Chapter 28
Jack drove past the boutique, parked two blocks away, and then walked back. He didn’t wear a cap, but he did keep his head down so the cameras on the street couldn’t see his face. He carried a small shopping bag in his left hand.
He turned the corner and walked inside. The front door was open, and he could see a few people walking around inside. It looked vastly different from when he’d looked at it last night.
He’d only been able to peek in without raising alarm, but the space was larger than he’d first thought.
Mannequins were placed throughout the space with different outfits and accessories.
Shelves were covered in folded clothing, and to his left was a wall of color coordinated tops hanging on a rack.
Shoes were on the far wall, and there was a jewelry case near the center of the room. Handbags were in the right corner. They seemed to have a little bit of everything.
One of the women noticed him walk in and stepped away from her customer. “Hi, welcome in. Can I help you find anything?”
“I’m looking for something for my girlfriend.”
“Well, as you can see, we have plenty of options.” She waved her hand around the room. “Did you have anything particular in mind?”
Jack looked around the room as if he were deciding what to buy, but he needed to get closer to the back of the building. “Those scarves over there.”
“A scarf?” The girl blinked, appearing confused before smoothing out her features and smiling. “Sure, we have a large selection.”
“I’ll just take a look around. Thank you.
” Jack brushed past the woman. His gaze scanned the occupants as well as looking up for any cameras.
He passed a sunglass carousel and took a pair, holding them up to his face and looking in the little mirror.
His gaze wasn’t focused on his reflection but the cameras.
There were plenty of cameras for such a small boutique.
Too many. They covered every angle of the store.
Jack appeared to be shopping and even grabbed a few scarves at random, but his real focus was the back door. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed him, and when no one was looking, he reached for it. Locked. He quickly pulled out his tools, opened it, and ducked inside.
It still looked like a boutique with boxes piled up with clothing sticking out of them. The hallway was narrow, and it looked like an old building. It smelled old and musty.
He checked several doors and found the rooms all empty, covered in cobwebs and decades of dust. Obviously, these rooms were never used, but why stack boxes in the hallway when you had plenty of storage?
He checked through several boxes—all merchandise. Jack tapped the walls, looking for false doors but still nothing.
He made it to the end of the hallway and came to a staircase. He could either go up or down. He doubted an operation dealing in secrets would be downstairs, but their internet server would be. He headed down the stairs, using the flashlight app on his phone to guide him.
He didn’t want to risk turning a light on and alerting anyone he was there. There were small rectangular windows near the ceiling to let light in, but they were so covered in dust and cobwebs it was still pretty dark.
Jack located the electrical box which meant the internet would be close by.
Jack scanned around and located the box he needed.
Various cable lines came out of it and disappeared into the wall.
He set down the scarves, and holding his phone awkwardly balanced on his shoulder against his cheek, Jack pulled out his pocketknife to strip the protective cover.
He took a small amount off to see inside.
Opening the shopping bag he’d brought, Jack pulled out alligator clippers and attached them to the cable.
He pulled out a transponder that was on the side of a tablet and attached it to the other end.
With his phone in hand, Jack checked the app.
He now had access to view all the cameras set up around the building and inside.
It would only allow him to see live views of the feed, but not give him access to the server if they were using a special program.
He’d have to get on a computer for that.
Which meant it was time to head upstairs.
Tucking the transponder into a crevice and covering it with boxes, it would stay undetected unless they looked directly at the cable line. No one should have any way of knowing he had tapped in though.
Jack headed back up to the main floor, his hand on the banister to head upstairs.
“Sir, what are you doing? You can’t be back here,” an angry woman’s voice screeched at him as she marched toward him with long strides. It wasn’t the same saleswoman as before but the other one.
Jack turned to face her. “Sorry, I was looking for the bathroom.” It seemed an easy enough excuse, though he’d had to pick the lock to get back here, so he wasn’t sure if she’d buy it.
“We don’t have one. There is one at the coffee shop next door you can use. This area is off limits; you need to leave.” She guided him back to the store area.
“No bathroom? Okay, sorry again.”
“Not a problem,” she said, though she didn’t look happy about catching him snooping. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
Jack held up two scarves as proof. “I did, thank you.”
“Wonderful. I’ll help you check out, and you can use the coffee shop’s bathroom next door.” She was kicking him out.
“Thank you.” Jack paid for his scarves and headed outside. He could feel her eyes on him, so he turned left instead of right and went to the coffee shop.
Jack ordered a coffee and sat down, looking at the footage.
The saleswomen spoke amongst themselves before breaking off when a customer walked in.
The one who took his money was calling someone.
Because he didn’t have audio, he couldn’t hear what was being said.
He’d have to wait until he got back to the house to use his laptop and look up the phone records.
Jack took his coffee and left. He had some more research to do before he planned on meeting up with Andrea.