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“I can’t lose them,” I whispered.
“Even if you pay, you know he’s not going to let them go,” Elias said.
I could see his regret at even having to speak the words. I felt it, deeply. I also knew that what he said was true.
“I know,” I responded, regaining my grip on my emotions. They needed me to be strong, and I would do that.
“So what then?” Elias asked.
He was letting me take the lead on something that should have been his decision. I appreciated that more than I could ever say.
“We gather the stones and arrange a drop. Have all those ducks in a row should it come to that,” I said.
“And in the meantime, I’m going to turn over every rock on this continent,” Elias said.
“You know he’s not doing this himself,” I said, giving voice to the suspicion I knew was more than that.
Elias leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve met the man,” I said.
“I have. And I will admit I’m a little surprised by this.”
“Me too. So surprised that I know this isn’t his idea, or at least not fully. He doesn’t have the range or the know-how to conceive of this. He wanted me to wire his payments for using James Industries for smuggling. Now he’s asking for uncut gems?” I said.
Elias nodded, and I could see the wheels in his mind spinning. “And he can’t move that volume of diamonds. They’re pretty to look at, but there’s no way he has connections to convert that amount into cash on his own.”
“Exactly. So he has a backer, or a puppet master,” I said.
“Who?” Elias asked.
“That’s the question. We figure that out, and that’ll get us closer to Crystal and Amethyst,” I said.
“Who would risk it?” Elias said.
“Who wouldn’t?” I responded.
“With father, the transition…” Elias leaned back, tapping his fingers on his desk, though I could tell he wasn’t even aware of what he was doing.
“And besides, Raphael couldn’t afford a team with the skill to hit my house like that. He has to have support,” I said.
I’d been too distracted to put all these pieces together, but now things were beginning to gel.
“I can think of three likely families,” Elias said.
“What are you doing?” I asked when he picked up the phone.
“I’m calling New York,” he said.
“Etienne?” I said.
“If he and the Brotherhood aren’t behind it, they can find out who it is,” Elias said.
I nodded then grabbed the headset and listened to the ransom call.
I tried to ignore Raphael’s words, keeping my feelings in check as I listened for any background noise.
I didn’t hear Crystal.
