Cryptography Capers

By Dan Kelly

This is a suspenseful tale about two private eyes who during their normal course of doing what they do best, snooping, they get caught up in an international intrigue that causes bedlam in the nations of the free world and puts the planet on the brink of WW III.

Sam Cavanagh and Bridget Collier, sole partners in C & C Investigations, specialize in industrial espionage and have a reputation for getting to the bottom of things, but what their future holds for them is seemingly a bottomless pit of danger.

Russia and China have joined forces to destroy the infra structures of the United States and the democratic nations of Europe, initially by engaging in cyber warfare which then evolves into sabotage and plans to assassinate political and corporate leaders in the free world.

The genesis of all this mayhem lies in the lust for revenge of one Russian individual, Dima Sokolov, whose brother, Timur, a Russian fighter pilot, was shot down and killed by an American fighter pilot.

Sam’s and Bridget’s involvement soon escalates into a working relationship with the NSA and the FBI and the two PIs quickly become major thorns in the enemies’ backsides, winding up with targets on their backs because of the prices put on their heads.

Although this is a work of fiction, it wouldn’t be too far fetched to think it could become a reality. Ponder and enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dan Kelly
• Release date: Oct 6, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463902066

Dan Kelly

A Little Bit About Dan Kelly the Author"May you always find a good book to read and the time to enjoy it!"After spending forty years in the real world of domestic and international banking, my writing activities being largely restricted to business plans, internal memos, advertising copy, news releases and speeches, I decided I had had enough of the real world and made up my mind to pursue something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while, immerse myself in the world of make believe just for the sheer joy of letting my imagination and creative juices run wild.Except for the occasional humorous ode for the enjoyment of family, friends and colleagues, I never had the time to indulge the more fanciful side of my nature, but since July 2007 I’ve made great progress in atoning for that neglect. My Irish sense of humor coupled with my experience in dealing with a broad spectrum of people from all walks of life and social status are proving to be a wonderful reservoir of inspiration for me in character and story development.Celestial Capers, Casino Capers, Computer Capers, Caribbean Capers, Carat Capers, Calling Card Capers, Cabernet Capers, Calumny Capers, Canyon Capers, Capital Capers, Counterfeiting Capers, Cryptography Capers and Chopper Capers are the products of my first thirteen mental voyages into the realm of make believe and I hope you will be as delighted as I was to make these trips. I am currently embarked on my fourteenth safari into the relatively unexplored dimensions of my imagination, Campaign Capers, and I am finding the expedition as thoroughly enjoyable as my first thirteen tours. I’m hoping you will too.If you'd like to contact me, feel free to send me an e-mail at [e-mail].

Book preview

Chapter 1

Late Spring 1995 Off the Coast of Alaska

Just after sunrise on a cloudless Saturday morning Timur Sokolov, a Russian Sukhoi Su-33 (Flanker-D) fighter pilot, lifts off from his carrier situated twenty nautical miles off the southwest coast of Alaska under orders to harass all non-Russian air and sea traffic, military or otherwise, beyond the sixteen-mile territorial waters limit of the United States and Canada.

NORAD, The North American Aerospace Defense Command which is a United States and Canada bi-national organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning for North America, know of Timur’s presence soon after he is airborne.

Upon the sighting, two U. S. F-22 Raptor fighters are scrambled from Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage to intercept him and keep him company, but from within their territorial limits. The U. S. fighter pilots do not enter international air space as they are there to prevent any invasion of their territorial air space by a foreign military plane without American permission, not to pick a fight.

However, when Timur becomes aware of the F-22s presence he interprets this encounter as an act of aggression and in violation of his orders enters U. S. airspace to show them he is not intimidated.

Timur assumes a flight path of 45 degrees and fast approaches one of the F-22s empennage and when he gets within 180 feet with no sign of veering off the F-22 pilot takes evasive action, but Timur stays on his tail. The other F-22 fighter pilot, figuring the Russian is overestimating the time he has before he runs out of sufficient airspace to maneuver, is not going to give the Russian a second chance to play his dangerous game and blows him out of the sky.

