Sturgeon Bay

By Ronald Conradt

Jon Burke’s background database suddenly shows a legal charge that threatens his reputation and his professional position. He is devastated to learn that there is little he can do personally to clear his name.
It is winter in the Door County Peninsula. The summer tourists have left to go back to their jobs and the locals are left to relax and take some time off from the summer tourist trade.
Four young people have moved into a stately old house in Sturgeon Bay. They are ambitious and bent on becoming rich. They are talented but one of them, through his cyber-hacking, violates a basic tenet of the group and attracts a violent visitor who arrives to avenge a hack of his boss’s account. The visitor brings savagery to the community and Bailey Welch brings her expertise to the case.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984577825

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Copyright © 2020 by Ronald Conradt.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 05/11/2020

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Contents

Author’s Notes

Dedication

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Most hackers are young because young people tend to be adaptable. As long as you remain adaptable, you can always be a good hacker.

Emmanuel Goldstein

It is a fairly open secret that almost all systems can be hacked, somehow. It is a less spoken of secret that such hacking has actually gone quite mainstream.

Dan Kaminsky

A hacker is someone who uses a combination of high-tech cybertools and social engineering to gain illicit access to someone else’s data.

John McAfee

"The hacker mindset doesn’t actually see what happens on the other side, to the victim.

Kevin Mitnick

Author’s Notes

Thank you to those hackers who shared information with me and asked to remain anonymous. Thanks also to Ann from Sturgeon Bay, who suggested that I include the city in the Door County Series. As usual there is a long list of people who contributed to this work and they know who they are.

Dedication

To Joan Gitter who remains the office manager at Hillside High School long after she retired.

To Mark Fredisdorf who threw the most incredible retirement party after leaving his administrative post in the public sector.

To those who grudgingly adhered to the self-isolation and kept their social distance during the covid-19 outbreak.

To the men and women who form the barrier between good and evil for all of us. Most of them are true heroes.

1

The stately old house sat on a corner lot, mature trees draping over the two-story structure. The house was in pretty good shape for its age, nearly a hundred years. A wrought iron fence surrounded the lot and a coach house garage with folding doors stood about forty feet from the house. The house was in need of paint and the owner, who had inherited the dwelling from an uncle, chose to rent it out for a while until he had accrued enough money to make the outside new again. A turret on one corner was a significant feature of the old place.

The current renter had appeared a few weeks ago, paid a thousand dollar security deposit, two month’s rent in advance, all in cash. This overture caused the owner to smile and mentally count the months of tax-free rent that he would need to initiate the restoration of the old mansion.

The community of Sturgeon Bay, a town of approximately ten thousand hardy souls, is located in the Door County Peninsula, a major tourist area sometimes called the thumb of Wisconsin. It is located in the approximate center of the county. Sturgeon Bay is the county seat and a community that serves as the governmental center to the beautiful shores that are prized for their views and quaint villages scattered along its rocky shores. Dolomitic Limestone is the stalwart of the shorelines, especially along much of the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula. The rocky cliffs stand sentinel to the large swells moving toward the shore, crashing on the rocks, spraying unsuspecting tourists along with those seeking respite from the summer’s warm sun. There are intermittent sandy beaches to be found for those who like to wade into the giant lake or build sand castles on its shores.

The people of the peninsula are gracious, friendly and attuned to the hordes of tourists who descend upon their paradise each summer. They smile, offer directions, and accept the millions of dollars spent by people from the entire Midwest. They hardly stare when exotic automobiles pull into the gas stations and convenience stores, oblivious to the status symbols driven to be noticed.

The renter who lived in the old Sturgeon Bay house drove an old Volvo which had seen its best days, at least cosmetically. The gray paint was faded, showed signs of rust, and was six months away from its last wash job.

He had arrived with the back filled with boxes of electronic gear, and his first phone call was to the local internet service provider to get the biggest, fastest, broadband he could muster. The local IPS sent two guys within a few days to hook the house up and after the occupant wired up his dual band wi-fi server, he was linked to the world.

