“Hey, remember the blackmail note the police found in Rob’s office?” Michael asked. “Maybe that wasn’t intended for Rob at all.”
“You mean, maybe the reference to naked pictures was about Roger’s porn site?” I exclaimed. “I like it!”
“Any chance Roger might also be the one who programmed Nude Lawyers from Hell?”
“Roger?” I echoed. “No way.”
“Why not?”
Good question. I’d answered off the top of my head, and I had to think about why not.
“It’s too nice,” I said, finally. “There’s something about it that’s… I don’t know… witty. Charming. A certain sly intelligence. And if Roger has an ounce of wit, charm, or intelligence, I’ll eat one of his CDs.”
“Makes sense,” he said. “So go on with the list.”
“The Ninja,” I continued. “Mata Hari. The Bodice Ripper. That’s Anna Lloyd, whoever she is. She may not even be at Mutant Wizards.”
“Or Anna Lloyd could be a pseudonym for someone you know. Maybe your friend Liz has a secret second life as a romance writer?”
“Doesn’t seem likely to me. Getting back to the list: the Valkyrie.”
“Perfect for Dr. Lorelei, as you guessed,” Michael said.
“And what if the blackmail note wasn’t to Rob or Roger, but to her,” I suggested. “What if Ted found some compromising pictures of her and her boyfriend?”
“Or took them, if they’re getting up to things at the office.”
“Exactly,” I said. “I like that idea a lot. Anyway, getting back to the list. The Luddite. Professor Higgins. And last but not least, the Iron Maiden. If you ask me, that’s more likely to be Liz.”
Michael laughed. “You said it, not me.”
“I like her, but she grates on a lot of people. I’m sure she did on Ted, for example. And the note beside the Iron Maiden says, ‘Still no angle.’ I remember someone saying, the last day or so, how miffed Ted was that he couldn’t get anywhere with Liz. What if what they thought was his trying to ask her out was his trying to blackmail her?”
“It’s possible,” Michael said. “Or maybe the payment he wanted wasn’t in cash.”
“That’s true,” I said.
“Here’s another interesting one,” I said. “Beside the Ninja it says ‘xxx pix.’ Do you suppose that means the Ninja has something to do with Roger’s porn scheme?”
“Seems possible,” Michael said. “Is there anyone who seems particularly friendly with Roger?”
I pondered for quite a few expensive long-distance moments.
“Not really,” I said at last. “I think of him as just hanging at the edge of a group, not exactly ignored, but tolerated, just barely. When I was a kid, we had an old dog who smelled so bad no one really wanted to have him around, but it wasn’t really his fault, so you couldn’t exactly chase him off. You just put up with him and hoped he’d go away eventually. That’s how everyone treats Roger.”
“So if you notice someone who puts up with him more than most, maybe that’s the Ninja.”
“Good point,” I said. “I’ll keep my eyes open.”
Wrong thing to say, I thought, glancing at the clock, and then trying instantly to forget what I saw.
I yawned, reached to cover my mouth, and then changed my mind and covered the mouthpiece of the phone. I didn’t want Michael ordering me off to bed before we finished talking.
“Three fairly definites and two possibles,” he was saying. “And didn’t you say the list had some entries that seemed to indicate they weren’t caving in?”
“Yes,” I said, rubbing my eyes and scanning the list. “The entry on the Bodice Ripper says, “Not ready to tackle yet.” And beside the Emperor it says, “No response.” And Professor Higgins apparently said “Go to kell.” I’d say he hadn’t bit everyone yet, and also had struck out a few times. It’ll take time to figure out what some of the abbreviations mean, but only about half of them were actually paying blackmail, I think.”
“So if they’re not paying blackmail, maybe once we know who they are we can strike them off the suspect list.”
“No,” I said. “Once we know who they are, I think we need to pay particular attention to the ones who wouldn’t pay.”
“Why, if they didn’t care enough about whatever secret he’d uncovered to pay blackmail?”