There are a few tense weeks during which there are a lot of people holding their breath waiting to see how Russia will react to their fighter plane being shot down and the pilot killed because of a malfunction in the plane’s ejection system. The Russians throw out a lot of threats, but fortunately don’t back them up with any military response. As the weeks pass by, the incident gradually fades from the public eye and is soon forgotten.

Not by everybody though. Timur had a younger brother, Dima, who at 17 was six years younger than Timur, who revered his brother as the best of the best in anything. Upon hearing of the death of his brother and how it came about, Dima’s childhood ended. He vowed that from that day forward he would dedicate his life to making the Americans pay for killing his brother. He contrives a plan that will indeed eventually drive America into a state of desperation.

Chapter 2

Current Day Mid-summer in mid-town Manhattan New York City

It’s mid-morning, mid-week, mid-August in mid-town Manhattan with the temperature and relative humidity heading towards the eighties. Sam Cavanagh and Bridget Collier, partners in C & C Investigations, are sitting in their fourth-floor office at the corner of East 44th Street and Lexington Avenue listening to a voice mail message from a Melvin Sussman, COO of Laurel Laboratories. The company specializes in cancer, diabetic and Alzheimer research and has operations in France and the UK as well.

Mr. Sussman suspects research data is being accessed and copied by unauthorized personnel and wants to hire them to find out who’s doing it. He will give them the details of what has alerted him if they agree to take the company on as a client.

Sam and Bridget used to work for a large commercial insurance company as claims investigators/adjusters and as their experience grew, they became aware that insurance underwriters wouldn’t go near industrial espionage. They soon realized it was a big problem with big corporations and the only solution to it was to identify the culprits and sic the law on them.

Sam and Bridget formed their partnership to specialize in this kind of thievery, appropriately named it C & C Investigations, and began to fulfill a need that gradually started to put big bucks in their bank accounts. They are beginning to build a reputation for being spy finders extraordinaire.

Sam is 6’3", 200 lbs. of solid muscle, has dark brown eyes, dark brown wavy hair worn at a medium length and combed straight back. Most women would think him handsome even with the slightly crooked nose which was broken in a fight and not reset properly. Sam is 34 years old.

Bridget Collier is 5’10", 150 lbs. of exceptionally packaged pulchritude with flaming red shoulder length wavy tresses and unusual silver-gray eyes drawing attention to an exceptionally

beautiful face. Bridget is 32 years old.

Both are highly intelligent and analytical and have a keen sense of humor. They both have long fuses, but Sam normally will lose his cool before Bridget.

Sam says, This company has been getting a lot of attention by the Wall Street Journal lately. It’s currently a privately held company, but there has been some speculation that it might go public to expand their research activities.

Bridget says, It might be a good idea to suggest to Mr. Sussman that he meet with us here and not in his office since he has no idea who the culprit or culprits are. If we show up at his place, it might tip the wrong people off as to what might be in the works.

I agree. Let’s return his call now and see what we can set up.

Ten minutes later an appointment has been scheduled for tomorrow morning at ten in their office.

Bridget says, Sam, our calendar is already over loaded. How we’re going to fit this in is beyond me. We might be at the point where we should consider bringing on another investigator.

Sam responds with, You may be right, but I don’t like the idea of being anybody’s boss. I like things the way they are.

Bridget says, Me too, but if we start turning away business that could put us on the path of no new business at all or not enough to pay the bills. I believe it’s crunch time for us.

Sam nods his head and says, Okay, when we put this one to bed, we can start looking.

Bridget says, I can live with that.

Chapter 3

When Melvin Sussman shows up at their office at ten sharp the next morning, he is not what Sam and Bridget are expecting, a middle-aged, balding, paunchy, dressed to the nines demanding guy.