Within a week, three more individuals arrived, flying into Green Bay, a scant seventy miles to the south, and called him for a ride. They settled into the bedrooms, each of the three men having his own room and the woman getting the only bedroom that had been remodeled with an ensuite bath. They had work to do and needed to begin immediately.

Winter in Sturgeon Bay is a quieter time, with only twenty percent of the traffic that summer brings. Few people drove past the old house and nobody cared about the new renters.

The winter brought cold weather with temperatures often in the teens or lower. The locals were relatively unaffected by the weather . Snow and cold weather were expected and they went about their lives, used to the slippery roads, snowbanks piled high, and sidewalks that needed to be shoveled often.

Many of the stores that catered to tourists closed in October and their owners went south to experience warm weather for a few months.

2

Jonathon Burke, principal at Hillside High School walked outside to his old Chevy Blazer. He bent into the wind, pulling his parka close as he produced the key from his pocket. He glanced at the accumulating snow on the parking area, knowing that he would not be jogging when he got back to Appleton. It had been five days since his last run and he needed to get some exercise. The local YMCA was his backup plan. They had treadmills and though he would have to do twenty minutes it was better than nothing.

He drove into his driveway in Appleton and noticed the snow building up in front on his sidewalk. Shoveling snow was the least favorite of Burke’s activities. It seemed so pointless to shovel what was essentially frozen water, only to see it melt after a few warm days. He retrieved the shovel from the garage and began to move the white stuff from his sidewalk and drive. The snow was only about four inches in depth but the forecasters predicted six or more inches and Burke planned to shovel only once, so if the weathermen were correct, he would deal with a couple of inches when it was over.

He called his fiancé, Lacy Sanderson, in Rowleys Bay. She lived in a fairly remote area of the Door County Peninsula and sold real estate for a living. They had met when Burke was shopping for a cottage along Lake Michigan. She sold him the property and they began dating when Burke called her a few weeks after the sale. Burke’s wife had died of cancer a few years previous and he was in no hurry to begin another relationship but they hit it off and dated for a more than a year before Burke gave her a ring. They hadn’t set a date for a wedding because he worked in the Fox Valley and lived in Appleton, so one of them would have to move since it was a huge factor in trying to commute such a distance. Additionally, Burke attended evening activities at his high school at least once a week and sometimes as many as four nights in a week. So it would be difficult to do the long drive. They had discussed living in-between their jobs but as of the moment, not made any decision, though they had never argued about it.

He was glad to hear her voice. They talked for ten minutes, Lacy telling him that business was slow and though there were people looking to buy property in the peninsula, she had time on her hands. She wanted him to come up to the area for a few days and he promised her that he would spend the week between Christmas and New Years in the peninsula. He signed off and went back to work.

Burke finished his shoveling, grabbed his duffel with his running equipment, and headed for the YMCA in his school’s district. He preferred to go to that particular facility because it wasn’t nearly as crowded as the Appleton location and parking was more convenient.

He dressed, stretched, and began jogging on the treadmill, starting slow and picking up the pace. There was no one else on the nearby machines so he was able to run at a faster pace for quite a portion of his workout. He slowed, jogging the final three minutes more slowly. He stretched again after the run and showered.

He drove home, the snow coming down more heavily. He noticed his driveway was covered again with the white fluffy stuff, and ignored it. He grabbed his bag from the back seat and walked up the sidewalk to his townhouse. Once inside, he opened his duffel, threw his workout clothing in the laundry basket, and looked in his fridge for something to eat. He thought about the storm outside and was thankful the school hadn’t scheduled any activities for the evening. The weather forecasters had said the storm would be over around midnight so he was reasonably certain there would be classes tomorrow barring any high velocity winds that would glaze the roads and create drifts hindering school buses and making hazardous driving conditions. When the weather became a factor, schools always acted to protect the students and the twelve hundred kids at Hillside High School were all praying for a snow day, that much he knew.

Burke searched for something to eat and found that he needed to go grocery shopping. He went to his pantry, grabbed a jar of spaghetti sauce and some angel hair pasta and in fifteen minutes had dinner prepared. He added a green salad and watched weather on television while he ate. The day’s paper, the Appleton Post-Crescent, lay on the table next to his plate but he would get to that after he had washed dishes and cleaned the kitchen.

