Story code: ST-001362
Part 2: The Remote Trace
Gerald quickly cleared the screen, his fingers tapping the escape key three times in rapid succession. “As I suspected, Ms. Vance, this is a standard administrative issue,” he said, keeping his hands flat on the desk. “The primary account holder on the reservation file, Arthur Vance, submitted a remote authorization request. As the billing contact, he requested a duplicate key be prepared and verified for the room.”
Clara Vance did not blink. Her posture remained entirely rigid. “Arthur Vance is my estranged husband. He is not staying in this hotel, he is not on my check-in card, and this reservation was booked and paid for through my corporate account. The company card is in my name alone.”
“The system shows he is listed on the master profile,” Gerald replied, his voice maintaining a smooth, defensive edge. “We are obligated to assist the primary profile holder when they request access or verification of the room’s status.”
Several guests in the check-in line had stopped talking. A man with a briefcase adjusted his stance, turning to watch the exchange. The lobby had grown quiet enough that the hum of the air conditioning was audible.
“My company booked this suite,” Clara said, her voice dropping a register, sounding cold and precise. “You bypassed the security protocols to give an unauthorized person access to my private space, or you entered it yourself on his behalf. I want the digital access log printed. Now.”
“I cannot print internal logs without corporate clearance, Ms. Vance,” Gerald said, his face flush but his tone remaining dismissive. “It is a matter of proprietary security. I assure you, we will investigate this internally and follow up with you tomorrow morning.”
“I am not waiting until tomorrow,” Clara said. She turned to look at the guests waiting behind her, then looked back at Gerald. “You are telling me that anyone can call this desk, claim to be a spouse, and get a key to a locked room where a guest is sleeping or dressing?”
The man with the briefcase stepped forward a half-step, looking from Clara to Gerald. “Is that the policy here?” he asked, his voice carrying across the desk. “Because my wife is checking in later tonight, and I’d like to know if anyone who calls can just get a key to her room.”
Gerald’s eyes darted toward the guest, then back to Clara. He reached for the duplicate keycard on the counter, but Clara placed her hand flat over it, covering the plastic card.
“Jamie,” Clara said, looking directly at me. “You were standing right here when this card was programmed. Who programmed it?”
Gerald glared at me, his head shifting slightly as if signaling me to step back. “Jamie is a lobby attendant, Ms. Vance. They do not manage key encodings or administrative logs.”
I looked at the console screen, where the active user login stamp was still visible in the bottom corner of the system tray. The login ID displayed was G_BROOKS_09. I reached for the print button on the console, my finger hovering over the key as Gerald took a step toward me.