around him and I could hear her laughing. She started running her fingers through his hair and he continued kissing her breast.

  I decided to leave before they did something I couldn't unsee. I'm not a child so I knew where this was heading. I went on to the next office which belonged to Will Benning. Will's door was also unlocked so I went inside to start cleaning. I started again emptying his trash can. I can't keep everyone's trash it would look too suspicious. So I decided to dump Will's trash into the same bag as Steve's. I would have to try and sort it all out later. I also checked his shredder but it was empty. His office wasn't nearly as big as Steve's. I also took a picture of the pictures he had on his desk. He had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. In the picture he had his arms around the waist of a woman with long brown hair and big green eyes. They were both wearing blue jeans and t-shirts that read Main Street racquet ball. As I started dusting his desk I hit his laptop by accident and it lit up. There was a naked woman sitting there on the screen and there were other pictures of naked women in rows beneath her. So, he sits here and watches porn all day. I took a picture of his laptop and remembered Mrs. Knight saying that he was a friend of her brother John's. I also remembered her saying he hadn't let her down yet, that she knew of...I hoped she didn't consider this a let down.

  The last office on this side of the hall belonged to Heidi Blue. Again I repeated the steps as previously to clean her office. The only thing in her trash can was an empty smoothie container, a partially eaten bag of walnuts and a banana peel. Heidi had a bag of fruit in a fruit basket on the file cabinet behind her desk. She had a mini fridge beside her desk. I opened it and it contained nothing but fruit smoothies, celery and carrot sticks. Seemed she liked to eat healthy. There was a picture on her desk of a young woman with brown hair, hazel eyes and glasses. She was wearing a graduation cap and gown. I recognized her from this morning, she was the only one who spoke to me. There was another picture of an elderly couple. I snapped pictures of both of them. I dusted her desk, vacuumed and checked her shredder. It was empty and the cleaning part of my job was done for the day. I met up with Verene at the other end of the building. “Oh good, I see you're finished too and just in time.” she smiled. I looked down at my watch. It was 4:41. “How did it go your first day?” “It was okay I guess.” I tried to think of a way to approach the Steve and Laura situation without sounding suspicious. “I see Steve works late huh?” I asked casually. “Steve?” she said “Yes. I was done cleaning his office though but as I was leaving he came in the back door...with Laura.” I said cautiously testing the waters.

  “Oh yes, Steve has a back door to his office that leads downstairs and out of the back entrance. He can go all over the building from that door if he likes.” She didn't say anything about Laura and at first I thought she didn't hear me because I did kind of trail it off. “And Laura”...she continued. “That woman knows she's wrong for sleeping with a married man.” she said. “But it's none of my business.” “You're right, it's none of your business.” We laughed. But it's about to be all of my business I thought. We took the elevator back downstairs and put everything back in the closet. “Thanks everyone for another productive day. See you all in the morning.” April said. “Well I'm heading out to my next job now. See you in the A.M.” Verene said. “Okay have a good one.” I told her. The building was quiet as we were leaving and everyone was gone, even Jennifer. I wanted so badly to check out her area to see what she's up to all day with her secret beau but I decided not to chance it. I didn't know if there were lobby cameras and if so where and when they operated. I called my lab friend on the way home. “Adam!” I said. “How's life treating you?” “Pretty good I guess.” he said. “What's up Maxine?” “I have something I need you to test for me as soon as you can.” “Oh
yeah? Sounds interesting Ms. PI!” “I think it probably will be a lot more interesting than you or I know right now.” I told him. He laughed. “I'm gonna bring it by in about twenty minutes.” “Okay, I look forward to it.”

