“That the panic switch she told me about?”
“Yes, it’s standard on our keys.”
“And why is the camera already following her before she presses the alarm.”
“The cameras are always recording, but when she hit the panic button, it flashed the alarm to central security and showed them where the alarm was located. I’ve just replayed the entire time she occupied the stairwell.”
“I see.”
“This panic button, what’s it like?”
“I understand you have Ms. Maxwell’s key.” She held out her hand.
“Yes.” John pulled it from an inner pocket and passed it to her. She flipped it right side up and pointed toward the end.
“This is it,” she said and handed it back.
He took it and made a quick appraisal. He hadn’t paid any attention to it when Caitlin gave it to him. It still appeared to be little more than a light blue, plastic ink pen, with a pocket clip. Pacific Rim Suites was etched in gold on the barrel. It had a red top, but the key’s opposite end drew his attention. Microchannels were etched into the sides. He’d seen them before, but not on this type of device. They were connectors for a data link. The guts of this little pen hid a microchip.
“How does it work?”
“As you know, it’s the guest’s key. Each is encoded with the guest room number and other pertinent information. At any hotel terminal they use it to call up information on their account or access our many services.”
It sounded like a canned statement.
“And the panic button?”
“If the clip and button are both held down it broadcasts a signal to our computer alerting us that the guest is in trouble. The computer automatically pinpoints the guest’s location and we can have security or if necessary, medical staff on the site within seconds.”
“Impressive.”
The technology wasn’t what impressed him, although she probably assumed it had and he didn’t feel the need to correct her. No, what impressed him was that someone felt like they needed that much protection.
“So that’s how you were able to reach her so soon.”
“Exactly.”
John toyed with the device and then innocently asked, “Does it also write?”
She smiled. “Of course.”
John put the marvelous toy in his pocket and turned back to the monitor wall. In one screen, he could see the two guards searching Caitlin’s room, in another, guards were just reaching her in the stairwell.
“Do the guests know there are cameras in their rooms?”
“It’s not something we put in our brochures, but I can assure you that the room cameras are not monitored unless something causes the computer to alert security.”
Why did the idea of blackmail enter his head? “And the recordings?”
“The video from private rooms are in a sealed area that can only be accessed by both the day manager and the watch commander. There is no way they can be used for anything other than legal purposes. We’re a bonded security firm.”
John didn’t argue the point, but it was a cinch he’d never stay in one of the Rim’s suites.
“I guess there’s no way for anyone to tamper with the recordings.”
Captain Ferguson blinked once and said, “No, there are two guards in security central at all times and cameras recording everything that occurs there. If anyone modified the equipment, it would have to show up on the recordings.”
John didn’t reveal his thoughts, “Unless that recording was also modified.” What was the point? Being able to prove the tapes were modified would be next to impossible.
Instead, he said, “Can you give me a copy of Ms. Maxwell’s complaint?”
“Certainly, hard or soft?”
“Soft will be fine.”
Captain Ferguson tapped a recessed keyboard, and a moment later a thumb drive popped out of the desk. She picked it up and tossed it to John.
He caught it in his left hand and dropped it into a pocket. “Thanks. I’d also like to see my client’s room and pick up her things.”
“That won’t be a problem. Your contract is registered with the California Bodyguard License Board. As such, we are more than happy to help you in any way we can. Of course, you realize that Ms. Maxwell’s well-being is our primary concern, but don’t forget that we also have a reputation to protect. It wouldn’t do for someone to go around making unsubstantiated claims against our hotel.” She glazed the threat with a thick sugar coating, but it was still a threat.
“You have nothing to worry about; that is unless I determine my client was attacked in your hotel and your security didn’t catch it.”
“There’s no chance of that.”
John didn’t answer.
CHAPTER 12
The guard who had escorted John in to see Captain Ferguson waited for him outside her office. They took the same elevator to the thirty-first floor. The thickly carpeted hallway was impressively wide. Evenly spaced doors were set in both sides. The rooms on his left had balconies on the building’s central shaft and from the direction they were walking, he guessed the other’s must have had a view of the Golden Gate.
They stopped in front of Caitlin’s original room, and the guard inserted one of the chrome keys into the keyhole in the door.
“Does that pen open any of the hotel’s rooms?” John asked.
“Any that it’s keyed for,” he hesitated and then expanded. “The security computer can reprogram it for any lock in the building, but these keys can only access one guest’s room at a time.
“Then there are keys that can open any of the rooms?”
He pushed the door opened and motioned for John to enter. “Sure, management has a couple of keys and the watch commander has another one that can access all the rooms. But the computer notes every door they