He settled in his rocker-recliner when his phone rang. He half expected it to be either the bus transportation supervisor or the Superintendent of Schools. He was right.

Hello.

Jon Burke?

Yes.

Jon, I need you to come to my office as soon as you can. It’s critical.

Burke had heard this mantra before. Each time the superintendent wanted to speak to one of the principals in the district, he made it sound like a matter of life or death. Most of the time it concerned mundane paperwork that the state or federal government needed.

How about tomorrow morning? I get to school at six-thirty, so I could walk over to your office. Burke smiled to himself, knowing that his boss never came to school before seven-thirty because he ate breakfast at a local diner with some of his cronies every day.

I need you to come in tonight, right away.

I cannot get there sir. If you have been outside lately, you understand how conditions have deteriorated. Even if school is cancelled, I’ll be in tomorrow morning.

Damn it Burke! You’ll be here in half an hour!

Before Burke could respond, the line went dead. The Post-Crescent would have to wait.

3

Burke made the drive back to Hillside but the seven miles took him nearly half an hour. The road conditions had deteriorated since he had travelled a couple hours ago. He met not a single vehicle as he kept the old Blazer in four-wheel drive and his headlights on low beam. The cross winds made visibility nearly impossible.

He pulled into the administrative building parking area and noticed two other vehicles in the lot. He wore his boots but as he exited from his truck, the snow came past his knees and he struggled as he made his way into the building.

The outer door was unlocked and he shook off loose snow as he entered the inside entry, stomping snow on the large floor mat. He saw the lights on in the office so he made his way into the front door and followed the hallway into the inner sanctum of the superintendent. He walked in and saw his boss and the president of the school board in hushed conversation. Burke was upset that his boss had called him in for a conference in the middle of a major snowstorm, but he kept his cool as he moved toward the large conference table where the two sat, their backs to him.

They turned to look at him as he got within a few yards and he could see looks of disdain and alarm as he approached.

The superintendent looked at his watch. Took you long enough, Burke! I said you should come immediately. I didn’t say when it suited you.

Burke walked around to the other side of the table and sat down. I came right away but the roads haven’t been plowed and twenty miles an hour was all I could manage with the visibility down to a hundred feet or less. He was seething and not interested in arguing road conditions.

What’s so important that I had to come here in the middle of a raging storm?

The superintendent handed him a sheet of paper. I think this is important enough to ask you to come here and explain this. He shoved the paper over the table, crossed his arms and glanced at the board president.

Burke picked up the sheet and read the large print on top It read: FOR IMMEDIATE DISSEMINATION! Burke read the paragraphs below. It was an updated background check on Jonathon Burke. It showed an arrest for Pedophilia. The information showed an arrest made approximately two weeks previous and Jon Burke listed as having provided a bond for ten thousand dollars to secure his release. There was no other information except that a court date was pending.

Burke was incredulous. He was angry and he could scarcely believe the charge. He got up from the chair, threw the paper back at his boss, and said, What is this? Where did this come from? Why would you believe this crap? Why would you bring me down here to address this drivel before checking it out first? You know this is pure crap!

He headed for the office door and was halfway through the waiting room when his boss yelled at him, Burke, you are suspended until this is cleared up! Understand?

Burke kept walking, his anger, his anger bubbling below the surface, his blood pressure boiling over, in complete disbelief.

He jumped into his vehicle, backed out of the lot and headed back to Appleton. He made the seven miles in half the time he had taken on the way out, and scarcely remembered the lousy conditions as he made his way into his house. He looked at his watch: Eight o’clock. He called Lacy Sanderson. She answered on the second ring. Hey, did you change your mind and decide to come up here?

He fought to contain his anger and frustration. No, but there’s been a development that you need to hear about.

He detailed to her what the background check said, as well as what his boss had said. I’m so mad I can hardly function. Who would make that kind of mistake, and why would they send it to the district, and why would they believe it?

