by Drew Lindsay
Ford clasped his bony fingers together. ‘Now we’re getting to it.’
‘You would know what the necklace was worth,’ said Nancy. ‘You obviously felt it was worth paying someone to steal it for you.’
‘It was probably worth a million dollars, although I wouldn’t have parted with it.’
‘That’s not a lot for a piece of royal jewellery which had been a gift from the Queen of England.’
‘Not in its original state. I added one further gem. I am a jeweller as you know.’
‘Among other things,’ said Nancy with a slight smile.
‘I know what I am young lady. You are paid well to ensure that my confidences are not betrayed and that my interests are legally protected.’
‘I’m not complaining about my remuneration. It is equal to the risks I take on your behalf.’
Ford nodded. ‘The gem I added totally complimented the necklace and placed its value into the category of priceless.’
‘Everything has a price,’ said Nancy.
‘Not everything,’ said Ford. ‘The Iron Crown of Lombardy for instance is the most ancient royal insignia of Europe and is simply priceless. The Crown Jewels of England are considered priceless. You can’t buy them for any amount of money.’
‘I see your point,’ said Nancy.
‘A fellow collector of ancient and valuable state regalia came to me with a gem.’
‘A legitimate collector?’ asked Nancy.
‘Not quite. Let’s say she was in around the same category as me.’
Nancy nodded.
‘She knew I had the royal Tongan necklace and had admired it many times. She felt she had the perfect addition to the necklace and showed me a most exquisite white diamond. I recognised it immediately from drawings and paintings I have of precious things. It was a very large diamond which was part of the English Regalia which was sold off with many other pieces of the Crown Jewels on the orders of Oliver Cromwell after he executed King Charles I in 1649. All the gold which formed part of the Crown Jewels was melted down and turned into trading coins.’
‘So what was the white diamond worth?’ asked Nancy.
‘It was priceless,’ said the old man. ‘Priceless.’
‘And Hunter didn’t know this?’
‘No. The arrangement struck with my fellow collector was that we would share possession of the necklace, exchanging it every 6 months. When I advised her of the theft by Hunter, I’m afraid she didn’t take it particularly well and I don’t blame her.’
‘What did she do?’ asked Nancy.
‘She threatened me with rather dire consequences if I couldn’t get the necklace away from Hunter.’
Nancy nodded. ‘That explains the huge fee you offered without even negotiation.’
‘She now advises that she has hired her own person to attempt to locate the necklace by any and all available means. She advises that if her person is unsuccessful, I am to be terminated before the end of the year.’
‘I had better warn my man,’ said Nancy. ‘It could get rather serious if they begin to trip over each other.’
‘I’m sorry to have deceived you my dear.’
‘So am I,’ said Nancy.’
‘I will be taking steps to protect myself although this is something that I’m not too familiar with. I have purchased a rather nasty little gun.’
‘You’ll need more than a gun if a pro comes after you,’ said Nancy.
‘I’m prepared to hire someone who knows how to protect me,’ said Ford as he unlocked his fingers. ‘Then again, I may simply drop out of sight in Switzerland or somewhere until this all blows over one way or another.’
‘My man is going after Hunter’s wife,’ said Nancy. ‘There’s a chance she knows where the necklace is, although she probably won’t know its value or what to do with it.’
‘I know of Sophia Hunter,’ said Ford. ‘She is a shrewd business woman and an amazingly beautiful woman as well.’
‘Too young for you Isaac.’
‘Doesn’t hurt to look. She might just be smarter than you think.’
‘We’re working on it. I’ll do my best for you. Please don’t hire anyone until I’ve had them checked out.’
Ford got to his feet. He extended his hand. ‘Thank you my dear.’
Nancy stood and shook the old man’s hand. ‘I’ll keep you informed.’
‘Yes, that would be good.’
