Part Seven of The Whiteboard is here!
I hope you are enjoying this little strange tale. I think you will enjoy how things speed up from this point forward. Poor Anne. She’s a victim but she can’t seem to understand how to deal with it.

You can read part six here

Last time, she went to her boss for help…we left her about to explain to him what has been going on.

©Part Seven of The Whiteboard by Kim Smith

“Yes. A visitor,” she repeated. “And whoever it is, you see, I don’t know their identity, so whoever it is, is writing on my whiteboard.”

He stared at her, waiting. She couldn’t fathom how what she’d just told him didn’t shock him, but he didn’t look at at all shocked.

“You mean, without permission?” he asked, politely.

“Yes.”

“What is this person writing?”

“Nothing earth-shattering. They or he or she made mention of my social life and put up a bit of song.”

“Nothing violent? Nothing threatening?”

She shook her head.

“Anything that could be deemed harrassment?”

She shook her head again.

He leaned forward. “So, why are you telling me? If it’s not threatening or harrassment, there’s very little the company can do.”

“The whiteboard is company property. Can’t I report it as being misused or damaged or something?”

He thought a moment before speaking. “What do you hope to accomplish by reporting misuse of company property? The worst that would happen is that it would be removed. Is that what you would like?”

“I would like to find out who’s been doing this, is all, sir. They have taken to writing on my car, as well. I…I believe they may have stolen my car keys. I’ve just gotten back from the garage, where they were lying on the ground just under my car. I am hoping you can help me figure out who this maniac is.” She hated the way her voice turned into whining.

“Are you sure you didn’t drop the keys? I don’t mean to sound skeptical but this all sounds like high school stuff.”

“Doesn’t the company have video cameras around?”

“No,” he frowned. “They have them in the parking lot, as a security measure. But if this person is really up to no good, they will figure out how to get around that. Haven’t you ever watched the crime dramas on television?”

She bit her lip, trying to think of another way to get help, as he was beginning to grate on her nerves. Did he think she was a total idiot? How did he get to be in his position, anyway?

He interrupted her thoughts. “Was there any damage to your car?”

“Not that I could tell.”

He leaned forward and gave her a piercing stare. “How is this person getting into your office at night?”

That was the one question that she dreaded the most.

“I don’t lock my office.”

He glanced at his watch ready to put this behind him. “I see.”

He placed one hand over the other and she felt like she was standing in a lawyer’s office, getting advice.

“I think you should start,” he said.

Her heart fell like a stone. No help forthcoming from this man. Her mind went higher, to his boss. Maybe someone else would show a bit more compassion.

She turned and walked toward the door. “Thank you for your time. I’ll do that.”

“I’ll speak to Joe downstairs about the video cameras and see if they have copies of the recordings. I wouldn’t pin all my hopes on it though. We likely have to have a piece of legal paper to get at them.”

She turned to give him a last moment to offer something of assistance to her. She clasped her hands in front of her and let out a held breath. “Okay. Thank you.”

When he spoke next, she knew assistance was not forthcoming.

“Close the door, will you?” he asked, waving her out.

She did, a little strongly. On the other side of the door, she resisted the urge to just lean against it and cry.

“Not helpful at all,” she whispered as she walked away.

She fretted over the situation all afternoon, and found herself looking around for someone watching her all the way to her car that evening. Nothing happened, and her car seemed quite un-molested.

Then, Friday came, and everything changed in Anne’s world. A dreadful, insidious force had found her and they weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

~@~

Hope you are loving this short story. It’s hard to believe we are up to PART SEVEN! I am rewriting it now, putting more in, and editing it *yes, you have been getting first draft material here* egads! I hope to have it in a published form sometime this year. 

Please feel free to leave a comment below if you have something to add.