Chapter 12

Fred was disappointed, "That's not a trap."

"It's a logic trap." Velma responded, trying not to be irked by the interruption. "And you're the one that has to spring it. Just as soon as I make the final confirmation."

"So, I don't need to go to Home Depot for anything?"

Daphne looked at Velma, "You should see the look he gets in his eyes when he's walking through that place. He goes when he doesn't even have a project."

"I'm waiting for the DIY muse to strike. It's spiritual."

Shaggy nodded, "I feel that way at the grocery store."

"Rhee rallowed ralls." Scooby sighed.

A few minutes later, Velma knocked and opened the door to the security control room. "Excuse me, Sheila. Do you mind if I walk with you through your rounds?"

Sheila spun around in her chair. "Sure. Mr. Beaman told us to cooperate and help in any way we could."

"You wouldn't have helped us otherwise?"

"That's correct. I do what the people who pay me tell me to do."

"Where's your line on that?"

"My line? Oh, ethics and all that. Well, I'm not going to break any laws, and I won't take my clothes off. But, other than that, I'll do what I'm told."

"That seems fair."

"Let me run through my checklist and then I'll be ready to head out."

Velma watched as the guard checked that the cabinets in the room were locked and then hit control-alt-del on her computer and locked it. She then checked her phone to make sure that she would see any alarms. Lastly, she led Velma out into the corridor and locked the door behind them.

Her first stop was the front lobby where she smiled and waved at the receptionist. She and Velma then started walking down a long corridor.

Velma spoke nonchalantly, "Mr. Beaman says that you and the other guards work with each other as far as scheduling goes."

"Yeah, they're a good bunch. Even the new guy seems okay. But, when I need to swap shifts, it's usually Jimmy."

"How well do you know Jimmy?"

"Not as well as I would like. He's a hunk and a half. Way out of my league."

Mental alarm bells went off in Velma's head. This was getting close to girl talk—which she hated and at which she was awful. "When was the last time you swapped shifts with him?"

"I don't know…" she stopped and opened a door to look in. "…probably three or four weeks ago. No, it was three. I remember because it was my little brother's birthday, so I had to take Monday off and then swap shifts with him on Tuesday in order to drive down to Alabama and back.

"So, he took your shift on Tuesday?"

"Yep." Another door was opened and checked.

"And Tuesday is when the janitors clean the server room."

"That's right."

"And two of the four ghost sightings have been on Tuesdays during that period."

There was a silence as they walked side-by-side down the hallway. It was broken by Sheila, "The other two sightings weren't."

"True enough. But two of four being at a time when it is known that you will be away from the control room is an interesting data point."

"But I would see any alarms on my phone."

"If there were alarms."

"What does my swapping shifts with Jimmy have to do with anything?"

"Because he told us that he didn't know when the janitors cleaned the server room."

Another long silence. Then, "Maybe he forgot."

"Maybe."

"Is Jimmy a suspect?"

"Of course. So are you."

"I'm Southern, so I'd be likely to be pro-nazi. Is that it?"

"Something like that."

"Do you mind me saying that ticks me off?"

"I'm not here to win friends or influence people. I'm here to solve a mystery."

"I guess that's right."

"I appreciate your help, but I need to get back to my friends. I'll leave you to your rounds."

Sheila stared after her.

An hour later, Fred was walking with Jimmy on his first rounds of the night. "Thanks for letting me go along with you tonight, Jimmy."

"No problem. It's nice to have some company, for a change."

"It's obviously not a social call, I need to pick your brain, a little."

"Bring it on."

"What do you make of Sheila and Conrad?"

"I don't know Conrad well since he's new but he seems okay. Sheila's the greatest. She puts up a lot with my irregular schedule and doesn't file complaints when I come in late and switches shifts when I need it. She's a lifesaver."

"We found out some pretty interesting stuff about both of them. Like, Conrad's great-great-grandparents were nazis." This wasn't true but he was baiting the hook.

"He's German. Everybody's great-great-grandparents were nazis. That has nothing to do with him."

"And Sheila has a great-uncle that's a member of the United Klans of America."

"Again, that has nothing to do with her. We can't control our relatives."

"But the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Her great-uncle is not her tree."

Jimmy wasn't taking the bait easily, but Fred really didn't need it. It would just be some good audio in case they could ever get out from under the NDA. "Can we turn down this hallway?"

Jimmy glanced down the dark corridor, "Sure, these rounds are supposed to be random. Lead on."

Motion-sensor lights came on as they made their way. Fred turned left and then right until he was at door marked:

B117

Mechanical Room

Fred tried to keep any emotion from his face, "What's in here?"

"Nothing much. It's just a mechanical room. It's got a couple of power panels and An HVAC unit." Jimmy's delivery was relaxed. If Fred had not been looking closely, he would not have noticed the barest hint of nerves in Jimmy's expression.

"Can we take a look?"

Was that a hesitation? "Why not?" Jimmy opened the door. The light in the room was manual and Fred reached to the switch and turned it on. If Jimmy noticed that Fred knew exactly where the switch was, he didn't reveal it.

Fred stepped through the room and pulled back a large cardboard box which had been broken down flat. It was leaning against the wall. "I think the plans said that Ted Beaman added a hatch into a mechanical chase right here." He pulled the cardboard away to show a two-foot by two-foot cabinet-style door. "Can we look inside?"

"No, it would trigger an alarm."

Gotcha! There was no alarm. Jimmy had lied.

Fred nodded, "Oh. Okay. Do you mind if we go back up to Mr. La Gorce's conference room? My friends are up there, and I need to see what the plans are for dinner."

"Absolutely!" Jimmy's slight overreaction spoke volumes to how happy he was to be getting away from that chase door. "We can use the back elevator."

As they walked, Fred started the conversation again, "I'm not sure that I'm on board with you about Sheila and Conrad. I mean… yeah, they, personally, aren't to blame. But people who hate have hurt so many other people. And what happens? Maybe it goes viral or gets on the news. But then a little bit of time passes and everybody forgets."

They arrived a few feet from the conference room door and Jimmy stopped short. "They're all in there, aren't they? La Gorce. Beaman. You kids."

"Yes. They are."

"The police?"

"No, Mr. La Gorce wanted to hear your side of things first."

"You think that I'm going to break down and confess?"

"We don't really need you to. We've got enough. Certainly enough to fire you. Probably even enough to make a case of malicious mischief stand up in court, if Mr. La Gorce decides to go that way."

"Are you sure that you're only sixteen?"

"Nearly seventeen."