Chapter 6 - THE DOOR AT THE END OF THE HALL
I called 911 before I called Tasha back.
The dispatcher asked whether I had personally seen a crime.
"I have a photograph of a man outside a coworker's door after he threatened her," I said.
"Please send an officer."
Then I drove toward her apartment, knowing I should not make the situation worse and unable to sit still.
By the time I arrived, two patrol cars blocked the entrance.
Tasha was sitting on the curb wrapped in a blanket.
I approached slowly.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"Curtis came to demand the copies. He kept banging. I wouldn't open."
"Where is he?"
"Gone."
An officer explained that Curtis claimed he had come to check on an employee who missed an HR meeting.
Without more evidence, the police were taking statements rather than making an arrest.
Tasha gave me a tired, furious look.
"He knew exactly what to say."
I helped her call an attorney.
Her sister arrived and insisted Tasha stay with her until things settled.
The next morning, North Ridge terminated Tasha for unauthorized disclosure of confidential data.
I received a certified letter stating my administrative leave was now unpaid.
The company accused me of conspiring to damage its reputation.
A rumor swept the shop that I had staged the roadside rescue to attract an investor's attention.
Someone even posted a photograph of my company truck on a local forum with the caption FRAUD FOR FAME.
My mother saw it before I could warn her.
"Why would anyone say that about you?" she asked.
"Because a lie travels faster than a repair truck on dry pavement."
She tried to laugh.
I could hear how frightened she was.
I went to see an employment attorney named Maya Chen.
Her office occupied the second floor above a bakery, and she did not waste time pretending my situation was simple.
"A manager being vindictive is not automatically unlawful," she said.
"But fabricated records, retaliation for protected reporting, and false allegations can change the analysis."
I gave her the documents.
She read every page without speaking.
"Did you keep the original versions?"
"Yes."
"And your dispatch coworker?"
"She's willing to tell the truth."
Maya set the pages down.
"Then do not confront Curtis again."
"Why?"
"Because he is already creating a narrative in which you're dangerous."
She pointed to the signature on the fraudulent warehouse invoice.
"And whoever approved this may be doing more than protecting one manager."
My phone buzzed with a message from an unknown sender.
I opened it before she could stop me.
It contained a photograph of my mother's house taken from across the street.
Underneath were six words.
May you like
Tell Whitcomb to cancel the audit.
