The Stranger You Know (Forensic Instincts 3)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ryan was hunched over his workbench. Periodically, a plume of white smoke would rise, along with the acrid smell of solder and flux as he connected several miniature circuit boards inside a waterproof, black metal box.

He’d chosen the box specifically for this purpose.

He leaned back and inspected his work. “Yes,” he said aloud, congratulating himself on his success. The results were damned good.

“I take it from your smug smile that you’re ready,” Marc said, standing in the doorway to the lair.

“Yup. Just need to run a test.” He twisted a co-ax cable onto a spare connector on the wall marked “Time Warner Cable raw” and from there to the co-ax connector inside the box. Next, he connected the power cable to the battery and waited as his contraption came alive.

Blinking red lights turned solid as the device completed the boot cycle. “Yoda,” Ryan called out. “Initiate sniffing.”

“Sniffing on,” Yoda responded seconds later.

With that, Ryan took out his iPhone and placed it on the workbench, then dialed Claire’s cell and pressed speakerphone.

“Hi.” Claire seemed surprised. Ryan knew full well how involved she was this afternoon. “Everything okay?”

“Just sniffing you.”

“Excuse me?” Claire sounded as if she was about to drop the phone.

“A technical term.” Ryan grinned.

“Very cute. In that case, I’ll give you my scarf to carry with you. Then you can sniff me whenever you want.”

Marc nearly choked with laughter.

“Okay, okay. Sorry I interrupted.” Ryan quickly said bye and hung up.

“Call intercepted,” Yoda announced. “But I did note Claire’s surprise, and it does make logical sense. Why did you choose her to call after initiating sniffing?”

“Just a test, Yoda.” Ryan rolled his eyes. “No explanation required. Sniffing off, okay?”

“Very well, Ryan. Sniffing off,” Yoda replied.

“Nice pickup line,” Marc commented dryly as he helped Ryan pack up the tools they would need. “Remind me to use it sometime.”

“Don’t bother.” Ryan ignored the loud inhaling noises Marc was making. “You couldn’t pull it off.”

“Obviously, neither can you. Claire’s reaction trumped your line.”

Ryan shot Marc a look. “Let’s put on our workmen’s clothes and get going.”

* * *

A half hour later, Marc and Ryan left their van and made their way toward Suzanne’s building.

As Ryan had predicted, the street was busy but the building was quiet. The entrance door, however, was locked, able to be accessed only by residents.

Ryan blocked Marc from view, so no passersby could see him pick the lock. A minute or two later, the task was done. Marc carried the extension ladder through the hallway and toward the back door, which led to a common backyard for all the residents of the building. Ryan followed behind with a large toolbox and a black metal box.

Once in the backyard, Marc raised the ladder and placed it strategically against the brick wall and alongside a metal conduit that ran from top to bottom. Ryan opened the toolbox, removed a leather tool belt and strapped it to his waist. He scaled the ladder, carrying the black metal box. Halfway up the wall, Ryan attached the metal box to the conduit, using large cable ties. Not a permanent solution, but strong enough to suit his purposes. Next, he removed the access cover on the conduit junction and saw the CATV lines. Selecting one, he quickly cut the line, crimped a co-ax connector on each end and inserted a splitter between the two. Ryan reached around to a pouch, removed a portable tester then clipped it to a metal ring on his tool belt. Finally he connected the attached cable to the empty connector on the splitter and glanced at the test gauge.

Internet tested perfect.

After disconnecting the test cable, he went down the ladder, drilled a hole in the access cover and inserted a rubber grommet in the hole. Then he made up a short cable to connect his box to the cable company’s line. He inserted it through the grommet. Heading back up the ladder, he connected the cable between his metal box and the splitter. He unlocked his metal box, plugged the loose connector to the + terminal on the battery inside and watched as the series of circuit boards powered up and all status lights turned solid.