Quite the contrary. He’s a young man somewhere in his thirties, a physically fit six-footer with a full head of curly black hair, dressed in light tan slacks, dark brown loafers, an untucked solid brown polo shirt and his demeanor is friendly but professional.

As they are settling in around a circular table in their small conference room Bridget asks, Mr. Sussman, before we get into it would you like something to drink, coffee, tea, a soft drink, bottled water?

The water would hit the spot right now. It’s like a furnace outside and it’s not even noon yet.

Bridget grabs a bottle of water from the fridge in the corner of the conference room, hands it to the man and then they get down to business.

Sam opens the conversation with, Let’s start things off with you doing the talking and us doing the listening. What exactly is going on at Laurel Laboratories that has alarmed you and don’t spare the details? How did you become aware of the situation, how serious is it in your opinion and what time constraints would we be dealing with if we take on your problem?

"Myself and the other C level execs became aware that something was amiss when one of our information technology people noticed some unusual things happening with files at times when the research labs are closed. There are no signs of hacking or attempts at hacking which is not surprising as we have spared no expense in putting in place the most sophisticated firewalls and other computer security measures to protect our research. Legitimate access codes are being used when none of these people who have been assigned these codes are on the premises. Somebody somehow has gained access to these access codes without the legitimate code holders knowing anything about it, at least that’s what we believe. If any of the legitimate code holders are stealing anything, they could do it during their normal work day.

All our employees are seriously vetted before they are hired, including myself and the other folks in senior management. With all the precautions we’ve taken, I’m having a bad time believing we have a fox in the hen house, but there just doesn’t seem to be any other explanation.

Bridget asks, What’s the nature of the data in the files being accessed?

Sussman answers with, "They contain all of the research data accumulated with respect to the development of new pharmaceuticals for the treatment of brain tumors, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. Our research project with respect to brain tumor destruction is nearing completion. We have developed an enzyme that when injected into a brain tumor destroys the bad tissue, leaving the healthy tissue alone. We will be releasing this new medication to the FDA for approval at the end of the month after some final clinical trials are completed and appropriately documented.

The costs of this kind of R & D are enormous and it will take some time for us to recoup those costs and start to make a profit. Product pricing, product availability, product advertising are the next hurdles we have to clear to accomplish that. Having to deal with illegitimate competition while trying to do that might very well prove to be an exercise in futility, especially if litigation is involved.

Sam says, So we’re talking very big bucks here and a very short time frame with respect to this enzyme treatment for brain tumors being approved by the FDA?

Potentially, billions of dollars and six to twelve months to get FDA approval.

Bridget says, Mr. Sussman, sparing no expense when it comes to your security protocol is a very smart move for an operation such as yours. However, any security system can be breached under the right circumstances because there are some very smart and clever people out there just waiting for an opening. Having someone like your information technology specialist monitoring things is the best way to deal with this kind of situation. The sooner you can get on top of things, like you’re doing, the better your chances are of limiting the damage.

Looking at Sam for any signs of which way he’s leaning regarding getting involved and seeing none she adds, If we get involved, we will be looking in every nook and cranny of your organization. Nobody will be exempt from our questions. There may well be some ruffled feathers before we’re through. We will bring in our experts to examine your computer systems and your buildings security systems. We will assume aliases as efficiency experts brought in by you to look for ways to streamline operations and reduce costs. This will give us free run of the various departments without arousing any suspicions. Do you have a problem with any of this?

Sussman answers with, None whatsoever.

Looking at Sam Bridget asks, Is there anything you’d like to add?

Sam responds with, There is one item I’d like to clear up. If any of your employees at any level arouse our suspicions, will we have access to their personnel files to learn more about them?

I see no problem with that. If anyone in personnel gets curious, I can explain that as part of your service you review personnel for cross training and promotion potential.

Sam says, That should work. Looking at Bridget he goes on to say, "If we can keep our true identities and what we’re up to a secret, known only by the three of us, I believe we’ll have a good chance of discovering who is sticking his nose in places it doesn’t belong.

