Dexter placed his Gucci briefcase filled with two and a half million dollars worth of diamond studded jewelry on the passenger seat. Then he unlocked the glove compartment and left it open to make sure he had access to his Glock if he needed it. The gun made him feel secure while driving around with millions of dollars worth of merchandise.
He drove north on Rodeo Drive until it became Hartford Way just past Sunset Boulevard. The elegant Beverly Hills Hotel loomed on the right. Before pulling up to the valet, he put the safety on his gun, then closed and locked the glove compartment.
His buyer, an Academy Award winning actress with a penchant for fine jewels, loved a bargain and didn’t care if the provenance was a bit shady. As Dexter entered the hotel, he recognized an attractive couple leaving the world-famous Polo Lounge. They had attended Chili’s dinner party aboard the Aurora Borealis. He hoped Clayton Coleman, the silver screen heart throb, and his stunning wife, the aging sexpot, Lola Lamore, wouldn’t remember meeting him. But Lola caught his eye and made a show of waving and blowing a kiss in Dexter’s direction as they left the lobby.
Before taking an elevator up to his client’s suite, he stepped into an alcove to make a call. When he reached for his cell phone, it wasn’t there. After searching his pockets and trying to picture the last time he had it, Dexter recalled leaving it on Godiva’s table and cursed himself.
Zola Zapata, an actress known for her chameleon-like ability to slip into any character, threw open the door to her suite. “Dexter, darling, I can’t wait to see what you’ve brought me. You know how much I love beautiful things.” She hugged him, then air-kissed each cheek and led him into the luxurious room. She pointed to a cream-colored sofa that faced the marble fireplace, and said, “There Darling. Just sit right there and put your case on the cocktail table.”
He loved coming to this hotel to meet clients. The setting was intimate and the transactions far more private than under the bright lights in his jewelry salon. With a sculptured Chinese rug underfoot, comfortable gray velvet wing chairs on either side of the sofa, and the picture window with a view of the magnificent gardens, it was a well-appointed suite. He thought, It’s good to be rich and I want to be even richer.
After setting his case on the table, he twirled the combination locks and raised the cover. Diamonds and gems, resting in black velvet compartments, sparkled in the light. The first item he took from the case was Godiva’s necklace.
“Oh, what a beautiful piece,” the actress gushed. “I’m sure it’s dreadfully expensive, but go ahead. Shock me.”
Dexter flashed a smile. “You’re right about that, but you know you never pay full value with me. And, when you buy several pieces, we can always negotiate.” He cradled the necklace, then got up and walked over to her. “Here, let me put it on for you so you can see how it looks in the mirror. It’s easily worth one hundred thousand, but for you, it’s only seventy-five.”
She walked to the ornate mirror over the fireplace, took one look and turned to Dexter. “I must have it.” Then giggling like a school girl, she let him present the other pieces in the case. After they offered and counter-offered, the actress opened her laptop and transferred one million three hundred thousand dollars to Dexter’s offshore account. This transaction would never show up on the ledger of The World of Fire and Ice.
He closed the case on the remaining jewels and twirled the locks. Everything he had taken from Godiva, with the exception of the emerald and diamond ring which was too large for Zola’s petite hand, had been chosen by the actress along with several other pieces from the store.
“Oh, Dexter,” she said. “I just love doing business with you, so let’s keep in touch. On Friday I’ll be leaving for Greece where that wonderful man, Percy Oliver, offered me the leading role in a dreadfully heavy movie about the Peloponnesian wars.” She emitted a loud sigh. “What can I say? It’s a living. Anyway, we’ll be filming for several months so if you come across something outstanding, please let me know.”
“You can be sure I will,” he answered. “Knowing how you love gold, my dear Zola, be careful what you buy from those gold merchants on Santorini. They’re a slippery bunch. Good luck with the movie.” He gave her an air kiss and left.
Dexter pulled out of the hotel parking lot and drove west on Sunset Boulevard to Beverly Glen, where he turned up into the canyon. It was four o’clock, pretty much on schedule.
Angel’s red Honda was still parked at the end of the narrow street. Dexter gave it a fleeting glance and thought, Hmm. Looks just like that crappy little car Godiva’s assistant drives. Wonder who it belongs to.
He walked up to the front door and used his key.
“Is that you, Dad?” a voice called down from the second floor. “I’m just about ready. How did it go with Princess Zola?”
“Great, that egotistical diva fattened our bank account by over a million. Piece of cake. By the way, did you see that red car outside? Does it belong to someone you know?”
