Part 25 (1/2)

Noah nodded back to him before speaking to Jordan. ”If you want, you can come inside,” he said, ”but don't touch anything.”

NOAH HADN'T SEEN THIS MUCH SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT since he had been at Quantico. since he had been at Quantico.

Agent Street was in awe. ”From what I'd heard about this guy, I had him pegged as an idiot, you know? But now...” His eyes swept the room with all the spying tools lying about. ”Some of this stuff is pretty sophisticated and complicated to use. By the look of things, I'd say he knew what he was doing.”

”And what exactly was he doing?” Jordan stood just inside the door, surveying the gadgets Chadd.i.c.k had pulled out of a box and placed on the floor.

Street tossed Noah a pair of gloves as he answered Jordan's question. He pointed to what looked like a tiny satellite dish. ”That's a parabolic microphone. Lets you hear conversations at least three hundred yards away.”

Noah walked over to get a closer look. ”It's got a built-in tape recorder and an output jack,” he said.

”I wonder how many private conversations he listened to,” Jordan said.

”He wasn't just listening in,” Street said. ”Wait until you see his video collection. He had cameras set up in a room in that sleazy motel he ran and filmed customers with his girls. We'll probably find the cameras in the smoke detectors or the ceiling lights.”

Chadd.i.c.k nodded. ”Did you look at any of the videos?”

”Just one,” he answered. ”Good quality. Film wasn't grainy at all.” He sounded clinical about it. ”Graphic stuff.”

”Lovely,” Jordan whispered. Just being inside J. D.'s house made her feel like she could catch something.

”Check out these binoculars.” Noah picked up a pair and examined them. ”There's an amplifier attached. Pretty high-tech.”

”Yes,” Chadd.i.c.k agreed. ”J. D. could watch and listen at the same time.”

”And record,” Street added. ”Some of this stuff is brand-new. Batteries aren't unwrapped yet. I'd say he was setting up to do some real serious business. It's a given he was into blackmail. And with all this equipment, he had to have a list of his clients, right? How else could he keep track of who paid what, when?”

”Maybe,” Chadd.i.c.k surmised. ”Did you find any notebooks or papers?”

He shook his head. ”I'm guessing he stored everything in his computer.”

Chadd.i.c.k looked surprised. ”He's got a computer? Where is it?”

”In the den behind the kitchen. You didn't notice it?”

”I haven't gotten past all these gadgets.”

Jordan wasn't paying much attention to the conversation. She was thinking about the cash deposits J. D. had made into his own bank account. The professor was putting large amounts of cash into his account, but J. D. never deposited any more than $1,000 at a time. Had he just started his venture? And where did he get the money to buy this kind of equipment? It had to be expensive.

She walked to the window and looked out at the street while she tried to figure out the relations.h.i.+p between the professor and J. D.

After Noah had gone through the last box, he stood and asked Street if he'd had time to get into the computer.

”I got it up and running, but I can't get into any of the files. He's blocked access. We'll have to take it with us and get one of our techs to work on it. That will take a big chunk of time.”

Noah smiled. ”Maybe not.” He turned toward the window. ”Jordan, would you mind breaking into a computer for us?”

She looked over her shoulder. ”Be happy to,” she said, thankful she could be of use. ”It wouldn't happen to be a laptop, would it?” she couldn't resist asking.

”Sugar, didn't we talk about letting that go?”

She smiled. ”Just asking.”

”You really think you can do it?” Street asked.

”I really do.”

She followed Noah into the den. The computer was a new model, and Jordan was impressed. Carrie had told her the prison had offered her computer cla.s.ses, but she hadn't been interested. Maybe J. D.'s place of incarceration had offered him the same training. And if it had, it looked like he had paid attention.

Noah pulled a chair up to the keyboard for her. ”Go to it.”

It only took a second for her to pull up J. D.'s files. Opening them would take longer.

”Call me when you're in,” Noah said.

He went back into the living room with Chadd.i.c.k. Street stayed behind and watched Jordan's fingers fly over the keys. Symbols and numbers filled up the screen. He didn't know what she was doing, but she did, and that was all that mattered.

Jordan lost track of time as she concentrated on the computer screen and the task at hand. Finally, she broke through.

”I'm in!” she called out.

A folder opened just as Noah put his hands on her shoulders. ”What have you got?”

”A list,” she answered. She leaned closer to the screen. ”He kept records.”

Standing, Jordan moved out of the way so that Street could sit. Her back was stiff, and she noticed it was getting dark outside. How long had she been sitting there? She arched backward to stretch.

Chadd.i.c.k leaned against the side of the desk. ”Does it tell us anything?”

”I'd say so,” Street replied. ”I've got first names only, no dates but days of the week, offenses, payoffs, and some locations.” He began to laugh. ”I'm telling you, if all these people live in Serenity, this town's a real hotbed of activity.”

”Who's on the list?” Noah asked.

”I've got a Charlene paying four hundred dollars on a Friday at an insurance office.”

”Charlene? Why did she pay J. D. four hundred dollars?” Jordan asked.

Street grinned. ”He had a video of her shacking up.”

”With her fiance?”

All three agents looked at her, and she realized how stupid her question was. If Charlene had been sleeping with her fiance, J. D. wouldn't have been blackmailing her.

”Okay, I'm tired,” she said. ”She was cheating on her fiance.” Suddenly Jordan was full of outrage. ”I gave that woman china! Vera w.a.n.g!”

Chadd.i.c.k looked back at the screen. ”She's been paying for a while.”

”She's been shacking up for a while,” Street added. ”Guess she didn't mind paying.”