I have one more question for you. Who besides you, the other C level execs and the employee who told you knows about what’s going on?

No one. We thought it best to keep it to ourselves to reduce the chance of word getting out to the wrong people.

Sam then says, What about the employee who warned you? Did you tell him to keep his mouth shut?

I did. He’s been with the company for over ten years and has never given me any reason not to trust him.

Sam then says, Okay then, the first order of business is for you to provide us with a list of the employees whose access codes are being used to access the restricted files, where they work and their work schedules.

Bridget joins in with, Gives us a couple of your business cards and tell us where we can find you when we show up at nine a. m. this coming Monday morning. We will use our real names, but we’ll have business cards with the firm name of Bottom Line Efficiency, a phony P. O. Box number in Rutherford, New Jersey and our cell phone numbers. We’ll be passing them out at the appropriate times. They will add some legitimacy to our presence. We’ll give you one on Monday. When you leave, I’ll have to run out to the printers to have some printed. I’ll have them tomorrow.

Sussman says, I appreciate your willingness to try to help with this.

Pulling a business card case from his pants pocket he retrieves a couple, hands one each to Sam and Bridget and says, My office is on the fifth floor and my name and title are on the door. Have a nice weekend and I’ll see you on Monday morning at nine. Bye.

Walking back into their office Sam says, This is not going to be a slam dunk. It’s going to take a while to find these people.

Damn. We never discussed our fees. At $250 per hour, the tab is going to grow rapidly.

Sam says, Well, we can bring that up on Monday and we can waive the retainer if he’ll agree to periodic payments when we ask for them. I don’t think there will be a problem.

Bridget chuckles and says, Probably not. When you’re in the billion-dollar arena, our fees are like pocket change.

While you’re at the printers, I’ll call Jim Blake to see if he can work us into his schedule to a take a look at the security setup at Laurel Laboratories.

Okay. I’m out of here.

Chapter 4

When Sam and Bridget show up at Sussman’s office at nine on Monday morning, his admin leads them to a large conference room where there is a small group of people gathered around a long conference room table drinking coffee and munching on pastries. Amongst them is Sussman who rises to greet them and then commences with the introductions.

Present are the President and CEO, the Executive Vice President and number two guy in the company, the Chief Financial Officer, the Senior Vice President in charge of research, the employee who blew the whistle and the company’s attorney.

After the introductions are made Sussman hands Sam a piece of paper and says, This is the list of employees, their locations and work schedules that I promised you. The people in this room are the only ones in the company that know about the situation.

Bridget interrupts him with, I understand why all of these other gentlemen are here, but why is your attorney here?

The attorney starts to respond and Sam interrupts him by saying, Excuse me sir, but the question was addressed to Mr. Sussman.

The attorney, Leonard Hansen, takes umbrage at this comment and continues to try to speak. Sam once again interrupts him and directs the following comments to the management of the company. Let me make one thing absolutely clear. If you people want to hire us to deal with this situation, my partner and I will be calling the shots on anything having to do with the investigation, including who is to know about it and who is to be apprised of our progress.

Bridget joins in with, There is no need for Mr. Hansen or any attorney for that matter to be in the know of what is going on. Our contract is pretty much boiler plate, stating the scope of our investigation, our hourly rates and stipulates that it can be terminated by either party at any time for any reason as long as the notice of termination is in writing and the appropriate signature or signatures notarized. We are not new at this and have an established reputation which Mr. Sussman in exercising due diligence in vetting us has verified according to some of our clients he has approached about us.

Sam says, Before we go any further, you’ll have to decide if these conditions are acceptable to you.

When Sam stops talking, the only sound in the room is Bridget reaching into her briefcase for the contract awaiting Sussman’s signature. Handing the contract to Sussman she says, I should have given this to you when you were at our office last week. The ball is now in your court. You can give us your decision now or call us when you decide.

