Then Lt. Garcia began listing some of the details of the case as he knew it. Watching Vladimir’s facial expressions, he could tell the suspect was starting to see the hopelessness of his situation and that his best option was to cooperate.
“If it wasn’t for me,” Vladimir insisted, “those two would have seriously injured that boy. For some reason, Frank Encino had it in for that kid and his lowlife partner went right along with him. I couldn’t believe it. After they drugged the kid and apparently gave him several doses of the tranquillizer, they kept him in a strict hogtie with gag and blindfold for almost two days. I didn’t realize what they were doing until we met on Tuesday of that week. I immediately made them untie him and treat him more humanely. I told them that they had better get him cleaned up, fed, and hydrated. The last thing I wanted was a dead or seriously injured victim that would stir up the police even more than usual. I had nothing to do with the way he was treated except to insist that they lighten up and stop being so brutal to the kid. For some reason, Frank was trying to break the kid down completely, like you would do with a traitor or double agent. It made no sense to me.”
“Tell me about what the real crime was supposed to be. You spent thousands of dollars and blew off the ransom for the kidnapping all for some legacy item in the Hunter & Sons safe deposit box. Why?”
“This was another of Frank’s screw ups. He had insisted all along that the Hunter’s were hiding a huge treasure of precious stones that Winfield Hunter had acquired somehow in the aftermath of World War II. The plan was to hide the gems as a legacy item for at least sixty years, until anyone with a possible claim would be long dead. He was sure that this was true and that the gems were stored in the Hunters’ safe deposit box.
“The reason he knew this was that his grandfather and Winfield Hunter’s son, Walter, were close friends for years during the fifties and sixties. One night they got very drunk together and got to talking about buried treasures. Walter said, ‘You wouldn’t believe it but our family has a hidden treasure. The only problem is that I probably will never see it because my father has it hidden away in a legacy box.’ Walter claimed that his father actually showed him one of the stones when he visited with him in his early twenties before it was stashed away.
“Frank insisted that his grandfather had told him this story on his deathbed because he wanted him to have a crack at the gems. ‘If you can get that legacy box, you will be rich three times over. Do it for our family, Frank.’
“Evidently his grandfather was bitter also because his younger brother, Fabian Ricardo had acquired a lot of money dealing and trading antiques, but had all the money tied up in trusts and managed accounts that no one else in the family could benefit from. Frank had been doing odd jobs for his Uncle Fabian trying to figure out a way into that money, but never could get close enough or get enough information to embezzle anything. However, the $10,000 loan idea was brilliant. It got the ransom package to Mr. Hunter without the police ever knowing until it was over.
“The plan to divert everyone’s attention with the kidnapping while Adrian Evans and I broke into his safe deposit box went like clockwork. After Hunter went to view his box, I was able to rig the explosives to disable his side of the locking system. Everything went as planned, but when the safe deposit box contents were later opened, only three of the boxes had anything of value, and that was very modest, only in the five to ten thousand dollar range. The biggest legacy box had nothing of value, just some marbles and a newspaper article about some post World War II underground groups. So instead of a take in the millions we barely received $100,000 in stolen items and cash. This crime was a total bust.
“That Saturday, the day after the kidnapping, we met for the last time and split up the proceeds. I can’t believe Encino and Ruggiero hadn’t left or cleaned up any of the evidence at their place. All I had was one more item to fence and then I would have been out of the country for a very long time.”
Lt. Garcia was sure now that the entire case was solved. With the testimony of Vladimir and most likely Adrian, along with the large cache of evidence from the Encino duplex, he was certain that the district attorney would have no problem getting convictions on all counts. This case was so solid, it should end up plea-bargained out unless the DA insisted on making a major example of Encino and Ruggiero in a showcase trial. He was hoping that he could spare Jason having to testify in court about his ordeal.
Garcia got back on a return flight, feeling good about things. When he got back to the Bay Area, he told his captain about the successful conclusion to the investigation and put in a call to the district attorney. He then called the Hunter family to tell them the good news and about what Vladimir had told him. After wishing them well, he hung up the phone.
Antonio was now ready for a vacation himself. He would be able to take off the next five days with all of the extra time he worked on this case and the recent AMBER Alert.
CHAPTER 39
THE FAMILY JEWELS
(Monday, the next week)
Life at the Hunter household had finally got back to normal. Jason was sleeping well and the flashbacks had receded. He still got together with Daniel almost every day, but now their time together was spent playing games or sports and not sifting through clues. Also, Jason was spending more time with Laura, usually going over to her place for a swim a few times a week and on Friday, they went to a concert at the local sports arena.
Daniel was also feeling good, because he now had a lot more time and energy to concentrate on his music. He felt he had learned a lot in his guitar classes and was thinking about maybe taking some private lessons. Most of all, he was happy for Jason because he had achieved his goal of getting Jason back to his normal, carefree persona, like he was before the kidnapping.