Lacy knew that background checks were important in educational circles. Burke had often spoken of doing background checks on incoming hires as well as knowing that when an educator renewed his or her license, a background check, usually by the F.B.I., was part of the renewal process. But she knew Burke and she knew he was a straight shooter. He was one of the finest people she had ever met and that was one of the things that had drawn her to him.

Honestly, Lacy, I cannot believe the superintendent suspended me! What an ass! He had the school board president at his side and it looked to me like they had made the decision before I walked in the door. Burke felt deflated and defeated. He had been hit, not below the belt, but from behind and it felt awful. He needed to address the issue and fast. He would call an attorney in the morning and get representation. He might have to sue the school, he thought. The entire matter was overwhelming to him.

Burke undressed, sat on the sofa in his boxers for a while, watching the evening news, but the issue wrecked the evening and occupied his mind to the extent that he could not concentrate on the program. He then wondered how long it would be before the media got hold of the lie. He figured his boss would leak the information to the press and his career was shot even though he was completely innocent. His boss spent most of his time covering his back side, while deflecting any district problems to the principals. In short, he never took responsibility for anything. He was the perfect politician.

Burke went to bed at ten-thirty but he lay awake until two o’clock when he finally dozed off, completely exhausted. He woke at six, headed for the shower and shaved, then before it hit him, he had laid out a dress shirt, a tie, and dress pants for the day. He took all those clothes back to the closet, put on a sweatshirt and jeans and called his Secretary.

Joan was aghast at the story he told her. She had been his office manager for five years and knew him better than anyone but Lacy. Jon, you’ve got to find out how that got on your record? Somebody has it in for you!

He calmed her down and signed off on the call.

He was making breakfast when his phone rang. It was Donovan Archer, his police liaison officer and close friend.

Jon, it’s almost eight o’clock, where are you?

Burke told him what had happened. Archer said, Are you kidding me? This just came up all of a sudden after you’ve worked here for five years?

No, I am not kidding, and yes, it suddenly appeared on my record. I’m going to the police department today to check on this and see if they can help me somehow. Obviously an arrest record would include details such as who was the so-called victim, and who prosecuted me, and where it supposedly happened. Donovan, this is just more than I can even imagine!

Archer tried to calm him, telling him that he would share the information with Larry Wysocki, his assistant principal. Burke felt a bit better. Thanks, Donovan. Feel free to stop in today on your way home. By the way, has the lot been plowed?

Sure thing, Jon. The lot is plowed and the maintenance crew has been cleaning the sidewalk in front of the building with the estate tractor, the one with the rotary brush in front.

Burke finished making his breakfast, ate, then did the dishes. He grabbed his coat, stocking cap and gloves and headed out to visit the sheriff’s department. He needed to find out how this lie started.

He shoveled some snow that had piled up in front of his driveway as a result of plows clearing the street, waving to his neighbors who were all out doing the same thing. He wondered what they would think when they got wind of the phony charges against him.

He drove with caution on his way to the police station in town. He noticed that the lot at the precinct was plowed and was left with only a handful of squads in place. He bet that there were multiple cars in ditches and hung up in drifts along the highways and streets.

Burke walked into the lobby at the station. There were several people attempting to recover their cars and trucks, ostensibly left in no-parking zones which hampered the work of the plows. Towing was expensive and time-consuming. Each of these people would be late for work and several hundred dollars poorer by the time they got there.

The desk sergeant waved him closer and said, Good morning. What can I do for you?

Burke tried to remain calm as he said, I need to know how someone’s background information could be altered with false charges.

This was very interesting to the sergeant. I’m not sure that I can help you but maybe I can send you to someone who can. Show me some identification.

Burke dug out his drivers’ license. The sergeant looked at it and said, Okay, I know you. You’re the principal out at Hillside High School right? My niece and nephew go there. Good school. He nodded and a slight grin crossed his face.

Burke said, Yes, I am the principal and thank you for the comment. That’s why I’m here, actually.

The sergeant punched a button on his communications panel and picked up the handpiece. Captain, got a fellow here, principal at Hillside High School wants to talk to you. He listened for a few seconds, then smiled and said, No, I don’t think he wants money or free police work. He hung up and said to Burke, You can go in, first door on the left.