A few minutes go by with no one saying anything, so Sam and Bridget rise to leave. This prompts the top man to say, You’re hired. Melvin, sign the contract and let’s get back to work.

Mr. Hansen, still upset over being put in his place by Sam, rises and without a good day heads for the elevator.

As everyone else leaves the conference room Sussman signs the contract, Bridget gives him a copy and then they prepare to leave. Sussman says, I’m sorry I put you on the spot. I thought it appropriate that the top dogs in the company meet you and also thought it would be helpful to have some legal input about what we’re attempting to do.

Sam says, Forget about it. Most folks would have understood where we were coming from and why. Your attorney apparently has a bit of an ego problem and doesn’t like being excluded from things.

Bridget hands him a couple of their phony business cards and says, We both have our own cards and we’ll be passing them around. As of this moment we’re on the job and will be giving you daily progress reports.

Sussman smiles for the first time that morning and says, Thank you. You sure were right about ruffling some feathers. Hansen’s were definitely standing on end when he left here.

Bridget says, We don’t deliberately set out to do that. It just seems to comes with the job.

Leaving the conference room Sam says, Okay, we’re off and running. Let’s split this list of employees and see what we can learn.

They spend the next two days talking with chemical engineers and support staff in the various research labs and observing their interaction. From there they spend time in the computer server and software area along with Jim Blake to talk with programmers and electronic engineers and examine their operation in detail. Then they zero in on accounting, marketing and purchasing operations and personnel. Initially, they are focusing on anyone who has ready access to the company’s computer systems.

As Friday evening rolls around, they’ve talked with a lot of people and learned a lot about what goes on in a pharmaceutical company, but nothing appears inappropriate and no one arouses any suspicion. They’ve verified that the company has state of the art security systems in place, both from a computer system and a premises access standpoint.

Sitting in Sussman’s office giving him a briefing of what they’ve done during the day and the results of their activity Sam finishes up with, So far nothing has come to light to point us in a specific direction. However, until something like that occurs, no one we’ve talked to up to now is above suspicion. Our computer expert is convinced that no outsider has been able to get by your firewalls. He firmly believes the culprit or culprits are gaining access to your research from inside this building using legitimate access codes or via a backdoor hidden in the operating system software. Since that software is proprietary, our expert can’t get a copy to look for how that might be the case. You obviously trust the department head or he wouldn’t have been in our introductory meeting. Do you think he could get us a copy without arousing anyone’s suspicion? We certainly couldn’t request a copy of your software from anyone working in that department without the possibility of alerting the wrong people that something is not kosher about Bottom Line Efficiency.

Bridget says, I would also like to know how many copies there are, where they are kept and who has access to them. One of the copies could have been tampered with and the others left alone.

Sussman answers with, That shouldn’t be a problem, but it doesn’t address the possibility that there is a tampered copy somewhere that the department head knows nothing about.

Sam says, That’s true, but we have to take what we can get at the moment.

They are interrupted by Sussman’s phone ringing. While he’s on the phone, Sam and Bridget are left to pondering what their next steps are going to be. Out of the corner of his eye Sam spots a janitor making the rounds of the outer office emptying waste baskets and cleaning desk tops.

At first, he just glances at the man, but a few seconds later a realization hits him. He softly mumbles, Son of a bitch., but not softly enough to prevent Sussman from hearing him. Sussman quickly ends the call and asks, What just occurred to you?

Sam responds with, Two things. How is your trash handled? Is it shredded or just hauled off to a dump somewhere? Secondly, do you have an outside janitorial service or are those chores performed by your own personnel?

Sussman answers with, We don’t shred our paper trash and we have our own people who perform the usual janitorial duties.

Sam says, I think a light has just popped on that might illuminate the way to the person we’re looking for.

Bridget says, You’re thinking that a janitor would arouse no suspicion being in the labs or any office in the building at any time of the day or night. He or she would have access to the computers and any information carelessly tossed in the trash without being adequately rendered useless.

