Stone was not expecting good news from anywhere. He had not eaten during the day – there was still not much in the fridge – but he was not hungry. His mood was downbeat; Claire had turned against him.
And when his phone rang, it awakened him from his dark thoughts.
‘I got this one wrong.’ It was Roger, who sounded almost excited. ‘Circus Inc. The price has doubled. This one caught everybody out.’
‘Surprised to hear that you agree I was right. That makes a change, Roger. I went in big on this because I knew it was going to happen.’
‘Don’t get too excited yet. You’d better not tell me where you got your illicit information from, but it’s been picked up that there has been some heavy buying just before the news that somebody was buying Circus Inc became public. A lot of alarm bells shouting out loud. Somebody in a pinstriped suit will be expecting that there’s a bit of a fraud going on. So be careful with what you’ve got.’
‘Roger, you sound like a schoolmaster scolding a pupil for looking over the shoulder of the person next door in an exam. It happens all the time. Have you never done it?’
‘I don’t have to answer that. But okay, you make money big time, so have you now cleared the lot to buy Marine House?’
‘Just, little bit to go yet.’
Those words echoed in Stone’s head as he finished the call and looked again at the sheet of paper he had pressed into a tight ball on a train from London. He opened his laptop and peered eagerly into his stockbroker account. He liked what he saw. Circus Inc was another big win.
Stone had already poured two measures of whisky that afternoon, but he now poured another one. He sat still and the pain he had been having during the whole of that day dissipated. The back of the sofa was a soft spot as Stone rolled his head onto it and his eyes just shut. Stone wanted to sleep. Manipulating money for Marine House was like playing a game of poker, and this time he had not held all the right cards to keep it.
Stone was awakened from his reverie to take a call from Sol in Hatton Garden.
‘Harry, my friend, have you got that last big carat diamond?’
‘I’m still waiting for it. A couple of days, okay?’
‘My Russian client is now in London. He’s here ’til middle of next week, doing his shopping. He’s eager to handle the last big diamond. Get it to me before then, and if it as sharply cut and well polished as the others you’ve brought me, it’ll be £85,000. How does that sound?’
‘I like it.’
‘Harry, I know you’re not too well, but are you alright? I’ll come and collect it from you if you prefer.
‘My lady, Claire, is dealing with it for me. I’ll tell her it’s getting urgent. But we’ll get it to you in good time.’
Delivering the last diamond was becoming urgent. Eighty-five grand was big money; Stone was not going to let it slip away, like a high tide going out.