I sat on a stool, staring Nigel in the face through steel bars. With Gidean’s pistol held on him, we were able to get the police from the border station to come to Nigel’s house pretty quickly. Nigel was arrested and charged with personal possession of raw diamonds. I remembered all the money that he’d kept stashed in his office, so we stopped there on the way to the prison to see if we could pull in any more evidence, but it had already been cleared out.
After Nigel was put in prison, I put a call in to Craig to inform him of what had happened. By the next morning, the WIA office in Hong Kong was able to link Nigel with the Sun Kwon Muk triad. Their relationship went back five years, starting with a black market auction of national treasures from the Forbidden City.
“I just want to understand why.” I was so angry, I didn’t know where to begin. “No, actually, I don’t care why. I just want to know how you thought you could get away with it.”
Nigel sat unmoved.
In trying to make sense of everything, I recalled our first conversation about our pasts. “So, your father lost your inheritance, and now you’re going to take it back in elephant blood?”
Nigel turned away, bored. “The righteous are so tedious.”
“I see how this goes.” I seethed. “Your arrogance protects you from us simple people, trying to do the right thing, does it?” I grabbed the bars. “We’ll see how tedious it becomes for you, sitting here in this prison.”
Nigel stared at me with an aloof smile. He stood up and approached me. Placing his cool dry hands around mine, he whispered, “By the weekend, I’ll be dining on the best Peking duck Hong Kong has to offer.”
I pulled my hands away. “You’re in jail, Nigel. It’s over!”
“Along with my favorite Montrachet. Nineteen seventy-eight is the most expensive drinkable vintage. Well, I suppose it’s my fault it’s the most expensive, as I can’t resist a good bidding war. It just irritates me when someone thinks they can outbid me.” He waved his hand in the air. “No matter, it’s a lovely wine. Comes from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The lot of seven cost me $23,929 per bottle. The owner of Hang Cheng Bank is chilling down the sixth for me at this very moment. He’s one of my biggest clients.”
“Your delusions of grandeur are astounding. How did I miss all this?”
He looked away dreamily, fondling his neck. “And his wife will put on her favorite ivory necklace for the occasion—the finest Congolese ivory rivals the density of Asian ivory, you know—exquisitely detailed carving. Oh, and on such a gorgeous neck.”
“Yes, I’ve heard all about your fake antique ivory!” I hissed.
WIA was able to identify and interview several key witnesses in Hong Kong connecting Nigel to the smuggling of rare artifacts and faked “antique” ivory treasures that originated from freshly poached elephants in Africa. They were able to drive the price of ivory up, and when the Sun Kwon Muk felt threatened by African crime syndicates extending their networks into southern Africa, they wanted to have more control over their supply of ivory to China. They sent Mr. Lin to the Caprivi to start the Dollar Store to accommodate their supply and shipping needs. Their colleague Nigel Lofty came to oversee the operation, posing as a conservation worker.
Nigel’s eyes turned back and looked right through me. “Of course, he will arrange for some of his finest escorts. Though, I must admit, I’ll miss the Caprivian women. They’re not as inhibited by decorum.”
“Didn’t you tell me you used to do theater?”
“Indeed. I must say I developed a taste for Shakespearian tragedy. And I so enjoy sketching a solid character. It’s the gullible people around me that help me stay in that character.” He looked at me mockingly. “You do-gooders need to see the good in people and so you do. You really did make it easy.”
“You smug bastard,” I spat. “You’re a fucking murderer and a coward.”
Nigel sighed. “Oh, don’t give me your moral rubbish, living in your cushy little world of neutrality. I bet there’s a lot of folks out there that think you’re killing elephants by not being political.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Afraid to alienate either side by taking a stand for or against the legal trade? That’s the definition of cowardice.”
I stood up, furious. “How dare you! Countless elephants and who knows how many people have died at your hand, and you have the nerve to point a finger at me?”
Nigel smiled. “Just thought your pretty face could use a reality check.”
“I’m trying to bring the two sides together, while you’re out there slaughtering elephants.” His expression told me that he had me where he wanted me, so I left furious, yelling out behind me, “See you in court.”
“Perhaps we’ll meet in Hong Kong,” he whispered knowingly. “I could open up the seventh bottle.”