question. If I read an attachment or printed something, wouldn’t that leave a trail or record on the computer? Couldn’t you find it that way, just for conversation?” Michael was asking more for Abe’s benefit. He already knew the answer.
Koshi looked at him oddly. “Well, yeah, but I already scanned the system to see if anything’s there, and the short answer is, there isn’t.”
“But I–” Abe started.
“Thanks, Koshi. Yes, please keep on this and see if you can figure out what happened, or how someone could have selectively deleted a file from his service provider,” Michael instructed.
“Oh…it’s way weirder than that. He’s using Securemail.com, which uses 128-bit military-grade encryption – which is why I’m so sure even a very high-level hacker couldn’t have done this.”
Michael’s jaw clenched as he swiveled and regarded Abe.
The old man shrugged. “That’s whatever my technology guy recommended when he set up the network. I told him I wanted the safest possible system for my communications, and that’s what he came up with. Apparently, it’s not so safe…” Abe mused.
“No, he was right, it’s bulletproof. That’s why what you’re describing isn’t possible. Which is what makes it a mystery,” Koshi quipped.
Michael shot him a warning glance. “Okay, thanks again, Koshi. Let me know if you come up with anything else.”
Koshi left Michael and Abe to mull over the findings. Michael’s mind raced over the possible scenarios, and he didn’t like any of them.
“How’s security in the building at night?” Michael asked.
“Never had a break-in or any problems. I mean, Michael, please, it’s not like we have gold bullion stored here, you know? A lot of this stuff I’d need to pay someone to haul away…” he reflected.
Michael gestured to the outer office area with his head and accompanied Abe to the small foyer at the literary agency’s entrance.
“I’ll tell you what, Abe. I’m going to go finish up my job today, and then I want to come over and do a sweep of the office, make sure you’re clean. Remember, this is what I do for a living – and I’ve seen a lot of dirty tricks from competitor companies over the years. I specialize in this kind of security, and if you’ve never had it done, you’re long overdue,” Michael advised.
“Look, Michael, the book business isn’t like that,” Abe protested.
“Yeah. I know. It never is. Tell you what, just for you I’ll do a quick sweep in return for you continuing to prod me along on my book. Keep at me, and I’ll stop in later and ensure your lines are clean, okay? It’s a quick process, no big deal. And it can’t hurt, given all the mysteries so far today, right?” Michael offered.
“Okay. Done deal. But I still think there’s a simple explanation for all this,” Abe reasoned.
“I know. So let me get going, I’ll deal with this for you.” Michael nodded at the satchel with the manuscript in it, still dangling from Abe’s hand. “I’ll see you in a few hours, maybe around six.”
“I’ll be here,” Abe said.
“It’s a date.”
Michael took the satchel from Abe and exited the offices. Once the door was closed, he paused, studying the area around the lock and the jamb, inspecting for any telltale scrapes or abrasions. He saw no evidence of any, but that was inconclusive.
A big part of what Michael did involved being paranoid about everything so his clients could sleep easily. When unexplained potential security breaches popped up on a routine gig, alarms naturally went off in his head – it was just the way he was wired. Koshi was as good as they came, so if he couldn’t figure out what happened, it could be that Abe had a real problem on his hands, even if he didn’t realize it yet.
Michael was beginning to feel a familiar tingling sensation, which was never good. He’d learned there was generally no such thing as coincidence, and that mysteries which couldn’t be easily
Koshi looked at him oddly. “Well, yeah, but I already scanned the system to see if anything’s there, and the short answer is, there isn’t.”
“But I–” Abe started.
“Thanks, Koshi. Yes, please keep on this and see if you can figure out what happened, or how someone could have selectively deleted a file from his service provider,” Michael instructed.
“Oh…it’s way weirder than that. He’s using Securemail.com, which uses 128-bit military-grade encryption – which is why I’m so sure even a very high-level hacker couldn’t have done this.”
Michael’s jaw clenched as he swiveled and regarded Abe.
The old man shrugged. “That’s whatever my technology guy recommended when he set up the network. I told him I wanted the safest possible system for my communications, and that’s what he came up with. Apparently, it’s not so safe…” Abe mused.
“No, he was right, it’s bulletproof. That’s why what you’re describing isn’t possible. Which is what makes it a mystery,” Koshi quipped.
Michael shot him a warning glance. “Okay, thanks again, Koshi. Let me know if you come up with anything else.”
Koshi left Michael and Abe to mull over the findings. Michael’s mind raced over the possible scenarios, and he didn’t like any of them.
“How’s security in the building at night?” Michael asked.
“Never had a break-in or any problems. I mean, Michael, please, it’s not like we have gold bullion stored here, you know? A lot of this stuff I’d need to pay someone to haul away…” he reflected.
Michael gestured to the outer office area with his head and accompanied Abe to the small foyer at the literary agency’s entrance.
“I’ll tell you what, Abe. I’m going to go finish up my job today, and then I want to come over and do a sweep of the office, make sure you’re clean. Remember, this is what I do for a living – and I’ve seen a lot of dirty tricks from competitor companies over the years. I specialize in this kind of security, and if you’ve never had it done, you’re long overdue,” Michael advised.
“Look, Michael, the book business isn’t like that,” Abe protested.
“Yeah. I know. It never is. Tell you what, just for you I’ll do a quick sweep in return for you continuing to prod me along on my book. Keep at me, and I’ll stop in later and ensure your lines are clean, okay? It’s a quick process, no big deal. And it can’t hurt, given all the mysteries so far today, right?” Michael offered.
“Okay. Done deal. But I still think there’s a simple explanation for all this,” Abe reasoned.
“I know. So let me get going, I’ll deal with this for you.” Michael nodded at the satchel with the manuscript in it, still dangling from Abe’s hand. “I’ll see you in a few hours, maybe around six.”
“I’ll be here,” Abe said.
“It’s a date.”
Michael took the satchel from Abe and exited the offices. Once the door was closed, he paused, studying the area around the lock and the jamb, inspecting for any telltale scrapes or abrasions. He saw no evidence of any, but that was inconclusive.
A big part of what Michael did involved being paranoid about everything so his clients could sleep easily. When unexplained potential security breaches popped up on a routine gig, alarms naturally went off in his head – it was just the way he was wired. Koshi was as good as they came, so if he couldn’t figure out what happened, it could be that Abe had a real problem on his hands, even if he didn’t realize it yet.
Michael was beginning to feel a familiar tingling sensation, which was never good. He’d learned there was generally no such thing as coincidence, and that mysteries which couldn’t be easily
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