“****”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Police Commissioner Edward Hill sat with his black police cap in his lap as King Tupou VI outlined full details of the information concerning the stolen royal necklace and the associated white diamond. The King was dressed in a white shirt and dark blue tie. He wore the traditional ta’ovala (mat) fastened around his waist with a belt made from coconut fibre. He usually wore a tailored simple grey suit as he was raised in modern western society having gone to school at Cambridge and also attended the University of East Anglia. He had obtained the rank of Lieutenant-Commander with the Tonga Defence Services and was a graduate of the US Naval War College. He also had a Masters degree in Defence Studies which he obtained from the University of New South Wales in Australia.
‘You understand how important it would be to not only regain possession of the necklace given by the Queen to King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, but to also return an extremely important diamond of the long lost Crown Jewels to Her Majesty,’ said the king.
Commissioner Hill nodded. ‘I understand sir, and I also understand why a degree of discretion be given to keeping much of this information strictly confidential for the moment.’
‘Who will be allocated the investigation?’
‘Detective Inspector Paul Lolohea,’ said Hill.
‘Very good,’ said the king. ‘He’s a very astute investigator.’
‘I must advise you sir that a police detective from Australia has already made contact with us in relation to the stolen necklace. We reluctantly sent him photographs of the original necklace. It would have aroused much suspicion if we had not as it forms part of a murder investigation in Sydney.’
‘Does he know about the white diamond?’ asked the king.
‘I would think he does, although he hasn’t raised the matter yet.’
‘Is there any possibility that Feye Langi is involved with the necklace?’
‘I strongly doubt it sir,’ said Hill.
‘Where does this woman Loa Tei fit into the picture?’
‘We don’t know exactly,’ said Hill. ‘Probably just Langi’s assistant and an occasional go-between with Joseph and Sophia Hunter. We’re keeping a bit of an eye on her.’
The king smiled. ‘Not too close I hope.’
‘To be frank sir, she would have easily won last year’s Miss South Pacific pageant if it hadn’t been for those brief bikini shots that went all over the world.’
‘That was her decision,’ said the king. ‘She has paid dearly for that indiscretion.’
Nancy Fiumara and Claudia Abrams could have easily been mistaken for sisters other than for Claudia’s darker skin colouring. The fact is, they had never met and knew absolutely nothing about each other. Neither knew the other even existed. Claudia was the same age as Nancy. She had short cut black hair, very similar to Nancy’s and usually shaped in a bob but often messy as she wasn’t a lawyer. Claudia’s profession was bodyguard and when required, assassin. She was born and raised in Egypt. Her father was in the military and her mother was English. When she was in her late teens, her father had her trained in an Egyptian special assault unit where she learned to infiltrate and eliminate various targets. On occasion she was assigned a high profile political figure to guard with her life. She was extremely beautiful but underneath light olive skin and magnetic hazel eyes, she was extremely damaged goods. Relationships with men were always disastrous and even more so with women. Her relationship with her father was the first to crash although for years he had been her rock. She had adored him. She would have done anything for him bu
t finally began to realise that he was using her in ways which not only put her in grave danger, but were specifically designed to advance his own military career.
Her mother became ill and was quickly sent home to live with her elderly parents in England. Claudia was advised by her father that the marriage had ceased to exist long ago. Claudia schemed and connived until she found a way to legally enter Australia. Natalie Goodsong, a prominent collector of antiques and jewellery played a big part in Claudia’s arrival into Australia.
Natalie Goodsong was in her mid 50’s. She was a tall strong boned woman with a figure that defied her age. Her hair was silver and always swept up on top of her head and held in place with a variety of bejewelled clips and clamps. When in company she always wore the most expensive outfits purchased from the most exclusive boutiques in Australia…because she could. Natalie had a heart of gold but if you crossed her, she could have you shot or your throat cut in a flash. She had the occasional man. She was extremely fussy and most men were sent on their way long before the dawn.
‘I trusted that old man with the most precious of my collection,’ said Natalie, ‘and he let some buffoon steal it from under his bloody nose!’
