“Some rare form. I don’t know the particulars,” she said. “In point of fact, Bayard was never charged. Tigg made a deal with the DA’s office—immunity in exchange for his son’s testimony, which was damaging.”
I folded that information into the mix while she went on. “Hollis and I watched the tape after it showed up in the mail and it was clear the extortionist was counting on our feeling sufficiently protective of Fritz to pay up. Frankly, I have no idea what to do except to see if we can track down the person who sent it to us.”
“Any idea who that is?” I asked. “I know the question seems obvious, but I wondered if a possibility crossed your mind when this first came up.”
“It had to be someone close to Sloan. She was killed a week or so after the theft, so if she took the tape—and I have little doubt she did—then it was probably in her keeping when she died.”
“Do you think her parents could have discovered it while going through her effects?”
“It’s possible. What I can’t understand is why someone waited this long.”
“Maybe the extortionist was going for maximum effect. If the tape surfaced after Fritz was already incarcerated, it would have taken the oomph out of the discovery. Better to wait until he’s a free man and then hit him with the threat.”
“That hadn’t occurred to me, but you’re absolutely right.”
“You said the girl was Iris Lehmann. Isn’t she the one who stole the test?”
Lauren nodded. “She set the cheating scandal in motion, though I’m not sure she’s ever acknowledged the part she played. As far as I know, she’s never expressed remorse or regret.”
“What about Fritz? Does he have any thoughts about who might be behind this?”
“He doesn’t know about the tape or the demand for money. Hollis and I felt we should have a plan in place before we brought him into it. There’s nothing he can do until we know where we stand.”
“What was Sloan’s threat? That she’d go to the police?”
“That’s my belief. Fritz may be able to shed more light on the subject when he knows what’s going on.”
“So what now?” I asked.
“Obviously, we can’t go to the police without exposing Fritz to charges of rape and sexual assault. Our only hope is to find out who’s behind this and put a stop to it.”
“I take it you don’t intend to pay the money.”
“Paying did cross our minds when we realized the bind we were in.”
“Bad idea.”
“That was Lonnie’s advice as well. If it comes right down to it, paying would be preferable to the alternative. Twenty-five thousand is cheap compared to the legal bills we’d pile up if Fritz went to court again.”
“Not to be bleak about it, but you’re screwed either way. This tape probably isn’t the original. The extortionist would be foolish to hand over the sole copy with nothing in return. Which means if this is a copy, I don’t see what you’d net if you paid. Copies would still be out there, and as long as that’s true, you’re in the same jeopardy.”
She closed her eyes, as though unable to bear the thought. “The question is, can you help?”
“I’ll do my best, but I wouldn’t hold out much hope.”
“We’re in survival mode. We gave up hope a long time ago,” she said. “I’m assuming you’ll want an advance.”
“I’d appreciate that. When I get back to the office, I’ll set up a contract and put it in the mail to you.”
“How much?”
“Twenty-five hundred for now. For the duration of the job, I’ll give you written reports and keep you posted by phone. If I reach a dead end, we’ll meet and talk about where to go from there.”
I retrieved a business card from my shoulder bag and took a moment to jot down my home number on the back.
Lauren glanced at the card and then placed it on the desk. She opened a drawer and took out an oversize check ledger. She wrote me a check for twenty-five hundred dollars, tore it from the register, and passed it across the desk.
I murmured my thanks, folded the check once, and slid it into my jeans.
She said, “I’ll let Hollis know what we’ve talked about. If he has anything to add, I’ll call.”
“I’ll want to talk to Fritz at some point.”
“Of course. Hollis and I will bring him into the loop. I’m not looking forward to the conversation, but I know it has to be done. I have no idea how he’ll react.”
“Meanwhile, if the blackmailer gets in touch again, let me know.”
“Absolutely,” she said.
4
As soon as I returned to my car, I sat and made notes on a series of index cards. I’d picked up an assortment of names: Iris Lehmann, Troy Rademaker, Bayard Montgomery, and Poppy Earl. Austin Brown should have appeared at the top of the list, but he’d done a runner and no one seemed to know where he was.
Lauren had entrusted the tape and the packaging to my care and I took a moment to examine the manila envelope. I couldn’t see how my having it would help. It was a common bubble-cushioned mailer with no distinguishing characteristics. Not even a brand name that I could spot. Identical items were sold daily at office supply stores, drugstores, and stationery stores across the country. I had no access to sales records even if I wanted them, so tracking down the person who purchased it was out of the question. I was in the same fix when it came to fingerprints, assuming there were some. I had a kit and I could dust, but I couldn’t gain entry to a database for purposes of comparison. The same was true with regard to the saliva on the stamp. Chances were the culprit had used common tap water and a sponge. DNA? Forget it. This was the downside of work like mine. I don’t have the resources to pursue the fine points. There have been occasions when I’ve prevailed upon Cheney Phillips or Jonah Robb to run a license plate number, but they aren’t supposed to use their computers for outside inquiries and I didn’t want to get either one in hot water on my account.
I wondered dimly why I’d agreed to try tracking down the extortionist in the first place. If I managed to pinpoint the individual, what good would it do? If I confronted the perpetrator, he or she wasn’t going to admit it. The McCabes couldn’t threaten to turn the matter over to the DA because that’s what the extortionist was threatening to do to them. This was the equivalent of two cowboys facing off with guns drawn. Neither party could afford to make a move.
As for the tape, I couldn’t see how you could ask your local photo shop to make a copy. You’d have the cops on your doorstep within the hour. Then again, the extortionist wouldn’t have sent the original, so this had to be a duplicate. I studied the cassette, which was the standard type you could buy countless places.
I took a quick look at my watch. It was 4:45 and I might still be able to hit one of the local camera shops before it closed. I started the car and headed into town. As nearly as I could remember, there was a superstore on Milagro, which was closer to my neck of the woods.