  When I got to Adam's job the parking lot was empty which was good for me since he was doing me a private favor. It's always good to have a friend in the lab when you're in this business. Never know when you'll need results fast and free. I dropped off the package and he told me he should be able to get me results within a couple hours. Adam worked for the Hadley Police Detectives Investigation Unit. I was a secretary for them for almost three years but I was bored to death and wanted something more. I used to watch the detectives coming in and out of the department and listen to their stories. I was fascinated by how they solved some of their cases. Lance has been a police officer for seven years with Hadley. He was offered a promotion twice but declined both times. He said he doesn't want a comfy office job he prefers walking the beat everyday. He likes the interaction with the community and he said it gives him a chance to connect with the youth and help them stay on the right path. While I appreciate all those facts I really wish he would have taken one of those cushy office gigs. I worry about him all the time. He says I have given him a reason to worry as well, especially since I took firearm classes and have become licensed to carry a weapon. I have to be prepared for anything at all times.

  Lance was working late tonight so it gave me time to sort through everything I'd gathered today. But first I wanted to take a shower. Being a PI really takes a lot out of you, always being on the lookout and listening and taking notes on everyone and everything. But at the same time it was fascinating and it made my heart pump and I feel alive. I got into the robe I love-the one I've had since college. Yes I said college. I have taken great care of this robe and it really doesn't look all that old. This was one of the last things my grandmother gave me before she passed and it always made me feel safe and comfortable just like she did. I poured myself a glass of wine and sat down. I took a deep breath before I dumped the contents of the bag on my kitchen table. At first glance, everything looked all jumbled and I thought I would never be able to figure it all out. But then as the wine kicked in, the paper put themselves together like puzzle pieces. I was able to sort out Steve's from Will's. Steve had much more shredded paper than Will did. Will's paperwork looked like normal business transactions once I taped them together. But Steve's looked a little more complicated. He had a lot of numbers that didn't seem to belong to any of the firm's accounts. Lucy had given me a list of legitimate account numbers that should be handled on a daily basis. She also gave me some of their accounts that didn't do that much business but when they did it would be on a large scale.

  It took me hours but I couldn't find anything in Steve's shredded paperwork that corresponded with what I have as legitimate according to Lucy's list. I poured my second glass of wine and sat trying to figure out what was what. So far it was looking like Steve didn't have any reason to have these figures going out of Lucy's accounts. I found my cell phone vibrating on the kitchen table. I had four missed calls. Two from Lance, two from Adam and three text messages.

  Lance: I called you a couple times Max, call me as soon as you get this please. Adam: Hi Maxine, I have your results. Call me when you can.

  Lance: Max! Come on call me text me you know I worry!

  Me: Lance I'm fine I'm at home I'll call you in a few minutes.

  “Adam? Hi, it's Max.” “Well hello...so, I've tested the substance you gave me. Turns out it's what you probably thought it was...the white lady...cocaine.” “Wow.” I said. “You came through for me again Adam, thanks.” “Glad I could help. By the way, I thought you said you would get me a date with Mya?” “I know Adam, I'm still working on her. She's still hung up on her stupid boyfriend.” “Okay well keep me in the loop then.” “Definitely.” I told him. As I was hanging up with Adam there was a loud bang on my door. It was after 9:00 and I wasn't expecting anyone. Just when I got up to see who it was I heard my name. “MAX!” It was Lance so I opened the door. “Where have you been?” he asked me. “Didn't you get my text?” He pulled his phone out. “Yeah, just now.” “See I told you I was fine.” “But I've been calling you all day Max. With this new job you took on you know you have to keep in touch with me.” “Were you worried honey?” I said pulling on his badge. “Of course I was worried, you're my boo.” he smiled. “Well I love a man in uniform.” I said teasing him. “Come here.” he said pulling me closer to him. “How was your first day?” he kissed me on the lips. “Very interesting.” “Oh... how?” he asked helping himself to a sip of my wine. “Have a look...” I said pointing to what looked like a mess on my table. “What's all this?” “This is paperwork I took from the shredders today. Only two of the people that I'm investigating actually had anything in their shredders.” “So that's what you've been doing, putting all this together?” “Yes! Now you see why I didn't call you.”

