Ruby Red Herring by Tracy Gardner

Author:Tracy Gardner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CROOKED LANE BOOKS

Chapter Twelve

Francesca had left for her office after marveling at the striking red jewel, all of it now fully visible. Avery and Micah had been focused and relatively silent, working, when Micah sucked in his breath and straightened up. “We’ve got it. Check this out.” He pointed at the screen on the laptop that was connected to their Raman spectrometer, a lab tool used to show the molecular structure and chemical composition of material. “There’s virtually no iron or lead at all in this stone. We know that lead, even in trace amounts, can point to a lab-created ruby. And when we’re searching for growth lines, curved lines that can betray a synthetic, there just aren’t any. And look at these readings.”

Avery bent and scanned the screen more closely. “The iron content—or lack of it.” She pulled cotton jeweler’s gloves on and lifted the ruby using the locking tweezers, peering at it through her handheld loupe. “I’ve never seen this level of fluorescence. It’s so much more apparent now that it’s out of the gold housing. This can only mean one thing. This is a Burmese ruby, isn’t it? Oh my God, Micah.”

He nodded. “I know.” His eyebrows were raised in excitement, mirroring Avery’s. “But I’m not jumping to conclusions. We still have to get the exact cut dimensions and angles and do a full comparison to the existing ruby and the empty medallion setting to know for sure if this is the ruby.”

“Yes. But this.” She looked at him. “This is a sixteen-carat natural Burmese ruby. I mean, that in itself is incredible. I’d say the odds are pretty darn good that it’s the missing dragon’s eye.”

Twenty minutes later in the lab, Avery and Micah explained their findings to Goldie Brennan, who stood between them, hands pressed together palms to fingertips in a prayer position at her chin. The septuagenarian looked from Avery to Micah and back, grinning widely.

“I knew it,” she whispered. She shook her head before either of them could speak. “I understand you’ve still got to evaluate the medallion. But what a find. Goodness.”

“I expect our collector’s going to be pleased,” Micah said, glancing at Avery.

“Oh yes,” Goldie said. “I’ll notify him today. Our tentative contract wasn’t contingent on it being the dragon’s eye. I believe he’ll accept the generous MOA purchase offer.”

There it was—her shot. Avery widened her eyes at Micah and jumped in. “Goldie, Oliver Renell and I have been emailing back and forth quite a bit. He’s an interesting man. Relatively new as a collector, at least here in the States.” She was winging it a little too well, her tongue running on before she could reel the lies and half-truths back in. “It’d sure be great for us, for MOA, to work with him again sometime. I mean, look at his first submission.”

“Absolutely. Impressive, to say the least. I agree.”

“Right. Did you know I literally go right past Beckworth Suites where he’s staying every single day?” That wasn’t a complete lie. She passed it whenever she was going to Midge’s Fifth Avenue apartment.

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