But fate was about to change Jason’s life again. This time it started with a knock on the front door, promptly at nine, Monday morning. Bill Hunter answered the door to see a short, but extremely well-dressed man carrying a briefcase. “Good morning, sir. Are you William Hunter?”
When Bill answered in the affirmative, the man at the door handed him his business card and continued, “My name is Prescott Chalmers and I am an attorney with the law firm of Chalmers, Davis, and Cabot in Boston, Massachusetts. I am here because I have an extremely important document that I must personally deliver to your son, Jason. Is Jason here now?”
“Yes, he is. What is this all about?”
“This would be better discussed in private. May I come in?”
“You seem to be legitimate, but I hope your visit is not going to be upsetting in any way. My son has had quite a summer already. I don’t know if you are aware of the recent news, but I am being very protective of him right now.”
“Yes, I am aware of the unfortunate events of the past few weeks and also your son’s remarkable work in solving his own case. As for my visit, it is at the specific direction of your late grandfather, Winfield Hunter.”
“In that case, please come in and sit in the living room. I will get Jason.”
Mr. Chalmers entered the house and Bill directed him to a comfortable chair. Then he called up the stairs, “Jason, are you up and dressed? If so, please come down here at once!”
“Coming, Dad,” Jason called back. “I’m just finishing some sit ups.” In about a minute, Jason came bounding down the stairs. He had on his usual summer attire of tee shirt, shorts, and red high-top chucks, which was quite a contrast to the dapper Mr. Chalmers and his dad who also had on a dress shirt and tie.”
When Jason walked into the living room, both Bill and Mr. Chalmers stood up. “Jason, this is Mr. Prescott Chalmers. He is an attorney from a Boston law firm and he has come all the way from the east coast to see you this morning.”
Mr. Chalmers shook hands with Jason then said, “Please sit down.” Then smiling at him he continued, “Jason, I am here at the explicit direction of your late, great-grandfather, Winfield Hunter. Before he passed away in 1973, he met with my grandfather,
who was also a senior partner of my law firm. Together, the two of them drew up this document, which I am about to present to you. The document was to be delivered to whoever his first great-grandson was in this year. If we can confirm that this is true, I will proceed with the presentation. Mr. Hunter, is Jason your oldest son and are you the grandson of Winfield Hunter?”
“Yes, that is correct,” Bill replied.
“Then this document is for you, Jason. Please open and read it carefully.” Mr. Chalmers opened his briefcase and took out a large, heavy cardboard envelope. It was completely sealed all around and had an embossed wax seal in the center of the envelope flap. Following the envelope, Mr. Chalmers handed Jason a pointed letter opener. “It might be easier for you to open the document with this,” he explained.
Jason opened the envelope. Inside it was a letter, handwritten, on high quality parchment paper. Jason began reading aloud:
Dear Great Grandson,
I am writing to you from the past because I want to entrust you with something that will greatly influence your future. My only regret is that I will not be able to look you in the eye or shake your hand. In entrusting you with this important responsibility, I am gambling that the future generation of Hunters is as upright and honorable as our past and present generations. I have great confidence that you do meet this standard and will behave in an ethical manner with what you are about to receive.
After World War II, I started Hunter Antiquities because I had made many good contacts and had a lot of valuable experience dealing with artwork and antiquities as a member of an army unit whose job was to locate and return stolen artwork to its rightful owners. In most cases we were able to do this. With so much treasure taken, it was quite a daunting task. Probably everyone involved in our unit was tempted, at one time or another, to keep something for themselves, but with few exceptions, we didn’t, because of the horrors that the original owners had suffered.
I never indulged in that practice except for one time. That was when there were two claimants for a packet of diamonds, neither of which seemed legitimate, and most likely were presenting forged paperwork. It didn’t take much research to figure out that one of the claimants was a front for the post-war SS group that emigrated to South America and the other was a front for the nationalist party in South Africa that wanted to enforce a brutal apartheid regime. There were over 100 of these diamonds, they were all of the highest clarity, at least 12 carats each, and completely unregistered. Rather than turn over merchandise of this quality to such organizations, I denied their claims, saying that we didn’t have them in our possession.
Personally, I didn’t want to own or claim any responsibility for them, either, because then I would be stealing and that was not my intent ever. If word got out that I had them or large sums of cash from their sale, I would have become a target. Eventually, I put them into our firm as a legacy item for a term of sixty years. These diamonds can now be passed on to a new owner in the next century, with no one living able to claim them, and well past any statute of limitations for stolen property.
And so today, as you receive this letter, we have reached that mark of 60 years. The diamonds are entrusted to you and you alone. If you are not yet of legal age, your father will be set up as a trustee and a member of the law firm from whom you receive this letter will also be a trustee in your behalf until you are 21. My hope is that you will take this good fortune and do something to benefit others, not just yourself. I realize that I am giving you an immense responsibility. I believe with Hunter blood in your veins that you will be capable of not only managing this wealth, but doing something very special with it.
