03 - Snake in the Glass by Sarah Atwell

Author:Sarah Atwell [Atwell, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2009-08-28T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

Peridot set in gold may protect its owner from night terrors.

I called Nessa and Allison, giving them permission to shut down the still-empty shop for lunch, and they arrived in less than three minutes. Poor dogs: Fred and Gloria had seldom seen so much company in the space of a few hours, and they were beside themselves with excitement. They were particularly fond of the latest arrivals, so the exchange of greetings took another few minutes. Finally we all found seats for ourselves (dogs included).

“All right, let me give you the condensed version.” I outlined what Matt had heard from the ME’s office as well as our mutual speculation about Denis, with a few small corrections from Frank. The women didn’t interrupt until I had run out of steam.

Nessa was the first to respond. “So, in a nutshell: Denis Ryerson and Alex Gutierrez were business partners. Alex is dead, murdered by an unknown person. Alex hired Cam to do some work for them; Denis did not know Cam but knew of Cam. Everything we know that Denis has done has been legal, but he’s acting very nervous. Matt agrees that there’s something going on, and he shares your concern about Denis. Do I have it right so far?”

“You’ve got it, Nessa. And don’t forget that there’s someone else involved—this mystery buyer. That does explain why Denis is so eager to produce the stones he’s been working on: he needs the buyer’s money to pay off his debts, or at least part of them, or the bank may seize the property. And that buyer may not want to wait around after the Gem Show is over. What do you think, Frank?”

Nessa nudged Frank gently, and Frank awoke with a start from what looked suspiciously like a nap. “What? Oh, right, love. Makes sense. Denis needs him—he can’t wing it because he doesn’t know the market or the players. On his own he’d get bottom dollar, and I doubt he’s got enough stones yet to cover whatever he owes. Since it sounds like Alex had the head for business, he probably checked out the buyer. I’d like to know who this guy is.”

“So would I. You think you can find him, Frank?”

“If he’s here, I’ll smoke him out. If he thinks he has something hot coming, he’d be spreading the word, with or without the product to show. He could stir up a bit of excitement in advance, like. Besides, the good stuff doesn’t necessarily show up on the convention floor—there are deals going on all the time.”

“Maybe Mr. Whoever took out his frustrations on Alex, or was trying to send a message, because they didn’t deliver when promised,” I suggested.

“Maybe but not likely.” Frank didn’t sound convinced. “Like you said, why kill the source? Not worth it.”

I knew I was grasping at straws, but I really didn’t like what I was hearing. Apparently I’d had the right idea all along: stay as far away as possible from the whole gem trade.

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