Duncan felt for the man. Dobbs had been right. There was noth- ing the FBI could have done to help. No demands, no recontacts, and no leads, just a lot of suspicion. But, now, the Bureau was in a position to help.
"Mr. Dobbs, rest assured, we will pursue this case aggressively. We will assign you two of our top agents, and, in cases like this, we are quite successful." Duncan's upbeat tone was meant to lift Dobbs' spirits. "Was there anything else demanded?"
"No, nothing, they just told me not to go to the police."
"You haven't told anyone, have you?" Duncan asked.
"No, not even my wife."
"Mr. Dobbs, let me ask you a couple more things, then I will introduce you to some fine men who will help you. Do you know anyone else who is in your position? Other people who are being blackmailed in similar ways?"
Dobbs shuffled his feet under the chair, and picked at the edge of the chair. Duncan hit a raw nerve.
"Mr. Dobbs, I don't want names, no specifics. It's a general question. Do you know others?"
"Yes," Dobbs said almost silently.
"Do you know how many?" Duncan needed details if his current line of thinking would pan out into a viable theory.