‘You are repeating yourself darling,’ said Claudia. ‘I know what has to be done.’
‘No you don’t. This situation has political ramifications that could place me in a very bad light.’
‘I don’t see this as complicated,’ said Claudia, crossing her long, bare legs. ‘The pressure points I have identified are easy targets.’
‘You underestimate Isaac Ford.’
‘He isn’t the major target,’ said Claudia. ‘He’s at the end of the list. Sophia Hunter is now the prime target and I will determine if she knows where the necklace is and if she does its exact location.’
‘Isaac is pursuing the same line of action. You can’t just burst into this without finding out who else you may be competing against. You must be like a shadow in the mist.’
‘Natalie…please. This is my expertise.’
‘This must be done silently,’ said Natalie. ‘You must do what needs to be done and leave nothing behind. Not a trail or a scent.’
‘I understand,’ said Claudia. ‘The necklace didn’t vanish off the face of the earth. It’s there somewhere and I’ll find it.’
‘Hunter was trying to work a deal with the King of Tonga. The deal might have been successful.’
‘If that is the case, the king probably doesn’t know what has been returned to him. It is possible that the current king has never worn it or taken much notice of it. He’s not a necklace or jewellery kind of man from what I can determine.’ said Claudia.
‘There are photographs of the original necklace and the current king would have noticed the addition of the diamond immediately,’ said Natalie, brushing a strand of silver hair away from her forehead. ‘The king is a highly educated and intelligent man. There is no way he could have missed seeing the diamond in the current setting.’
Claudia uncrossed her legs. ‘If what you say is true and that particular diamond ended up in the possession of this Tongan king, he would have had it immediately examined by experts and the whole thing would be world news by now. I’m telling you Natalie, the necklace is still hidden away somewhere and Sophia Hunter probably knows where it is.’
Rodney Reid sat back in the frangipani print lounge. Dinner had been magnificent as always and two glasses of chilled white wine had taken the knots out of his shoulders. Ben Hood sat down opposite him. The dishwasher hummed faintly in the kitchen. Rose had deliberately left them alone.
‘So what will be your plan of attack?’
‘This could be a messy one Rod,’ said Ben.
‘Right up your alley.’
‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this one.’
‘You’ve got a bloody bad feeling about every job I give you.’
‘For damn good reason!’
‘Why don’t you just go and talk to the girl. Suss her out and see what you think.’
‘People are prepared to kill because of this situation with the stolen necklace,’ said Ben.
‘Wouldn’t you enjoy saving the arse of Sophia Hunter?’
‘The police should be protecting her,’ said Ben.
‘The police probably know bugger all.’
‘Sophia Hunter is no fool,’ said Ben. ‘It’s likely she knows what was going on.’
‘So who are you going to talk to first?’
‘I haven’t taken the job yet.’
‘It’s got you in,’ said Rodney. ‘I can see you going for this one like a trout to an upstream cascade.’
‘What?’
‘You know,’ said Rodney. ‘The trouts go for it big time upstream to lay eggs.’
‘That’s salmon.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, salmon.’
‘Who bloody cares,’ said Rodney. ‘I can see you’re hooked.’
‘Like a salmon.’
‘Forget the fucking fish will you.’
‘You raised it,’ said Ben.
‘Alright,’ said Rodney, exhaling a deep breath. ‘Will you take the damn job?’
Ben sat back on his lounge chair and was silent for a moment. ‘They’ve involved a special task force. They know something is going down.’
‘Then call this Hannam guy and pick his brains!’
‘I don’t need the money,’ said Ben. ‘I’m tired Rod.’
Rodney folded his arms and sat back on his lounge. ‘Alright. Forget it. I’ll get someone else.’
Ben nodded and got to his feet.
‘Milba Berry personally recommended you for this job,’ said Rodney.
‘I’ll deal with Milba,’ said Ben. ‘I’m off home.’
