Zach

“What are you telling me?”

“Sir, it looks like some of the gaps that were pointed out in this report were not there two months ago.”

“You mean to say that there used to be coverage in these areas but somehow they just disappeared?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Dana put the reports in front of me. I had read through all of them. To my left were the ones attesting the security controls from TCSP. Except for some changes referring to yearly activities, they were carbon copies of each other. Looking through the reports, it looks like they started looking the same about three or four years ago.

Considering the industry, there shouldn’t have been too many changes, but even the security testing protocols hadn’t changed. Typically, security companies ran yearly performance tests on the systems to ensure that they remained in compliance with industry standards. This was required by insurance companies so that if something happened, like a break-in or murder, we could prove due diligence. There should have been some variation in the numbers, but there wasn’t. They got the exact same results each year and somehow had the exact same typo in the same place in the perf test table each year.

To my right was the report generated from Steele Security. The report only included points of security that could be seen just walking through the building. Camera placement, checkpoints, visible wiring for the paintings. It was basic when it came to security reports, but it pointed out several entrances that had been monitored by checkpoints and cameras according to the TCSP report.

Carrying the TCSP and Steele reports, I left my office to compare the security gaps. Starting at the entrance, Steels’s commentary suggested at least one, if not 2 secondary cameras pointing back into the gallery to view the faces of our guests. TCSP’s report said that there were supposed to be two, one at either side of exit doors to get multiple angles of visitors leaving the gallery.

Getting closer, I could see square covers on the wall where they should have been. A light layer of dust clung to the tops showing it had been a while since the cameras had disappeared.

Going through the rest of the museum, I saw at  least twelve missing cameras, three exits that had been rigged to not trip alarms, and multiple high value paintings that had their wiring removed at some point.

With every discovery, my frown deepened and halfway through my walkthrough, I turned to Dana.

“Where is the person in charge of our security?”

“Jeff Vorful was being questioned by police yesterday and he had today off.”

Yesterday, when I talked to the guards, they hadn’t mentioned any concerns. Something that I had noticed was that they were all relatively young. I turned back to my office. If I continued any further, I think I might blow up at someone. Just the missing visible security was bad. The fact that no one mentioned anything was even more concerning.

“Get me the HR records of our security for the last three years.”

“Yes, Sir.” She left to continue to our HR offices on the third floor. I pulled my phone out and, after finding an empty room, dialed Joe Hopkins. As it rang, I felt grateful for the lessons he had taken on security over the years. When he joined my team, he wasn’t shy about sharing ways to improve my personal security. I knew he would understand my concerns.

“Hey, Zach. What’s up?”

“I think I’m going to need you to tell me.” I looked at the reports and sighed. Even though I had only just now taken over the gallery, it was no excuse for poor security. I explained what the reports were saying and some of my findings from the brief walkthrough.

“Being out of the industry for so long, I guess I became complacent. I trusted that the current security at Tempo was good to go, and that looks like it was a mistake.”

“Bullshit! What you are describing is more than just a mistake, it’s fraud.”

“Still...”

“Zach, I mean this with all due respect, bud. I know that someone died, but judging from what you told me, someone removed a lot of security equipment that could have prevented this from happening. And it sounds like they did it intentionally over the course of years.”

“There aren’t that many people who would be able to do something like this.” I pressed my lips together and another thought came to me. Security is expensive, but so is insurance. Without the attestation from TCSP, insurance would have skyrocketed over the years. My parents were money hungry and had no problem ignoring inconveniences so long as they made money from it. Then there were the long-term security guards. Jeff Vorful and Jack Gray were the only ones who had been here for any length of time. I hated to think that Jack hand anything to do with it, but it was impossible to have not noticed that cameras were disappearing.

“What are my next steps?”

“You said that you had Dana schedule a consult with Steele Security?”

“Yes.”

“Keep those reports handy and after signing a nondisclosure agreement with them, give them all the facts. Steele is known for its honest practices and competent service in security. Even if this hadn’t happened, I was planning to suggest a different security company. The only thing going for TCSP is that they are cheap.”

“Why do I have a feeling that this is going to get messy.”

“Look, either the perpetrator for the break-in and murder exploited the security gaps, or security was purposefully destroyed to ensure that bad things could happen, specifically to you.”

“That is far reaching. This took years to do. There is no way they could have known I would get Tempo. I didn’t even know I would get Tempo. Last time I had talked to my parents, I thought they had completely disowned me.”

“Still, you were their only son. From what little I knew about them, I could see them balking at giving anyone else their money. Especially for a charitable cause.”

I couldn’t control the brief chuckle that escaped my lips. Joe wasn’t wrong. When it came to appearances, they would do anything they could to fit in with the social elite.

“If the police investigation hasn’t already found this, we need to let them know. Also, can you let our legal team know that there is an issue?”

“Yeah, I’ll set up an appointment with them through your assistant. What was her name?”

“Dana Perry.”

“Thanks, I’ll touch base with you later.”

“Same, bye.” After hanging up, I went back to my office and called up the investigator on our case. I let him know what we had discovered about Tempo security. It sounded that they were aware of the Steele Security report and had already questioned the person who had written it. However, they were unaware that there was a bigger security issue. After setting up some time for me to come into the station to review the documentation I hung up.

Standing, I grabbed my jacket and headed out, Dana had returned with the HR personnel files, and I told her to put them in my office. I would take a look at them in the morning before my meeting with TCSP. I could guess what they contained though from the height of the stack. I could see several dozen files. Guards must have been switched out multiple times over the years.