I’m Being Charged With Threatening A Coworker In The Office. I’ve Been On Medical Leave In Another

“Yes, and the Seattle logins correlate exactly with the dates and times of the harassing emails. Whoever did this was using your credentials but from a different computer. This proves you didn’t send those emails.” Lang replied.

“Can it track whose computer it was?” I asked. “They’re working on it. The IP address is registered to Cascade’s internal network, which means the person was logging in from inside the office. IT is cross-referencing the IP with device assignments to identify which computer was used.” Lang said.

I felt hope for the first time in days. We were close to identifying who’d done this.

On February 5th, three days before the hearing, Lang called with an update. The IT department identified the computer; the harassing emails were sent from a workstation in the data analytics department.

The computer was assigned to someone named Keith Brennan. My stomach dropped.

The Shadow from the Past

Keith Brennan—I knew that name. Keith had been my roommate in college almost 10 years ago.

We’d been close friends our sophomore and junior years, living together in an off-campus apartment near the university. But something had happened our senior year that had ended the friendship abruptly.

There had been a woman, Stephanie, whom I’d been dating casually. Keith had been interested in her too, but she’d chosen to date me instead.

Keith had taken it badly. He’d become distant and resentful, making passive-aggressive comments about how I always got the girl and he was always the backup choice.

The friendship had deteriorated over several months. After graduation, we’d lost touch completely; I hadn’t spoken to Keith in almost eight years.

I explained this to Lang, my voice shaking. “Keith works at Cascade? In the same company?” I asked.

“According to HR records, he was hired seven months ago. Data analyst position, same department as Olivia Kent.” Lang replied.

The timeline clicked into place. Keith had been hired in June.

Olivia had started in May. They’d have been working in the same department, possibly on the same team.

And Keith had access to my old college photos, knew my mannerisms, and could have studied how I moved and talked. He’d have known enough to impersonate me convincingly on grainy security footage.

“Why would he do this?” I asked, though I already knew. “Because he’s still angry about Stephanie? Because he blames me for something that happened a decade ago? Because he’s—” I couldn’t finish the sentence.

Lang was quiet for a moment. “This gives us motive and means. Keith had access to your work account credentials, probably obtained through social engineering or phishing. He had opportunity, working in the office where the harassment occurred, and he has a personal grudge against you.” Lang said.

She told me she was contacting Detective Lisa Reigns at Seattle PD immediately. She was the investigating officer on Olivia’s case.

“We need to shift the investigation to Keith.” Lang said.

That evening, Lang conference-called me with Detective Reigns. The detective had been with Seattle PD for 14 years, specializing in stalking and harassment cases.

Her voice was professional but skeptical as Lang laid out our evidence: the medical records proving I’d been in Arizona, the IT logs showing someone else had accessed my email, and the connection to Keith Brennan.

Reigns listened to everything, then asked pointed questions. “Mr. Cross, you’re saying you haven’t been in Seattle since October 22nd of last year, correct?” Reigns asked.

“I had a motorcycle accident that night. I’ve been in Arizona recovering ever since. I have medical records, witnesses—everything you need to verify this.” I replied.

“And you’re claiming Keith Brennan, your former college roommate, has been impersonating you to harass Ms. Kent?” Reigns asked.

“Yes. He has access to my work email credentials. He works in the same department as Olivia. He has a decade-old grudge against me. It all fits.” I stated.

Reigns was quiet for a long moment. “I’ll look into this, Mr. Cross, but you should know that Ms. Kent has been very convincing in her statements. She’s described specific details about her interactions with her harasser, details that match your appearance, your voice, your mannerisms. If this is a case of impersonation, it’s extremely sophisticated.” Reigns said.

“Keith knew me in college. He’d know how I talk, how I move. He could have studied old photos or videos. Detective, I’m not asking you to take my word for it. I’m asking you to look at the evidence. I physically could not have been in Seattle during these incidents. That’s provable. And if I wasn’t there, someone else was.” I said.

Reigns agreed to review the evidence and interview Keith Brennan. Lang filed a supplemental motion with the court, including the IT logs and the information about Keith.

The preliminary hearing was now two days away. I couldn’t sleep that night.

I kept thinking about Keith, about the friendship we’d had and how it had curdled into resentment. I thought about Stephanie, wondering what had happened to her and whether she had any idea she’d been the catalyst for this nightmare.

I thought about Olivia, who was a real victim in all this. She’d been genuinely terrorized by someone she believed was me.

Her fear was real, her trauma was real, and she had no idea the person who’d threatened her was someone else entirely.

On February 6th, Detective Reigns called Lang with an update. Keith Brennan had been brought in for questioning.

Initially, he denied everything, claiming he barely remembered me from college and had no idea I worked at Cascade. But when confronted with the IT logs showing the harassing emails had been sent from his computer, his story had started to fall apart.

He’d claimed his computer must have been hacked, but IT records showed he’d been logged into his workstation during the exact times the emails were sent. There was no evidence of remote access or unauthorized use.

Reigns had also pulled Keith’s employee badge access records. The records showed he’d been in the building during every alleged in-person confrontation with Olivia.

On December 19th, when the first parking garage incident occurred, Keith’s badge had accessed the garage level at 6:08 p.m., four minutes before the security footage showed the confrontation.

On January 18th, the night of the alleged assault, Keith’s badge showed garage access at 7:41 p.m., just minutes before Olivia’s encounter. When confronted with this evidence, Keith had requested an attorney and stopped talking, but the damage was done.

The circumstantial evidence was mounting. Lang called me with barely contained excitement.

“Nathan, they’re investigating Keith now. Reigns is taking this seriously. The DA’s office is reviewing the evidence against you, and I think they’re going to drop the charges.” Lang said.

I felt dizzy with relief. “What about Olivia? Does she know?” I asked.

“Reigns is going to interview her again, show her a photo lineup that includes Keith. If she can’t positively identify you as her harasser, that’s significant. And if Keith resembles you enough to be confused on security footage, that supports our impersonation theory.” Lang explained.

The preliminary hearing on February 8th was postponed. The DA’s office requested a continuance to investigate the new evidence.

Lang told me this was a good sign; they wouldn’t delay if they were confident in their case against me. Two days later, on February 10th, Detective Reigns conducted a photo lineup with Olivia.