Something Missing Read Online Free

professionals constantly reevaluated their decisions), he began to see the tremendous potential of digital photography for his business. And though there was nothing wrong with holding on to old-school beliefs, Martin also came to realize that professionals, old-school or otherwise, also kept abreast of the times, paid attention to new technology, and found ways of making their business better while adheringto traditional values. Digital photography was a way to make his business even better.
    By taking digital photos, Martin was able to reduce the overall number of minutes spent in each of his clients’ homes, a huge benefit in a profession where stealth and speed were of the utmost importance. Martin also found that digital photos were easier to rid himself of in the event of capture. The camera that Martin owned stored photographs on a memory stick that could be completely erased by pressing a combination of four buttons (a process that he practiced until it could be completed in less than seven seconds), or the memory stick could simply be broken in half, rendering it unreadable. With this new technology, Martin found that he was able to gather more information about his clients in far less time, and in Martin’s mind, information was invaluable.
    Exiting the bathroom, Martin made his way back down the stairs with equal care (if not more, since the thief in the lateral-thinking puzzle had broken his leg going
down
the stairs) and passed through the Pearls’ dining room into the hall that connected the kitchen with the home office, the family room (complete with a second unused fireplace), and another guest bedroom at the western end of the house. Directly in front of him was the first floor bathroom, a large teal-and-peach rectangle complete with a full shower and monogrammed towels. Martin entered, sliding aside the white louvered doors on his left to reveal a matching washer and dryer. He quickly scanned the laundry supplies on the shelf above the appliances, locating a bottle of Tide two-thirds full, and proceeded to pour half of the remaining laundry soap into a clear plastic container that he had stored in his burlap sack.
    Closing the bottle of Tide (now a little less than a third full) and returning it to its perch, Martin checked his watch, a blackSeiko that was waterproof and reliable in three atmospheres. The digital display, counting down, read 1 minute and 43 seconds, giving him just enough time to exit the premises. Martin was uncompromising on his time limit. No more than fifteen minutes inside a client’s home, no matter what was left on his list. Longer than fifteen minutes and any newly installed silent alarm or nosy neighbor reporting his presence would give the police ample time to arrive.
    This, of course, would never happen. First, no homeowner with an ounce of sense would ever install a silent alarm in his or her home. The purpose of an alarm is to frighten off burglars. Silent alarms only served to trap burglars inside homes, oftentimes along with the unwitting homeowners. In these instances, dangerous hostage situations often occurred as the police surrounded the home, entrapping the burglar and the home’s occupants inside.
    Second, in the event that any alarm was installed, the homeowner would almost certainly place a sticker on the front of their home, alerting thieves to its presence. This was a signal that Martin had grown to adore. While these signs served as effective deterrents, protecting the homeowners who possessed them, they also served to exploit the neighboring homeowners who did not own a sign. After all, if your next-door neighbor’s home was protected by ADT, with its blue, octagonal sign posted prominently around the house, why would you install a similar alarm system in your home but keep it secret? Wouldn’t this be just inviting disaster? Martin thought so. In fact, in Martin’s many years on the job, he had yet to run into a house with an alarm that did not also have a