The voice floated down the stairs. “Someone I know? You’ve gotta be kidding. You do realize I don’t know anybody in L.A. besides you, right? I’ll tell you about that car when I come down.”
A few minutes passed before a dowdy looking young woman with mousy brown hair descended, carrying a suitcase. She touched the frame of her glasses. “So, what do you think?”
Dexter gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek, then chuckled. “What do I think? I think the transformation from my gorgeous daughter to dowdy Minnie Moskowitz is nothing short of miraculous. This is a great disguise for you to travel in. There is absolutely no way anyone would recognize you as Jade Moon, the elusive jewel thief. We’ll be long gone and the Feds will still be running around like rats in a maze looking for you.”
Jade pointed to an unremarkable brooch pinned to her baggy gray sweater. “And this? What do you think of my artistry?”
They both broke into laughter. “Looks like something you’d find on a bargain basement jewelry counter for five bucks. Great job.”
“Yep. Dip it in gold metallic paint, glue on a few cheesy glass beads, and voila! Who would ever suspect this piece of tasteless junk is actually the Black King’s Curse? Goes perfectly with my outfit, too, don’t you think?” She adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses and twirled around on her clunky crepe-soled oxfords, showing off the ill-fitting tweed skirt, rumpled striped blouse and stretched-out sweater. A green felt hat was perched atop the curly brown wig. It was almost the exact image Flossie and Sterling had seen in the little shop in Chinatown.
Jade had used the Minnie Moskowitz disguise for quite a few years. It allowed her to fly under the radar after one of her high profile jewel thefts. As the owner of the eclectic shop in San Francisco, she was able to sell the pieces of lesser value that were left over after Dexter fenced the high-end items to clients like Zola Zapata.
“We really pulled this one off, Dad.”
“Yep, we sure did. No one ever suspected I dug the Black King out of the dumpster after that foolish old man threw it away.”
“When we sell it to that Bahraini sultan who’s meeting us in Hong Kong, it can be our last big job. Between our off shore accounts and the stuff in your briefcase, we’ll never have to pull another heist.”
She handed him an airline ticket. “In the name of Morris J. Moskowitz, just like you asked. And here’s good old Morrie’s passport. My guy did a great job.”
Dexter opened it and flipped through the passport, then broke into a wide grin. “It’s been a long time since anyone called me Morrie.”
She handed him a pair of black framed glasses and a false mustache. “Okay, put these on, Morrie, so you match your photo.”
They took their baggage out to Dexter’s leased Lexus. Since Jade’s rental Cadillac was no longer of use to them, they left it parked in front of the secluded house where it would eventually be found when the rental agency accessed its tracking device.
Dexter said, “Wait a minute. You didn’t tell me about the red car.”
“Oh, yeah, the red car. Well, you know I’ve been on high alert ever since I left the cruise ship. So, I spotted this red car soon after I left your shop today. At first I wasn’t sure I was being followed, but my radar really kicked in when I turned onto Beverly Glen and the car was still behind me. I was positive when she turned into this street a few minutes after I did. After all, we did rent this house specifically because it’s the only one on the street. It was obvious this person followed me all the way from Beverly Hills.”
Dexter twiddled his false moustache. “So, why is the car still here?”
“Here’s the thing, Dad. I figured maybe this person was an investigator, or even an undercover cop. When the driver stopped at the end of the street, I walked right over and yanked open the door.”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know who she is. She gave me some bogus story about having a friend in the area and turning onto the wrong street. No way! She follows me from Beverly Hills and just happens to make a wrong turn onto my street? I don’t think so.”
“And, where is she now?”
Jade gave a gleeful laugh. “Fast asleep in the trunk of her car. I gave her a Karate chop and knocked her out. We’ll be long gone by the time she wakes up. Let’s go.”
“Okay, we just have one stop before LAX. There are quite a few pieces I want to pick up at the shop. I didn’t want to clean out the safe while Roxy was there, so I told her to close early.”
Dexter loaded his daughter’s suitcase into his vehicle. “Before we go, I’ll just check to make sure the trunk of that red car is securely closed. I’ll be right back.” He walked down the driveway to the parked car and his mouth dropped open as he stared at the vanity license plate— Godiva2. The car didn’t just look like Angel’s. The woman locked in the trunk was Angel.
Not the way they had planned it. Angel must have seen Jade leaving the shop and recognized her. He slapped his forehead as he realized what happened. Flossie’s photo of Jade on the Aurora Borealis. They had all seen it. Godiva must have sent Angel over with something for him. Maybe another piece of jewelry to be appraised. Of all the luck!