Johan's Joy (Heroes for Hire #22) - Dale Mayer Page 0,63
right away,” Johan said. “The question is, what changed and how?”
“Well, what changed was me,” Joy said, “but I didn’t have anything to do with the blackmail.”
“No,” Kai interrupted, “but I wonder if what you started made him feel like he needed to move something or to change something. What if it made him a little more insecure? Maybe he upped the amounts of the blackmail or something.”
“Maybe he didn’t change anything,” Johan said. “Maybe somehow somebody finally found out what he was doing?”
“Until we know more, it’ll be hard to say,” Kai said.
“And who was the man who went to the house?” Johan asked.
“Levi’s checking the license plate with the DMV,” Galen said. “I’m waiting to hear back.” Just then his phone buzzed. Snatching it up, he looked and said, “Ricardo Wimberly.”
“Any relationship to Barlow?” Tyson asked.
“Well, you would think so, but who knows?” Galen said. “Let me bring up the image.” He brought up the DMV photo, but nobody recognized him from the photo. Galen held it up so they could take a good second look, but everybody shook their heads. Then he stopped. “It’s an old ugly photo of the IT guy. And the guy I saw skulking around in the shadows a few days ago.”
Joy asked to hold it for a moment. She studied it for a few minutes. “I think you’re right,” she said. “I think maybe he works in the IT department,” she replied, “but I’m not sure about that.”
“Well, I can check to see if he works at the company,” Tyson said, immediately tapping away on his phone too. “I like that he works in the IT department. Would explain so much. Like the security cards, the hacking, even the inventory numbers …”
Joy was amazed at how much they could do just while sitting here having coffee.
“Did I hear someone say he had keys to Barlow’s house?” Kai asked.
Galen said, “Yeah. That means that he was either a friend, family, or maybe a lover.”
“Oh, I hadn’t considered that maybe he was gay too,” Joy said, and she frowned. “Maybe that’s why Barlow doesn’t have any long-term relationships?”
“It’s possible.” Johan looked at Joy. “Maybe that’s what broke up him and Phyllis?”
“Maybe,” Joy said. “But then I’d really be thinking that she was the one blackmailing him instead.”
At that, there was silence, as everybody contemplated what Joy said. They thought about the story Phyllis had told Joy and where Phyllis was currently working.
“You know what? That’s not out of the realm of possibility,” Johan said. “Any idea what her lifestyle is like?”
“No,” Joy said. “She doesn’t dress fancy and doesn’t wear any accessories that I would consider expensive. I don’t know what she drives or where she lives because she’s never opened up about it.”
“Well, maybe we need to check into her life a little more too,” Galen said, his phone out again.
“Look at the three of you,” Joy said, laughing. “You’re all sitting here on your phones.”
“If we were anybody else,” Kai said, “I’d give them heck for phones at the table. But in this instance—”
“Exactly,” Joy said. “I still can’t see how any of this blackmail operation has to do with my apartment being trashed.”
“Well,” Johan said, “I can’t either, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t. Something has somebody pissed off at you.”
She sank back as she thought about it and nodded. “It just sucks though. It seems like we have all these puzzle pieces, and none of them fit together.”
“They will,” Johan said with quiet confidence. “They definitely will.”
*
The guys came up with all kinds of information, but Phyllis was still a bit of a blank slate. She owned a small Pontiac that was seven years old. She didn’t appear to have any property in her name, nor did she exhibit any outward signs of wealth. The blackmail idea, although it was a good thought, just didn’t seem to be panning out in her case.
Johan, on the other hand, was searching for the addresses on the two people ID’d among the four being blackmailed. “You know that we’ll need to contact them?”
“You mean, the cops will,” Tyson said.
“Right, we’re back in the USA, buddy,” Galen said, chuckling, knowing it would drive Johan crazy.
“It sure cramps our style,” Johan said good-naturedly.
“Well, the cops already have the information, according to Levi at least,” Galen said. “So they’ll be following up on the blackmail.”
“That should be interesting,” Johan said. “I guess we can wait for the cops and then move in for the jugular.”