Chapter 4: The Missing Key
Two days later, Walter’s gate access stopped working.
His electronic key would not open the pedestrian gate.
He tried again.
Nothing.
He called the management office.
Paul checked the system.
Walter’s access had been temporarily suspended.
Paul sounded surprised.
“I didn’t authorize that.”
“Who did?”
There was a pause.
“I’ll find out.”
Walter waited.
He could have driven around to the main entrance, but the detour was nearly half a mile.
For someone walking with difficulty, half a mile was not a small inconvenience.
It was a barrier.
Emily wanted to call an attorney.
Walter refused.
“Let’s find out what happened first.”
That afternoon, Paul discovered the access suspension had been entered manually using an administrator account.
The account belonged to the community office.
But the office’s access log showed that the computer had been used after hours.
Security footage from the hallway showed someone entering the office.
The camera angle wasn’t perfect.
The person wore a hood.
But the height, build, and distinctive bright coral shoes were enough to raise questions.
Paul didn’t accuse anyone.
He changed the administrator passwords and restored Walter’s access.
Then he checked something else.
The gate controller.
There were multiple attempts to override the automatic safety settings.
Someone had been trying to alter how the gate responded to obstructions.
Walter’s stomach tightened.
The incident wasn’t simply about Karen being rude.
Someone had been interfering with the system.
And if the safety mechanism failed one day, the consequences could be serious.