Burke thanked the sergeant and walked into the hallway. The door to the captain’s office was closed so he knocked. Come In! The voice was authoritative and loud.

4

Burke didn’t quite know how to begin discussing his problem even though he had been thinking about how to preface it. He moved slowly to the desk and offered his hand to the captain. Sir, I’m Jonathon Burke. I serve as principal at Hillside High School. I have served there for several years and I have a most interesting problem.

The captain shook his hand and was interested. What is the problem and what makes you think we can help?

Sir, I would like you to bring up my background information on your computer. Something has appeared there over the past forty-eight hours or so and it is very damaging to my character and reputation.

What did you do that would damage your reputation?

Burke grimaced. That’s just it, sir. I haven’t done anything but the charges just appeared and my boss has suspended me without following up on the information.

Burke gave him his license which oddly enough he had just renewed. The captain took the information, plugged it into a program on his computer and watched with interest while the screen provided the background information. He swiveled his screen so Burke could see the report. He pointed to the most recent information at the bottom and said, Is this what you’re referring to? The report clearly indicated that Burke had been arrested on a charge of Pedophilia. The information stated that Burke had tried to solicit sex with a minor and charges were pending.

Burke nodded vigorously, Yes, that is a bald-faced lie and somebody either hacked that system or someone with access to the system has fabricated a terrible, career-ruining lie.!

The captain said, Well, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt so let’s do some investigating. He began to ask for information about the charges, something that would be in an investigation report. He looked for date, time, and circumstances surrounding the charge. After several minutes of searching, he shook his head and said, Strange, there are no details. Even if it were with a minor, the information would be available to law enforcement. He picked up his handset and punched a button. After a few seconds, he said, Yes, I would like to talk to one of the assistant D.A.’s He turned to Burke, If there is a case pending, it will be assigned in the District Attorney’s Office."

Burke sat silently, still in shock, wondering how something like this could happen. Was there another Jonathon Burke? Just his luck. If there was, he was a criminal and Burke would need to distance himself from the other party. Not an easy thing to do.

The captain waited for a few seconds, then repeated Burke’s information into the phone. The time seemed interminable to Burke. He waited patiently, thankful that the captain had taken the time and effort to at least follow up on his claim.

Several minutes passed and the captain deferred at least three attempts to contact him while they waited for any information on the charges.

Finally, the captain thanked the individual from the D.A.’s Office and hung up.

There is no information available and there are no charges pending in this county or in adjoining counties. I need to check nationally to see of you are charged in another state. Have you been out of the area within the past month?

Burke shook his head. School runs from early September through early June. I cannot leave the area. I have to be available at the beck and call of the superintendent.

I didn’t think so. Well, there is no reason for you to sit around while the wheels of justice move at what you must think is a snail’s pace. Go home, let me do my job. Give me your phone number and I’ll contact you later today. From what I’m seeing, something is certainly awry here. There doesn’t seem to be any attending information with the charges. Burke shook his hand, thanked the captain and left the police department.

He drove back to his townhouse, feeling somewhat better about his situation. At least he had someone in his corner, looking into his dilemma. Maybe there was an end to this nightmare. He marveled at the easy manner in which a person’s life could be ruined. He understood that background checks were vital and were always believed. He also now understood how little relationships and job performance meant when something like this was hanging over a person. In this age of information, a person’s reputation was only as good as the last ten minutes allowed.

Burke drove from the police station to his favorite supermarket. He grabbed a shopping cart, consulted his list of necessities, and shopped in earnest. He ruminated on his problem as he shopped. Did someone, as Joan had suggested, have it in for him? He thought about the situation a little over a year ago, when he had been kidnapped, bound, and locked in a basement of an old ranch home in Baileys Harbor, thrown in Lake Michigan and left for dead. He had survived and tried to put the entire incident behind him but now it seemed, someone else had picked up the baton and was trying to ruin his reputation. The thoughts reminded him that doing your job well doesn’t guarantee that someone wouldn’t try to ruin you.

He checked out