The Unwelcomed Guest

The darkness of the street was broken by flashing blues lights of police cars. The tenants living in the apartment complex watched in disbelief. “He’s just our maintenance man, who greets everyone with a homey smile,” everyone would say. “So, why should anyone suspect him?” putting their trust in a stranger turned out to be the tenants’ greatest mistake.

A few of the long-time tenants remember when Joe started working there. It was four years ago when Joe started working as a maintenance man at the Apollo Apartments. Each day he would inspect the grounds, looking anything that might need repair, and then he would repair whatever the tenants’ asked for. A leaky faucet here and a clogged toilet there, and before you knew it, everyone loved Joe.

It didn’t take long for the apartment manager to hand over the master keys to Joe. Afterall, wasn’t he an adept worker and trusted by everyone? Not long after this, Joe began entering apartments, when no one was home.

They say you always remember the first time you try something, and in this case, Joe remembers it like yesterday. The first thing he noticed when he walked in the living room was a copy of a June Cosmopolitan magazine, sporting some nameless model on its cover. Next, he discovered a row of pictures on a shelf and recognized the face in one of them.

This is Ann Spurling’s apartment, he thought.

In Joe’s eyes, Ann was very attractive. She was in her mid-twenties, tall, had an appealing figure, and natural blonde hair. What more could he ask for?

Bypassing the kitchen, Joe headed directly to the bedroom. When he entered the bedroom, he was surprised to find it in disarray. In a corner of the room was a chair covered in pants and blouses. A half empty bottle of water sat on the dresser. A bra was laying on the floor, and the bed wasn’t made. But what caught his eye was a pink negligee laying on top of a pillow.

She must have worn it in bed last night, he thought.

Joe became aroused when he imagined what she would look like when wearing it. As his mind flooded with fantasies, he knew he had to see for himself.

Now, Joe was no fool, so he knew hiding in the closet was out the question, but placing a hidden camera in the bedroom, that was something reasonable.

But how am I going to pay for such a device?

He began searching through the vanity drawers and found a jewelry box, and inside was the answer to his dilemma. Among a variety of trinkets were a pair of diamond earrings. Gently, he lifted them from the case and placed them in his pocket. He began to smile. With these, he could afford to place a hidden camera in the shower as well. And so, he did. A few days later, he was observing Ann in all her glory, as well as in the negligee.

But after a few days of admiring her beauty, lust got the better of him. There were other attractive women living in the apartment complex, who deserved his attention. So, for the next few weeks, he broke into their apartments and placed cameras in their rooms as well, all paid for with stolen jewelry and gift cards. By the time he was finished, Joe was being entertained by ten unsuspecting women.

Each night, each would take a bottle of beer and sit down in front of his computer. Sipping his brew, he randomly selects one of the cameras and watch what was recorded for the day. If nothing was of interest, he would select another camera, until he found something desirable. Tonight, Debbie was the center of attention.

Unlike the other girls, Debbie seemed to have several partners to entertain, and Joe was pleased with the variety. As they slipped into bed, Joe placed his hand on his crotch and joined in the action. When Debbie was finished with her new boyfriend, Joe downed the last of his beer and shut off the camera.

Now, this is entertainment, he thought. All the porn he desired and with it being recorded, Joe could watch it anytime, day or night. Still, he wasn’t satisfied. He had a treasure and now he wanted to share his discovery, but to who? He could only think of one person.

His brother, John, lived by himself in a trailer on the outskirts of town. Overweight, jobless, and no prospects for a career, Joe decided John needed a break from his reality. So, he wrote him an email. “Hey John. If you want some fun, click on this link and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” At the end of the email, he typed in a link giving John access to all his cameras and recordings. Ten minutes later, Joe received a “Two Thumbs Up” emoji text from John.

For the next few weeks, Joe continued his nightly ritual, until one day, he noticed the connection to the cameras were slow and choppy. It didn’t take long for him to find out hundreds of unknown users were connected to his computer and accessing his cameras. A minute later, he was on the phone, talking to John.

“Tell me you didn’t share my cameras with the world,” he shouted.

“You know me,” John answered. “I wouldn’t do that. Just to a couple of friends.”

“Well, it looks like your couple of friends did. You know what that means? Hundreds of strangers are in my computer and it one takes one of them to report me to the police.” Joe hung up the phone.

One by one, he deleted the accounts connecting to his cameras, then prayed his secret was still safe. That evening, God gave his answer through the hue of flashing blue lights. A banging on the door accompanied by the shouts of police told Joe it was over.

Calmly, he opened the door, and the police came barging in. Joe surrendered to being handcuffed and escorted to the police car. Joe was greeted by a crowd of people watching the spectacle, and within the barrage of faces, one stood out from the rest. Ann Spurling was looking at him, wondering what was going on.

Tonight, no one knew what Joe had done, but by morning, that wouldn’t be the case. Inevitably, this evening’s looks of shock and disbelief will be replaced by those of outrage and anger. Joe can accept that, for he knew he deserved nothing else from them. He stepped into the waiting police car and the door was closed behind him. With his fate, sealed, Joe said farewell to his old life.