  “You're dedicated I'll give you that.” “Thank you. So, I didn't see anything in Will's papers, but Steve...he had several transactions today that didn't correspond with any of the accounts Lucy gave them permission to deal with.” “Hhhmmm.” he said. “Exactly, and look.” I pulled out my phone. “I took pictures of the cabinet in Steve's office and see here on the bottom?” I pointed to the files marked personal accounts-LK. “Yeah?” “I was wondering if these were Lucy Knight's personal accounts. If so why does he have them hidden in his cabinet?” “And, what is he using them for?” “Well that's what she hired you to find out.” he said taking his shirt off. “You're off duty?” “Yes, I'm off duty.” “Good I could use your help.” Lance and I sat for another two hours going through everything that I had until we fell asleep on the couch. The next morning I got up made coffee and put notes in my iPad. I kissed Lance goodbye and I'm off to another day of spying...I mean cleaning. Everyone's arrival times were pretty much the same as the day before. I went to the supply closet and found my list. Today I was responsible for cleaning the second floor windows and vacuuming the main areas. I gathered my Windex, gloves and cloths and took the elevator to the second floor.

  I would have to catch up with Jennifer and her boyfriend situation later. The second floor was full of bustle and movement, very much the opposite of last night. I decided to start right where I got off of the elevator in the lobby area. I had never seen windows that covered the entire outer area of the elevator. If this building were taller you could almost see downtown. But still it was a very nice touch. When I finished cleaning the elevator windows I moved on to the windows in the hallway. I was working at a faster pace today because I wanted to get to the inside where the offices were to try and hear people talking. Moving on into the inside area I could listen better to people's conversations. I noticed that Angela from the copy room was upstairs and it looked as though she was passing out copies of something to each office. The two guys from the mail room were also upstairs doing their rounds passing out and picking up mail. I started working from the far end of the office by the attorneys. Even though they didn't work in accounting they might still have some useful information.

  I started working by Nathan's office. His door was closed and judging by the look on his face he wasn't having a pleasant conversation. Since I couldn't hear anything he was saying I hurried up to finish my work and moved on to get closer to Greg's office. Greg was the total opposite of Nathan. His door was open and he was loud. He too was not having a pleasant conversation. He was yelling so loudly I could guess why Nathan kept his door closed. I was trying to decipher what exactly he was yelling about. From what I could understand he was defending someone for mail fraud. He was trying to reschedule his court date so he could gather more evidence. It didn't sound like the magistrate was willing to go along with it. It sounded like he was working so I moved on to Ashley. Ashley's door was open and she wasn't yelling but she was loud enough for me to hear her. She was also situated in the middle of the office floor
where there wasn't much noise. “Please don't talk to her about this Frank. I can handle it.” “I know that and I told you it will take me some time but I will deal with it.” “If you just give me another week, two at the most, it will be all taken care of and you can stop worrying.” “Yes... fine.” “Goodbye.”

  I wondered what she was talking about and what it was she needed to take care of. It could be anything, after all this is a law firm. I would keep her conversation in mind if I ever thought it would make sense at another time. “Hi, Maxine is it?” Angela said to me. “Yes, hello.” “How are you doing on your second day?” “Oh it's the second day but I'm enjoying working here. This building is very pretty.” “Yes it is, there's a lot of history here.” she told me. “Really?” “Oh yes. I haven't been here very long myself, but they offer a mandatory class for new employees to learn about this company and the founders.” “That's interesting.” I said. “Yes it is...well I better get back to work. See you later.” “Okay.” “By the way, thanks for giving me my phone back. What a ding bat I am!” “No worries.” I smiled. That was very interesting to know that there is a mandatory class offered to new employees. I wondered what they taught and if Lucy knew about it. I made another mental note to ask her. I continued on with my cleaning without incident until I reached Steve's office. “Excuse me.” Steve said to me. “Yes?” “I spilled some coffee on my desk. Can you clean it up please?” he asked. “Of course.” I went into his office and sprayed some all purpose cleaner on the coffee to clean it up. He stepped away I was guessing to clean his shirt. His cell phone lit up with a text message. I didn't want to be to obvious reading it but I only had seconds before the phone went dark. It said: 'Steve I can meet you tonight @ 7:00- you know the place.' Message from: Unknown.