Sam says, I am. Mr. Sussman, are these peopled vetted from a security standpoint?

Sussman answers with, Our human resource department spot checks the information on any applicant’s form, previous places of employment, references, education, special training, things of that nature, but unless the applicant is going to be assigned to a classified area, that’s the extent of the vetting. Of course, the interviews hold a lot of weight as well.

Sam says, Come Monday morning, that’s the area we will be focusing on. We’ll need a list of all janitorial personnel, their work schedules and access to their personnel files. Mr. Sussman, please keep this to yourself. Let’s not take any chances that someone will let something slip that will get back to the person or people were seeking.

That wraps up their meeting and Sam and Bridget call it a day.

Chapter 5

When they arrive at Laurel Laboratories on Monday morning, Sussman is not in his office. His admin says all of their computer systems have crashed and he’s in a meeting with the department head trying to figure out what happened and how to fix the problem.

Handing Bridget a sealed envelope she says, Enclosed is the information you requested from Melvin yesterday. Happy hunting.

Walking to the unoccupied office they’ve been given to work out of Sam says, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Sussman’s admin knows about us. It’s quite common for busy executives to confide in their admins as they often are another right arm for them, but I’m not comfortable with it.

Bridget says, Right now I’m more uncomfortable with the computer systems crashing. I’m wondering if the cat was somehow let out of the bag and that led to a last hurrah with the data on the computer systems.

Well let’s get on these custodian folks right away. Hopefully, someone will immediately stand out from the crowd that will open some doors for us.

It takes most of the day for the company’s tech people to find the cause of the crashes and to fix the problems. Someone had introduced a virus into the systems, a very sophisticated virus, which gummed up the works to the point that although the systems were up and running again some data was irretrievably lost. Fortunately, Sussman is very security conscious and unknown to anyone but himself has had all of the information generated on a daily basis saved off site on a server located in Hartford Connecticut.

While the tech folks are wrestling with the computer systems problems, Sam and Bridget are checking out the janitorial troops. There are six people who perform these duties and it doesn’t take them long to find out that one of them has not shown up for work nor can he be reached at the home phone number in his personnel records. His name is Boris Bergmann and he’s been with the company for a couple of years.

They track down Sussman and inform him about what they have discovered and Bridget says, It’s time to bring in the police. They can get a search warrant and can check out his residence.

Sussman says, Who should contact them, me or you?

Sam says, We both can do it on a conference call and the sooner the better. Bergmann might still be at his digs.

After getting a precinct number out of the phone book, Sussman places the call. They explain the situation to the desk sergeant who took their call and he says he will have a detective get on it right away. Sussman gives him the address which is in the Bronx and 45 minutes later gets a call back from the detective informing him that the address doesn’t exist.

Sam says, "Mr. Sussman, I know this is not the resolution you were hoping for, but we did flush the cause of your troubles out into the open and bring a stop to the thievery. How Bergmann became aware of our closing in on him concerns me though. He might have a confederate with access to higher management within your company or you have a colleague who just can’t keep a secret.

If he has a confederate, that individual is going to behave him or herself because that individual now knows that you now know what has been going on and are putting into place appropriate countermeasures, including hiring folks like us.

Sussman responds with, Rest assured, I am very pleased with your performance. If it wasn’t for you zeroing in on the custodial possibility, we’d still be on square one. Send me your bill and don’t hesitate to use me as a reference. I’ll be sure to mention what happened here to the C level execs I interact with at other companies.

They say their goodbyes and Sam and Bridget head back to their office feeling good about the outcome even if it wasn’t what they expected.

Over the next several weeks, they look for and finally find another investigator to bring on board. His name is Phillip (Phil) Iverson a semi-retired private detective and former Lieutenant Detective with the Jersey City, NJ police department. He 53 years old, looks and acts like he’s 33 years old and more than a little resembles Buddy Ebsen who played the TV detective Barnaby Jones back in the 1970s and 80s.