If you agree to accept this gift and responsibility, you must now tell the attorney present while you are reading this. He will then have you sign some paperwork, and give you further instructions.
With all best wishes and regards,
Winfield Hunter.”
Jason looked at his dad in astonishment. “This letter is saying that there is an immense fortune entrusted to the Hunters. But where does it exist? We already know that the legacy item in your safe deposit box only contained marbles and a newspaper article.”
“I don’t know, Son. I think Mr. Chalmers has more information about that.”
“Yes, I do,” Mr. Chalmers replied. “But first things first. Jason, do you accept the offer and the responsibility it entails for this bequest from your great-grandfather Winfield Hunter?”
“Mr. Chalmers, before I decide, is there a down side to this bequest? Or what happens if I say no?”
“The only down side, if you want to put that way, is that you will be asked to determine how to spend millions of dollars and having the responsibility of that much money can be burdensome and time consuming. If you say no to the bequest, then my instructions are to return to Boston. You will not get a second chance at this offer.”
“Dad, what do you think I should do?” Jason asked.
“Jason, you have to make this decision on your own. You know that your mother and I will support you no matter what you decide. The key issue is, do you have the strength of character to use the wealth wisely, as your great grandfather wanted you to do? Personally, I think that you do. You have certainly demonstrated this to everyone the past few weeks! And do you understand the awesome responsibility you are being given? That is something only you can answer. Large amounts of money can be absolutely corrupting to people’s minds and actions. Think about what someone like Frank Encino was willing to do to get his hands on it.”
“Yes, I see what you are saying, Dad. But there is no provision in the bequest that says I can’t ask others for advice, is there?”
“Not at all, Jason,” Mr. Chalmers replied. “As a matter of fact, there is a transition team of experts in financial matters that will be available to you for consulting. Their services have been put on retainer for a year, pending your acceptance.”
“Then I accept!” Jason said excitedly. “Where do I sign, or what do we do next?”
Mr. Chalmers took out a legal-sized document and presented it to Jason. “This is what you will need to sign to begin the process. Mr. Hunter, since your son is a minor, you will need to sign also. The wording in the document basically says, in legal talk, what I just described to you. Also, you have your great-grandfather’s letter as a guideline to his wishes.”
Jason took a few minutes to read through the wording. His mind was racing at 100 miles per hour, just going through all of the implications. “Dad, would you like to read this over before I sign?”
“Sure, Jason. It is always a good idea to know what you are signing!” After reading through it, Bill Hunter said, “I can’t see anything objectionable in this. Let’s proceed.”
Mr. Chalmers took out a pen and presented it to Jason. “You need to sign here and initial in two other places.” Jason took the pen and signed. Then Bill Hunter did the same.
“Now that you have signed, we can begin the process of getting you the diamonds. I have another envelope for you to accomplish that.” He handed Jason a second, sealed envelope. This one was a lot smaller and less elaborate to open. Inside was another letter from Winfield Hunter. Again Jason read the letter aloud.
Dear Great Grandson,
Now that you have accepted my bequest, first of all congratulations! I have great confidence that you will do the right thing with this fortune. To get to the diamonds, you will need to follow the directions below. The fortune is not in the Hunter & Sons safe deposit box and it is not stored in the legacy box. Having lived through the great depression in the 1930s and having served in the military unit that investigated all of the stolen treasure and art seized by the Nazis in World War II, I have always been very skeptical about the safety of important items in a bank vault. My experience taught me to use the bank, but as a diversion. I wanted everyone to think that the gems were in the bank and I even showed my son, Walter, one of the gems, but I had no intention of ever actually leaving them there. All that you will f
ind in that box, when it is unsealed, are some marbles and a newspaper article that mentions the activities of the two groups that were trying to take back the diamonds.
The truth is, the diamonds have been kept in a family heirloom, which is probably sitting right there in your living room, assuming that my will instructions were also followed by the family. The tall mahogany clock made by 17th Century English clockmaker, Thomas Tompion, better known as a grandfather clock, is where the diamonds have been stored. I know it sounds like the plot of a bad mystery story, but this clock actually has a built-in secret compartment.
When I purchased the clock, it was in bad need of repair and restoration. In doing that work, the compartment was discovered and when the work was completed, I put the diamonds in there. To open the compartment, you must stop the clock if it is ticking, set both hands to the number five, as if it was 5:25. Then take the two windup keys. Hold one in place on the time windup key slot, while turning the alarm windup key counterclockwise about two and a half turns. This releases a hidden door at the bottom of the clock face. Inside the door is a velvet bag with the diamonds.
Again, I wish you a great life and know that the world will benefit from your future actions with the great fortune that has been entrusted to you.
Winfield Hunter
Both Jason and his father stared at the tall clock in the corner. Then Jason went over and opened the front, glass door and began to follow the instructions. “Where are the clock’s windup keys, Dad?”
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