Chapter Twelve

Are the stones in the bag real or fake?

There are tests we should carefully make.

If it turns out they’re real

With a good jeweller’s seal,

There are several steps we will take.

We ran into the Colonel and Frau as we crossed the reception area.

“Herr Bear, Mr. Alex is waiting to see us. Major, can we get over to Alexandria before the traffic goes wild?”

“I think so. We can talk on the way over. Did you have any luck, Colonel?”

“Did I? This Faluj character is straight out of pulp fiction. He’s also not the brightest gem in the necklace. I recorded the call. Let’s get settled and I’ll play back my conversation. What happened with the lioness?”

I replied, “Definitely not an Idi fan but she has a pretty good alibi for the time in question. You know, I’m beginning to lean a little more toward the accident theory. I think we’re going to discover that some jewelry smuggling was going on but it may not have been connected to Idi’s death.

The Bear snorted, “I hate coincidences.”

“Me too!” said the Colonel. “Wait till you hear this call. Idi was a smuggler or a courier.”

He plugged his smart phone into the van’s speaker system.

The conversation follows:

Ringing phone.

“Yeah!?”

“Mr. Faluj?’

“Who wants to know?”

“My name is Marvin Wolf and I have some merchandise I think you might be interested in. I was referred to you by Idi at the Embassy.”

“Oh yeah. How is Idi?”

“Things are a bit quiet for him right now.”

“Well, tell him I expect to hear from him. Tell him it’s that time of the month. Now what can I do for you?”

“As I said, I have some uncut goods from Africa that I’m interested in selling. Twenty stones, to be exact.”

“What about weight and quality?”

“I’ll leave that up to you to decide”

“Do they come from the same source as Idi’s shipments? Those are always first class.”

“I have my own source. I lost my buyer and I’m looking for a new contact. Interested?”

“Since you’re a friend of Idi’s, I’ll take a look at what you’ve got. They better be good. I don’t carry crap! When can you get here?”

“Not until tomorrow.”

“OK! Here’s my address.”

The Colonel cut off the recording. “I hope he doesn’t wait for me tomorrow. Well, that sheds some light on our Attaché’s activities.”

Octavius grunted, “It certainly ties him to the bag of diamonds but it still doesn’t explain his death. Are we getting anywhere near Mr. Alex’s establishment, Major?”

“Just a few more minutes, Doctor Bear. I’m eager to find out if these stones are high quality and what they’re worth. Frau Schuylkill, what did you tell Mr. Alex?”

“First, I dropped Chita’s name, sorry, Madame Catt’s name. He recognized it. It seems he has shops in several countries. He has done business with her in Paris and London. Then I told him who we were and that we were working on a hush-hush assignment for a foreign government involving diamonds. We needed an expert assessment for which we were willing to pay. But under no circumstances was he to reveal any of this to anyone. Was he willing to work with us on that basis? He was. He expects us right about now.” (Now being 4PM.)

As she was speaking, the Major pulled up in front of a very fashionable boutique. Alex of Alexandria. He told us to go in and seek out Mr. Alex while he found a parking space.

The four of us walked into a very well-appointed shop with display cases aglitter with jewelry in all shapes and sizes. Diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, pearls, bracelets, earrings, necklaces and a wild assortment of exotic pins. Tiny spotlights played on the sparkling gems. Frau Ilse looked very interested. What female wouldn’t be? Subdued music in the background. A fashionably dressed white Arctic Fox, wearing a few sparklers herself, approached us but seemed a bit taken aback by Octavius’ size and the fabulous coats of the two Wolves. She practically fell over me. (It happens a lot.)

“Good afternoon, Lady and Gentlebeasts! Welcome to Alex of Alexandria’s. How may I be of service?”

The Frau smiled, showing her hundred or so perfect teeth. “Good afternoon, I am Frau Ilse Schuylkill. We have an appointment with Mr. Alex.”

“Mr. Alex will be with you in a moment. Is there anything I can do or show you?”

“Thank you, no. Could you let him know we are here? Another member of our party, a Rhodesian Ridgeback Dog will be joining us as soon as he finds a parking space.

“Of course! Please be seated! (She looked askance at Octavius’ girth.) Or feel free to wander about. I think you’ll be very impressed with our selections.”

I was impressed. No wonder Chita dealt with him. Nothing second class for that cat. Speaking of cats, a Civet in a tail coat, emerged from behind a mirrored door and skittered toward us. (Cat is a misnomer. They are more like Racoons.) He bowed to the Frau. “Frau Schuylkill? Wonderful, wonderful! And these are your associates? Please come back with me to our workroom.”

Once again through the mirrored door. The Frau made the introductions. There was an old German Shepherd wearing a loupe, seated on a workbench, carefully grinding a large ruby.

The Civet went over to him and whispered in his ear. The dog nodded, took off his loupe, shut down the grinder and carefully placed the ruby in a sample box. He went over to a wall safe and deposited the box on a shelf, closed the door and spun the dials. He bowed and left the room.

“Now we are alone,” said Mr. Alex. “Let us view these stones you want me to appraise.”

At that moment, the door opened and the Major stepped in. The Frau introduced him without referencing his duties, profession or employer. The Embassy was not to be mentioned.

The Civet climbed up on the workbench, took an empty sample box and put on his own personal, gem encrusted loupe. Octavius untied the bag and poured the stones into the box.

“There are twenty in all. If you can also tell us their provenance, that would very helpful.”

“Hmm, let us see. I have a diamond testing device here that will check their specific gravity and thermal conductance among other things. Yes, I’m pretty sure these are diamonds. Let me test the whole batch.”

One after another, he zapped each stone. The indicators on the tester consistently rose and the device beeped. “Frau Schuylkill, you have twenty genuine diamonds. As to quality, their clarity is high and I can see no serious occlusions. Their color is very fine. Their ultimate value will be determined by how they are cut, of course. In the paws of a reliable and skilled jeweler, each stone of this size should bring in $5,000 to $10,000. Maybe more. Of course, in the rough, the price would be about a third to half of that number.”

“As to provenance, it’s difficult to say. I have not seen these types of stones on the controlled market. I would be guessing, but there is a good chance these are blood diamonds. I wouldn’t touch them.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Alex. That was most helpful. Because of our confidential status, we will pay for your services in cash. Remember, please. This session did not take place.”

“I was pleased to help. Please give Madame Catt my best regards and remind her that Mr. Alex is always at her disposal with new, exciting and legal offerings.”

Chita would no doubt respond to the ‘new’ and ‘exciting.’ I’m not sure what she would think about ‘legal.’

After making the confidential payment, we filed out to the van under the puzzled and watchful eye of the Arctic Fox.

“Well, it would seem our friend Idi has been trading in contraband precious stones for a while, if Faluj is to be believed. Two Impalas. I wonder if they were related.”

“They could well be, Maury, but all of this still doesn’t explain his violent death. Any theories? Although I hate theories. I much prefer facts. Why was this bag of stones poorly hidden in that empty room?”

The Colonel growled. “I don’t think it was intentional. If it was Idi, he may have been trying to get away from someone. Getting rid of evidence? That may also explain his fall. He was on the run. But why?”

“Any thoughts, Major?”

“I have always suspected Idi of playing fast and loose. He seemed to have more money than his diplomatic salary would provide. I don’t think all his trips were on Embassy business. He didn’t drink much. He may have been gambling, although I can’t prove it. Someone or something may have caught up with him.”

“Let’s have one more look at his body when we get back to the Residence,” said the Bear.

“What are we looking for?”

“I don’t know, damn it.”