All three of us were shocked into inactivity for a long moment. We stared at each other in horror, wondering how Valerie or Bernard found out about the missing computer in such a short amount of time.

I was the first one to rise and slowly walked toward the hallway that Valerie’s office was down. My legs felt heavy, like I was walking through water. I peered around the corner and gasped when I saw the mistake I had made.

I had forgotten to close ...