Working hard to get everything closed up for the night and counting the minutes that he would be picked up, Billy hurried around the office doing last minute things. Finally, at 9:20pm he logged off of the alarm system and walked out to meet us. Jumping in the truck with my mom, off we go to see A, and relieve his mother.
To digress a little, being that Billy is the manager of the store, he had a separate code for the alarm system, and the other employees used another, one that Billy didn't know. This was for when on the rare occassion he would take his half day during the week and wouldn't be there to lock up. The alarm company records who logs in and out.
Little did we know that exactly four minutes after Billy left for the evening, that user #2 logged in, stayed for 10 minutes and then logged back out. This was a peice of information we were given after the fact. They were waiting for him to leave and waiting on their chance.
After we got home in the wee hours of the night that night, we were up and getting ready to head back to the hospital. I was in the midst of changing my bandages and he was in the shower, when the phone rang. It was a Sunday, so I figured with it being ten minutes till noon, that it was probably my mother calling to ask when we would be there, so I didn't answer and was planning on calling back when I finished bandaging back up. Billy finished his shower before I finished and came down to wait on me and the phone rang again. It was the alarm company, who on several occassions, have called before to report movement or what have you within the store. These are usually a waste of time because of something faulty or a balloon left up that is blowing from the AC. I say usually, because just so happens this wouldn't be the case this time. The had told him that the back door alarm had gone off and police were waiting on him at the store.
Billy, already dressed, says he should be back in about 15 minutes, he's sure its nothing. So I proceed to finish getting ready and about 30 minutes later the phone rings again. I answer and he says "we're fucked!" I was dumbfounded. He was horribly upset and on the verge of tears and I could tell he was wearing a hole in the carpet from pacing. I calm him down and ask what's the deal. He then proceeds to tell me that he got to the store, the police were waiting by the back entrance. They tell him they arrived within a couple minutes of the alarm going off and when they arrived the back door was open. He goes in to take a look around and sees that all the drawers to the desks were opened and that the cash drawer money was gone.
Now you may be thinking right now that well this shouldn't be a big deal, its not his fault that his store was robbed. He was thinking the same thing as well till he got to the edge of the parking lot and remembered something vital. Turning around he went back into the store and looked. This is when his heart sank. The deposit for the night was gone also. The reason this was so bad was that it wouldn't be gone had he deposited it in the night deposit last night.
While stirring around doing the last minute things the night before, he had worked up the deposit and instead of leaving it on the counter while he still had employees in the store, he stuck it in the top drawer of his desk, intending to grab it when he left. Obviously someone was watching and took note. So, as time drew near and he was leaving.. clearly with his mind on his child and getting to him.. walked out without grabbing it.
Six years with this company and nothing but praise for him for working tirelessly between 80 and 100 hours a week to keep things as they should be and in a moment of vulnerability and weakness, his efforts all those years were overlooked.
Some may think that losing a job like that would be a life saver.. and maybe it was.. but when your wife is fresh out of the hospital and your son is still laying in the hospital, and you are the sole provider, losing what may be a crap ass job isn't something that sounds appealing. This job that paid very well that allowed you to live comfortably and your wife allowed to be a full time mother... not something you necessarily want to leave without something else better lined up.
The first thing we thought about was trying to come up with the deposit money and replacing what was lost, so that he could save his job. This is probably not most people's first reaction, but feeling that since he made the mistake, he needed to fix it. Finally though after calling around and asking to borrow the money, Monday afternoon he told his direct boss what had happened. He put him on "vacation" till they could figure things out.
Police got involved and everything was pointing to say that Billy had stolen the money. Billy had stolen the money with NO motive for doing so apparently,, at least that's what they were implying. He offered himself up to lie detectors and all that. We waited patiently for it to all become clear. During this interim is when we learned about the other person coming back into the store four minutes after he had left that night, which of course, everyone denied. The detective himself even implied that Billy could have done that to throw the trail off!
From all aspects you could clearly see that it was an inside job. The back door, which has a bar that is set across it that prevents it being opened was rigged in a way that could drop the bar and allow access. Specifically what was taken and how "fast" it was taken, and the time of day in which it was taken. Almost noon on a Sunday in broad daylight. Obviously anyone with any sense, could put two and two together and realize that whoever it was that came in after him that night, set up the scene for the next day and probably went ahead and took the money then. Not to mention how would they know to do that on the ONE night that they realized he would be so distracted the possibility of him leaving the deposit behind was high.
The more we learned and thought about it.. we had it narrowed down to two of the employees. One in which he had words with the night before, on a Friday night. And the other one who actually had the other key to the store. The only reason the first guy wasn't ruled out was because he could have made a copy of the key. AND he was the more desperate of the two for money. That's who I had my money on anyways.
After a week and going to speak with the detetive and being informed he would be called back within a couple days for the voice analyzer test, we waited. No one ever called. When I went back a couple weeks later to retrieve his things, one of the "suspects" would barely look me in the eye. Could barely get out a "hey". This was NOT the one I had originally thought. During the few weeks we were waiting I was informed that he had a gambling problem. HMMMM.. To be such a nice guy always talkative to me and ever so friendly.. my suspicions were pointed directly at him now. I feel in my gut that he is the one. He had motive and opportunity.
After the week of "vacation" his direct boss (market manager) called and said I have to let you go. OF COURSE YOU DO! I'm really sorry about this man, I don't think you did it .. really.. WHATEVER.
In the coming weeks we find out that his direct boss( market manager) and HIS boss(regional director) both had jobs on the line.. and the regional directer was let go for stealing from the company. He had apparently charged one of his stores to recarpet his house. Clearly a company violation. Also his direct boss is barely hanging on by a thread and has basically told himself that its all Billy's fault for not doing his the market manager's job while he was having a good time with one of the female peers( another market manager) of the company. AGAIN, violation of company policy. The guy that took Billy's place(store manager) in the store runs around like a chicken with his head cut off TRYING to keep up the pace and standard that Billy had set.. and best of all.. yeah.. the thief is still working in there. Among all the other "superior" concerns going on, the ball was dropped on the investigation and he got away with it.
So, while we were struggling to recover and find another source of income that would be even a fraction of what he was making, to the undoubted hospital bills that would begin rolling in before too long and just to keep a roof over our head, the thief was working along his merry way each day like nothing had happened and getting paid for it above and beyond. So he may be sorry that he had to resort to stealing and costing a man and his family their livlihood, jeopardizing their very being.. he didn't get caught.. so he's not really THAT sorry, now is he?
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