The Great Diamond Caper (Whispering Bay Mystery Book 6) by Maria Geraci

Author:Maria Geraci [Geraci, Maria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chihuahua Publishing
Published: 2020-10-29T16:00:00+00:00

9

I pull the business card out of my wallet and read the tagline: Jake Gitty, Private Investigator. No job too small or too unpleasant.

Gitty’s office is on the north part of town next to a tattoo parlor. I open the door, and Paco looks at me. You go first. I can’t say that I blame him. It’s been six months, but I still get the willies when I think how close Paco and I came to kicking the bucket. The last time we walked through this door, we found Jake being held at gunpoint by a couple of psycho murderers who then proceeded to knock Paco out and threatened to kill us all. Sure, everything turned out fine, but only because my dog is a quick thinker.

The reception area is just the way I remembered it. Empty and dingy with the rancid smell of smoke in the air. “You know cigars are bad for your health,” I call out in greeting.

“Lucy, is that you?” bellows a male voice from the back office.

Paco and I find Jake sitting behind a messy desk. A lit cigar rests on a chipped plate serving as a makeshift ashtray. The office isn’t the only thing that hasn’t changed. Middle-aged, with a receding hairline and a wiry build, Jake could easily pass for the lead character from one of those classic black-and-white detective movies.

“Aw, and you brought my favorite mutt too.” He makes a finger gun and pretends to shoot my dog. Paco goes along with it, entertaining us with a dramatic rendition of “playing dead” that only my dog could pull off. Gitty laughs. “I’d stand and give you a hug, but I know the cigar bothers you.” He motions to an empty chair in front of his desk. “Sit down. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

I take a seat on the edge of the chair. Jake proved himself to be a good guy when he helped me solve the murder of Matthew Duggar, a sweet old man who used to be Paco’s owner. But his cleaning habits leave a lot to be desired. “I need your help, Jake.”

He raises a brow. “Oh yeah? I thought you and the dog were a two-man team. So who died?”

“This time it’s not a murder case. I have to find a missing diamond ring. And I need to find it fast.”

“Diamond, huh? I gotta admit, doll, you’ve piqued my curiosity.”

“It’s an heirloom ring that’s possibly centuries old. And brace yourself. It might have once belonged to Catherine the Great.”

He gives me a blank look. “The great what?”

“You know, Catherine the Great. The Russian empress who plotted with her lover to overthrow her husband, who just so happened to be the Czar at the time. She ruled Russia from 1762 until her death in 1796.” Okay, so I googled her when I was in the parking lot.

He shrugs. “Never heard of her. I’m more interested in this diamond.”

I give Jake all the details of Gus’s failed proposal. “One

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