inasmuch as one can cope with a comprehensible darkness.
― Carl Jung
These Nights...
I always feared darkness and like Macbeth, continually needed light around me, not because I had a guilty conscience, but because I was introverted and vulnerable to perceiving what others couldn't .
Nighttime was always problematic for me as a child and I didn't outgrow the terror of lying awake in the dark, my radar senses scanning the room, attuned to the slightest sound or movement.
I guess I wanted Garth Kane to dispel all my fears by reassuring me an array of electronic devices would provide total security and peace of mind. I wanted him to do that, to placate my fears, but he didn't.
He was, however, busily scanning my cell, tablets and computers as well as examining my condo for electronic bugs and snooping devices. I should have been content, but wasn't.
Yeah, I didn't want to experience the Exorcist 2.0. Seriously, who would?
"Okay," Garth sighed, "all done. Let's sit in the front room and I'll go over my assessment."
We sat in semi-darkness before the fire, sipping coffee, while Garth minutely and systematically laid out his findings. My condo was bugged―there were three indoor covert cameras and two more on the terrace.
He confiscated and deactivated the spyware and malware but all my electronic devices were compromised and what I thought was my impregnable retreat in the sky, was as accessible to my invisible snoopers as a public street.
"What do I do now?" I moaned.
"I'll install a state of the art security system that will send you push notifications if anybody so much as comes within a few feet of your condo. The terrace will be completely covered by motion sensors and cameras as well as covert cams within the condo. You don't have to lie awake guessing what a noise is―you can scan the entire condo as well as the external hallway and stairway. I'm pushing the envelope a bit on this but I want to give you as much peace of mind as I can."
"All I'm missing is an armed personal security detail," I smirked.
"That can be arranged too, my friend, but you want to aim for prudence not paranoia."
"Good point," I conceded. "Looks like you've got me well-covered."
"It'll take a day or two to get used to the system―if you want, I can throw in a week's free monitoring as a back-up until you feel capable enough to manage on your own."
"That sounds great, Garth―thanks for the support."
After Garth left, I felt a lot less vulnerable, but still struggled with the indignation of having my privacy violated and private conversations filmed and recorded.
I was at a loss to figure out how it was accomplished, but Garth said the condo had been a soft target since it was vacant while I was at work and totally unmonitored.
He also detected a high-gain antenna concealed on the terrace that boosted the wi-fi signal and transmitted it to a nearby monitoring station probably set up in a nearby apartment.
My mind instantly went to Trish Simpson as a possible accomplice―she lived nearby and knew all about my workplace romances.
I blushed at the thought that some of those trysts that ended back at my condo might have been recorded and might still come back to haunt me.
Bad enough that my career at Chartwell's was shipwrecked, but matters could become even worse if these video recordings were used to blackmail me or ended up on the Internet.
The thought was giving me heartburn so I decided to simply shut it out and hope for the best. But something told me that was simply magical thinking and more than likely things were bound to get worse.