“I see. Okay. How does Bob plan to jack into the phone?”

“He didn’t say,” Stoll replied. “I’m sure Darling has an office phone with multiple lines. That would mean there’s a data port. All Bob has to do is plug his computer into that. That will give us access.”

“That’s all Bob has to do,” Hood said. “I’ll give him a call.”

“He said he was turning his phone off,” Stoll told him. “He doesn’t want it beeping while he’s in with Darling. If it helps, Lowell told him the only legal risk would be invasion of privacy. Lowell is also pretty sure Darling would not press that issue. He said the reasons for the investigation would come out, and the publicity would be bad for Darling, even if he were innocent.”

“The legal options are not what worries me,” Hood said. “If Darling’s into nuclear trafficking, he’s probably also in bed with some ugly characters. They may not bother with lawyers.”

“I don’t blame them,” Stoll said.

Hood scowled.

“I guess we could call Lowell to try to stop him,” Stoll suggested.

“No,” Hood said. “We need facts to support our theory, and this is probably the best way to get them. I take it Lowell is not going along.”

“Right,” Stoll said. “It was Bob, a fire warden, a lady officer from Singapore, and a koala.”

“A koala? An animal?” Hood asked.

“Yeah. Search me what that’s all about.” Stoll smiled as he finished writing his program. “It’s like the cast of the Wizard of Oz. And they’re in Oz. Pretty ironic, don’t you think?”

That it was. Right down to the big, blustering wizard spewing fire. Only this Oz was no dream.

Stoll activated the program. He ran a test on an Op-Center phone line just to make sure it was working. It functioned perfectly. They had all the numbers Lowell Coffey had phoned the day before he left. Hood looked away and ordered the list purged from Stoll’s computer.

“I’ll bet you didn’t peek in the girls’ locker room in high school, either,” Stoll said.

“As a matter of fact, I didn’t,” Hood admitted. “I don’t mind being a spy. I never liked being a voyeur.”

“Interesting. We’ll have to discuss the distinction,” Stoll said.

“I can give it to you in two words,” Hood said as he clapped a hand on Stoll’s rounded shoulder. “National security.”

“The voyeuristic instinct is a doorway to intelligence, and intelligence is the spy’s basic unit of data,” Stoll said. “Unless you look, how do you know Lowell’s not working for the Chinese or some terrorist group?”

“He believes too strongly in the rule of law. Tell me, do you routinely check on all of us?” Hood asked.

“Nope. I’m not a voyeur. I was only asking you.”