staff member. Not only do I now have guests who will never book here again, but I also have pissed - off employees from the wait staff to the chambermaids . Morale is rock bottom. No one trusts anyone."
"And the rotas have been messed with too?"
Edward nodded. "Yes. I now have to personally speak to every employee to confirm what days they're working. I have to keep the schedule s on me all the time. It's a pain in the ass."
"Can I see copies of all the crime reports , please?"
Edward swiveled in his chair and opened a cabinet behind him, his fingers walking over the files until he pulled one out. "Here," he said, passing it to me. "This is all of them."
"My boss mentioned something about canceled conferences?"
"Yeah. Imagine three hundred guests arriving, and we don't even have the tables and chairs set out , never mind the sound system . Fortunately , my house manager, Sylvia Cooper , is amazing. It normally takes us a couple of hours, or overnight, to set everything up ; but s he got everything ready in thirty minutes while we poured free coffee and tea in the bar ."
"You think she's after your job?" What I meant , of course, was could she have done it ? T hen made herself look good by saving the day ?
"No. She wants a life." Edward smiled, like that was a funny idea. "That's not the only ti me she's had to do it either. I was worried we'd lose her to a rival. Now I’m worried she’ll walk out at the first decent offer she gets. "
"What's your gut feeling on all this?"
"My gut? Honestly, I don't know. Sometimes , I think it's personal. Sometimes I think it's against the Addison G roup for buying the hotel and including it in the chain ."
That was what I expected, having already come to the same conclusions. I tried a different question. "What sort of person do you think could be responsible?"
Edward breathed in deeply and stared up at the ceiling, his fingers steepled under his chin. "Most of our employees can only access the things that are necessary to their job. Waitresses can't use the front of house computer system, for example, and the concierge would certainly stand out in the kitchen. So , either they can access a lot without being notice d , or they've found a nother way to do it. That's not much help , I know."
I was noting this down. "It's very helpful," I assured him , looking up to offer a smile . "Please , go on."
"Hmm, okay. Well, they would need to access the computers, either in-house or hack in, because that's the only way to mess with the bookings and the rotas." I made a note to ask Lucas to go into the system again and run diagnostics , before waving Edward on. He continued, "They would also need to be able to access the guest rooms."
"How are the guest rooms accessed?"
"Electronic key card s . We program the card to the room at the desk when the guest checks in and they keep the card for the duration of their stay. It gets deactivated when they check out and then we reuse the card ."
"How many cards do you issue per room?"
"Usually , not more than two."
"And if they lose their card?"
"It can be deactivated from here and a new one issued."
"So, someone could potentially program another card for access and hang onto the first one ?"
"Yes."
"Do you keep records of activations and deactivations?"
"Yes , always ."
"And housekeeping?"
"They're issued an all - access card when they go on shift , and they return it when they're finished "
I made another note for Lucas and smiled. "This is all really helpful, Edward."
"Do you think it's enough to catch this person?"
"Not yet," I said. "But it's a start. I hear there' s a conference on this week. Have there been any problems or complications with that?"
"It's more of a convention," Edward corrected. "And not yet. Trust me, I hate saying 'yet , ' but so far it's been smooth. Not exactly classy , if you know what I mean. A bunch of geeks and these pony toys that little girls like. Did you ever have any Super Ponies when you were
"And the rotas have been messed with too?"
Edward nodded. "Yes. I now have to personally speak to every employee to confirm what days they're working. I have to keep the schedule s on me all the time. It's a pain in the ass."
"Can I see copies of all the crime reports , please?"
Edward swiveled in his chair and opened a cabinet behind him, his fingers walking over the files until he pulled one out. "Here," he said, passing it to me. "This is all of them."
"My boss mentioned something about canceled conferences?"
"Yeah. Imagine three hundred guests arriving, and we don't even have the tables and chairs set out , never mind the sound system . Fortunately , my house manager, Sylvia Cooper , is amazing. It normally takes us a couple of hours, or overnight, to set everything up ; but s he got everything ready in thirty minutes while we poured free coffee and tea in the bar ."
"You think she's after your job?" What I meant , of course, was could she have done it ? T hen made herself look good by saving the day ?
"No. She wants a life." Edward smiled, like that was a funny idea. "That's not the only ti me she's had to do it either. I was worried we'd lose her to a rival. Now I’m worried she’ll walk out at the first decent offer she gets. "
"What's your gut feeling on all this?"
"My gut? Honestly, I don't know. Sometimes , I think it's personal. Sometimes I think it's against the Addison G roup for buying the hotel and including it in the chain ."
That was what I expected, having already come to the same conclusions. I tried a different question. "What sort of person do you think could be responsible?"
Edward breathed in deeply and stared up at the ceiling, his fingers steepled under his chin. "Most of our employees can only access the things that are necessary to their job. Waitresses can't use the front of house computer system, for example, and the concierge would certainly stand out in the kitchen. So , either they can access a lot without being notice d , or they've found a nother way to do it. That's not much help , I know."
I was noting this down. "It's very helpful," I assured him , looking up to offer a smile . "Please , go on."
"Hmm, okay. Well, they would need to access the computers, either in-house or hack in, because that's the only way to mess with the bookings and the rotas." I made a note to ask Lucas to go into the system again and run diagnostics , before waving Edward on. He continued, "They would also need to be able to access the guest rooms."
"How are the guest rooms accessed?"
"Electronic key card s . We program the card to the room at the desk when the guest checks in and they keep the card for the duration of their stay. It gets deactivated when they check out and then we reuse the card ."
"How many cards do you issue per room?"
"Usually , not more than two."
"And if they lose their card?"
"It can be deactivated from here and a new one issued."
"So, someone could potentially program another card for access and hang onto the first one ?"
"Yes."
"Do you keep records of activations and deactivations?"
"Yes , always ."
"And housekeeping?"
"They're issued an all - access card when they go on shift , and they return it when they're finished "
I made another note for Lucas and smiled. "This is all really helpful, Edward."
"Do you think it's enough to catch this person?"
"Not yet," I said. "But it's a start. I hear there' s a conference on this week. Have there been any problems or complications with that?"
"It's more of a convention," Edward corrected. "And not yet. Trust me, I hate saying 'yet , ' but so far it's been smooth. Not exactly classy , if you know what I mean. A bunch of geeks and these pony toys that little girls like. Did you ever have any Super Ponies when you were
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