‘I’ll walk you to the car,’ said Rose. She had been standing silently inside the kitchen. ‘You do what you must dear man.’
‘Yes.’
‘See you then,’ said Rodney.
‘Who will you give it to?’
‘What do you care?’
‘Just out of interest.’
‘Susan.’
Ben glanced at Rodney and then walked to the kitchen door. ‘Susan?’
‘Your hearing playing up again mate?’
‘You can’t throw Sue into a job like this,’ said Ben.
Rodney picked up the yellow folder from the floor and sifted through a huge wad of papers. He finally removed a large colour photograph and examined it closely.
‘He’s going to work on your vulnerable areas,’ Rose whispered.
‘I don’t have vulnerable areas.’
Rose laughed softly. ‘He’s now going to play his ace.’
Ben looked at her with a puzzled frown. ‘How come you know so much about what he’s doing with me?’
‘I know everything he’s up to,’ said Rose softly. ‘He doesn’t think so but he’s such a blabber mouth.’
‘Is this going to be good for me or bad?’ asked Ben.
‘Maybe both,’ said Rose.
Rodney cleared his throat and held the photograph up so that Ben was unable to view it. ‘Sleeping with our clients is something I have strong views about.’
‘So you have said on numerous occasions,’ said Ben.
‘I have a photograph here of someone who is not a client in this particular case, but an extremely important witness.’
Ben put his hands on his hips. ‘So it’s okay to sleep with witnesses?’
Rose smacked him on the arm. ‘Don’t be crude. You secret agents have to do what has to be done.’
‘I’m not a secret bloody agent Rose. You watch too much TV.’
‘She lives in Tonga with her parents,’ said Rodney. ‘She works for a business associate of the now deceased Joseph Hunter.’
‘And you want me to go to Tonga and interview her?’
‘She met with Joseph Hunter on a beautiful island off the coast of Tongatapu just before he was murdered,’ said Rodney. ‘Hunter’s wife was o
n the island with him at this time but wasn’t present at the meeting.’
‘Perhaps the Hunter’s were having marital problems,’ said Ben.
‘It’s possible but it’s likely something of importance was discussed between this girl and Hunter as well. Perhaps something about the necklace.’
Ben walked to Rodney and plucked the large photograph out of his hands. He turned it around and looked at the bikini clad woman. ‘Holy shit!’
‘Miss South Pacific contender last year,’ said Rodney.
‘Winner you mean!’
‘The bikini shot went viral and she was disqualified. Do you want the job?’
Ben didn’t move for a second or two. He handed the photograph back to Rodney and walked towards Rose. She smiled at him. ‘You can always say no darling.’
Ben glanced back at Rodney. ‘Get the brief ready. I’ll pick it up in the morning.’
Ben followed Rose silently down the hallway to the front door. She hugged him. ‘Don’t feel bad. We’ll get you married off sooner or later.’
‘You’ll both get me dead sooner or later,’ said Ben as he kissed her and walked down the marble steps to his car.
‘You’re like a cat,’ said Rose. ‘You have nine lives.’
‘I don’t like cats.’
‘If you did like cats, what kind of cat would you be?’
‘A huge black panther,’ said Ben.
‘Even black panthers have nine lives my darling.’
“****”
CHAPTER NINE
By arrangement, Ben arrived outside the Hunter mansion at Elizabeth Bay at 8 pm sharp. There was no available parking in the street so he pulled the Aston Martin into the wide driveway and turned off the engine. As he did all the lights on the second floor of the house were suddenly turned off, one after the other. He got out of the car, closed the door and activated the central locking and alarm system. A dog barked on the opposite side of the street. The porch light of the house was on and one downstairs room light remained on. The hairs on the back of Ben’s neck were up and that was never a good sign. He automatically reached for his gun. This was an instinctive reaction but of little use on this occasion as he was no longer a cop and no longer carried a gun.
