Page 60 of Switch
It’s pushed me out of my comfort zone, it’s forced me to create a better routine for myself, aside from getting up already exhausted, having coffee, exercising, and then wandering around my house in a towel all morning because I’m used to someone else assigning importance to tasks for me.
I feed Bruiser, so I feed myself.We both get fresh air.Taking care of Bruiser has forced me to take care of both of us.Somehow, PJ knew.
The creaking bottom step saves me from feeling sorry for myself.I look up to find a handsome Black man wearing an anime T-shirt.He seemed friendly but distant when he arrived, laying out his recommendations and quickly getting to work.
Now, however, he looks grim.
“Everything okay?”
Bruiser, who has been walking better lately, scampers to sniff his new friend.He topples onto his side when he reaches Everett’s feet.
I grab his favorite treat and settle him in one of his beds so I can concentrate on whatever it is this security expert has to say.The look on his face seems like one I don’t want to see when someone’s supposed to be installing cameras and an alarm.
“You want the good news or the bad news first?”
Jesus, what?“Bad news.”It’s already been the shittiest of shit days.How much worse can it be?He’s probably going to tell me he has to charge me more because of some incompatibility with his devices or something.Whatever it is, I can handle it.
Everett makes his way to the breakfast bar and holds out a hand, dropping a handful of small objects.They look like, I don’t know, bottle caps or something?No.Batteries.The ones that are about the size of a coin.No, they’re not the right color.And some are smaller, more like a pencil eraser.
Everett then proceeds to open my cabinets until he’s found a drinking glass, fills it with water, and then drops them all inside.
“What are these?”
“These are the cameras and microphones I found when I was installing the contact sensors on your windows.”I try to think through what he’s saying, but my brain is filled with static.
“I don’t understand,” I manage.Only I think I do.
There’s a cold feeling creeping into my body.Starting at my fingertips and jabbing inward.Icicles.
Everett takes a very long and very deep breath.“They’re Bluetooth-enabled, so I’ll have to see if I can find the device that’s capturing the data.Shouldn’t be too difficult, since whatever it is more than likely is using your WI-FI.Do you know if you kept the default password on your router?”
I shrug helplessly; his words barely make sense inside my brain.“I don’t—my wife called a guy, I think.I don’t remember.”
It’s one of those things that was so long ago, there’s a blank space when I try to picture what would have happened.I don’t use the Internet at home too often anyway, so I’ve never given it much thought.
“It’s hard to say for sure until I check the serial numbers, but I don’t think these are the latest model.They may have been here for a while.Do you know anyone who would’ve had the kind of access to do this?”
“N-no.”I think of the people who have been here.Since Marina died, it’s a very short list.While many minor repairs and issues needed to be taken care of around the house, they haven’t been a priority.Wes, for all his faults, would never do something like this.
Before, though?Marina loved having people over.Loved afternoon barbecues and cocktail parties.Loved hosting dinners and even other occasional, more intimate get-togethers.My face heats, thinking of the party where she decided to share me with her best friend and her husband.Is there any chance Marina would have set them up?To record things?
“Where did you find them?”
“One in each bedroom,” Everett tells me.“And one over there.”He gestures toward the living room area.“Behind the television.Or beside it, sort of.Blended right in with the streaming device.”
Which was the room we were in the last time Marina’s friends were over.Still, I can’t get my head around the idea that she would do something like this.At least not without telling me.She loved games, and she would have enjoyed my embarrassment.
She didn’t tell you about those cards she received.
What else didn’t she tell me?Is this something she would have done?
I don’t know how to make sense of this.I don’tknow.
“Is there…” Dammit, why is it so cold in here?“Is there any way for you to tell who did this?”
He shrugs.“Not likely, but if I can find where the footage is being sent, I might be able to hack in and retrieve it.There’s always a chance the person setting them up was stupid enough to get in front of the camera.I’ll see what other information I can get.Might take me some time.”Which I take to mean that it will cost extra money.
“Please.I-I need to know who the fuck would do this.”
