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

“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. I’m contacting Detective Lisa Reigns at Seattle PD immediately. She’s the investigating officer on Olivia’s case. We need to shift the investigation to Keith.”

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?”

“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.”

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

“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.”

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.”

“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.”

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.

Uncovering the Obsession

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., 4 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.”

I felt dizzy with relief.

“What about Olivia? Does she know?”

“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.”

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. 2 days later, on February 10th, Detective Reigns conducted a photo lineup with Olivia.

The lineup included six photos: me, Keith, and four other men of similar age and build. According to Reigns’ report, Olivia had studied the photos for several minutes before selecting photo number four.

“Keith. I think this is him.”

She’d said, according to the report.

“But the person I saw in the garage was wearing a cap and I couldn’t see his face clearly. This man looks similar to what I remember.”

Reigns had then shown Olivia my photo separately.

“What about this man? Is this the person who harassed you?”

Olivia had hesitated, comparing my photo to Keith’s.

“They look very similar. I—I’m not sure. I thought I was sure before, but looking at these photos, I can’t tell the difference. They could be the same person or they could be different people. I’m sorry. I don’t know.”

The uncertainty was devastating for the prosecution’s case. If the victim couldn’t positively identify me as her harasser, the charges couldn’t proceed.

But more importantly, it confirmed what we’d been arguing all along: Keith resembled me enough to be mistaken for me, especially in poor lighting or on grainy security footage.

The Stalker’s Journal

On February 14th, Detective Reigns obtained a search warrant for Keith Brennan’s apartment. What they found was chilling.

In Keith’s bedroom, hidden in a closet, they discovered a folder containing printed photos of me from college: photos from Facebook, from our apartment, and from parties we’d attended together.

They found a notebook with pages of handwritten notes about my mannerisms, my speech patterns, the way I walked and gestured. One page was titled “Nathan’s tells” and listed specific behaviors:

“Runs his hand through his hair when nervous. Crosses arms when defensive. Stands with weight on right leg.”

They found receipts for a dark jacket and baseball cap matching the clothing worn by the figure in the parking garage footage.