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Sage watched the three men observing her. She pulled back and shook her head.
“I’d have to look further, but I think you’re right. Nothing but fakes.” She turned back to the other workers, giving them instructions on what to do for the day. “Oh, and Smith? Don’t ever bring in jewels again, real or fake, without my approval. This is my shop, and I make the decisions about who we work with. That was unprofessional of you, and I don’t appreciate it.”
“Of course,” he said with a sardonic smile. He watched as she moved down the long corridor toward the back of the shop.
“Does she know?” asked one of the men.
“I don’t know. She’s not usually so casual about these things. I think we just hide them, and then we’ll take them somewhere to be looked at just to be sure of what we have. If it’s what we think, we’ll give them to him.”
“Fine. Where do we hide ten million in diamonds?” growled one of the men.
“Here,” smirked Smith. “We lock everything up at night when she’s not here. She’s leaving this afternoon for a buying trip to Los Angeles. I’ll lock them up and get them on Saturday morning before she comes back. Even if the cops came, you heard the lady. This is her shop and nothing happens without her knowing about it. She’d take the fall. Not me. Easy.”
“It had better be easy, or you’re going to be dead. Understand?”
“Perfectly.”
Sage didn’t say anything to anyone the rest of the day. She knew the diamonds were of the highest quality, and no one just walks into a jewelry store with a velvet pouch full of jewels. Plus, no one in New Orleans was putting real diamonds in their Mardi Gras crowns. That would be stupid!
While waiting on a customer, she noticed Smith walking to the back room where the safe was. She couldn’t stop and check on it now, but she wanted to be certain he hadn’t stolen something from the vault.
At two o’clock, she gathered her bag and went to the office to grab a few notes. With Smith gone to dinner, she opened the safe and checked to be sure everything was where it should be. In the far corner, she spotted the velvet pouch. Taking it out, she looked at the diamonds and frowned.
“These are stolen,” she whispered to herself. She wasn’t about to leave them in her store. Taking her bag and the diamonds, she left for Los Angeles. It was foolish to carry them with her, but she didn’t have time to run home and put them in the safe there.
Two days of haggling with buyers, dealers, and gemologists to get the quality of what she wanted for her store, all the while holding her breath that no one found the pouch in her bag.
With her final meeting of the day on Friday, she waited in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton hotel in Beverly Hills. When a familiar face walked toward her, she smiled.
“Mr. Silverstein,” she laughed, hugging the man.
“Sage, my dear, dear, Sage. It’s so lovely to see you. I was sorry to hear of your grandmother.”
“Thank you. She was a wonderful woman. It was a surprise to learn that you’d be here in Los Angeles at the same time as me. I’m so glad we were able to connect while we were both in the same place. Are you here with the family?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “My grandson is considering UCLA. We’re here for a little trip to visit universities.”
“That’s wonderful.”
They talked for a long while, catching up on friends and family, customers, and the great city they both enjoyed so much. When there was a lull, she saw her opening. Looking around them, then back at her old friend.
“Between you and me, have you heard of any large jewelry thefts lately? Mostly loose stones?”
“I always hear of such things,” he said with a strange expression. “I know a few stores have recently been robbed, mostly estate jewelry. Why do you ask?”
“I think one of my employees might be involved in something. I saw a bag of loose diamonds, and he tried to tell me they were fakes. I pretended as if they were, but I assure you they were of the highest quality.”
“He believed you? He must be stupid to think that you wouldn’t know the difference. I have heard of two large thefts recently. One was in Brazil, but it was all fully constructed pieces. Mostly emeralds and topaz. Loose diamonds are something different. I’ve only heard of one such case, and it was stolen from Overman Jewelers in Prague. They’re exceptional quality and possibly worth millions.”
Sage frowned at her old friend, nodding.
“Thank you for telling me that. Are you hungry?” she asked.
“I really must get going,” he said suddenly. He hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead. “Sage? Be careful. If these men stole those diamonds, they won’t hesitate to harm anyone in their way.”
“I know. I’ll be careful,” she promised.
Waving goodbye, she retired to her room and ordered room service. Her three o’clock flight was going to come all too early. But she’d be home by nine and head to the store, where she’d call the police and rid herself of the unwanted diamonds.