The timing is perfect because something very weird is going on. Over the same time period they have acquired a dozen new clients when one or two would have been more normal. The sudden surge in espionage cases is alarming for several reasons. One, the industries involved are varied, the locations are all over the country, some have operations on other continents, and all of the companies involved are large in terms of markets served, gross revenue and the number of employees.

Sam contacts the FBI to see if they know anything about what is happening and what he learns pushes his concerns into the red zone. There has been a substantial increase in industrial espionage and sabotage activity and there are no signs of abatement. The targets appear to be large U. S. based national and international companies and there are signs of the same thing happening in Europe. So far, nobody has been identified as a possible instigator.

Bridget says, There’s a picture of Bergmann in his personnel file. We could give a copy of it to the detective assigned to our situation. If copies are distributed throughout the country and even to Interpol, we might get lucky and find someone who knows him and where he’s staying.

I think that guy is long gone out of the country and heading for or in some place that’s not a part of Interpol.

At last count, there are 186-member nations of Interpol. I think it’s worth a shot to play the odds he’s in or heading for one of them.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t go for it. I’m just forewarning you that it will be an extremely long shot. As far as I know, there are no communist countries in Interpol. I think it’s much more likely that he’s seeking refuge in one of them.

With a look of stern determination on her face Bridget says, That may be so, but I don’t think we should leave any stone unturned.

Okay, go for it.

She does. She calls Sussman and requests that he email her a copy of Bergmann’s picture. She then calls the detective and makes her pitch for worldwide distribution of the picture accompanied by a BOLO. The detective agrees and she’s off and running.

As another Monday rolls around, it’s Phil Iverson’s first day on the job and there’s a heavy rain drenching the city. Shaking his overcoat and hat off and hanging them up on the rack in the vestibule off the reception area he says to Sam and Bridget who have come out of their offices to greet and welcome him to the company, I like the idea of starting a new job with a clean slate, but this is ridiculous.

Sam and Bridget laugh and then motion him to follow them down a short hallway to his office.

Upon seeing it Phil says, Wow. Taking in the mahogany desk with its leather upholstered chair, the two upholstered visitors chairs, the mahogany credenza, the mahogany circular table with chairs for six, the refrigerator in the corner of the office, the pictures on the walls and the small bar along one wall he says, All this is for me? I’m not sharing it with anybody?"

Bridget says, Of course. You’ll be spending a lot of time here with and without clients. We wanted to make it as utilitarian yet as comfortable and pleasing as possible for you and them.

Looking at her with surprise still spread all over his face he says, Bridget, I’ve never had more than a nine by twelve work space, a metal desk with a cheap swivel chair, a metal file cabinet and a cheap office supplies cabinet all my working life. I don’t need something as fancy as this.

Sam says, You might not, Phil, but your surroundings will go a long way toward keeping you a happy employee which we want and impress our clients to boot. You’ll be earning it believe me.

Bridget hands him a box of business cards that have the name of the company, his name, his title, Senior Investigator, and his office number on them. She says, There are 500 business cards in the box. That should hold you for a while. Office supplies are in the credenza and the fridge is stocked with water and soft drinks. The bar has a coffee maker and cups and fixings are in the built-in cabinet below the bar. There’s a current calendar on the desk along with a three-line phone with its own answering and voice mail features. We’ll give you some time to get acclimated and to set things up to suit yourself.

Looking at her watch she finishes up with, We’ll see you in Sam’s office at nine thirty and introduce you to our case load and put you to work. After today, we will meet in Sam’s office or mine at nine every work day to review what has been accomplished or occurred the previous work day. Any questions?

Phil asks, Who takes care of things when you two and now me are out and about? Who answers the phones, takes care of paperwork, orders supplies, things like that? Do you have an admin or a receptionist? I haven’t seen anyone around but the two of you.

"We have an answering service. Their number is in the folder on your desk along with other information you’ll need going forward. We have a