Page 64 of Gem Warfare

“Would there be enough money left for Black to put Gideon through boarding school and a private university?” I asked.

“No. When I say there was no money, I meanno money. The widow had enough to buy a property for herself. Grand to most people but it would’ve been a huge downgrade for her, and a moderate pension until she passed. She wasn’t much better with handling money. The house was mortgaged heavily and she ran up debts. Black inherited very little when she passed a few years later. He was married by then.

“I didn’t find any arrest records for Charles or Gideon Black.A driving misdemeanor for the dad twenty-five years ago that he got a slap on the wrist for. That’s it. I have sales records of the Black homes and there are a couple articles about their fall from grace in the finance and society sections, which probably embarrassed the heck out of them back in the day. I’ve forwarded them to your email.”

“Thanks.”

“I wish I could say I had more recent news but Charles Black pretty much disappears while the kiddo is young and I hardly find anything after Philippine dies. I’ve got school records for the boy but nothing to indicate where they lived and then records show he’s a boarder from age thirteen. The costs were paid through a trust that paid the school directly and also deposited an allowance into the kid’s account at the start of every month. After graduating, the school fees stopped and university fees were drawn. The account was almost drained after Gideon graduated with his master’s degree. Here’s what’s interesting: the account was paid into semi-regularly until the kid was seventeen, then all payments stopped.”

“That fits with when the ME thinks Charlie Black died.”

“Yeah, I’d say this corroborates it.”

“Any idea where the money came from?”

“Some cash deposits. Some wired in from offshore accounts. One in the Caymans. One in a European country known for its extreme privacy in banking.”

“Rachenstein?” I wondered.

“No.”

“What about Gideon Black? Do you have anything else on him?”

“I found a man of the same name registered for a master’s degree in Paris and then a postgraduate program on his return to the US. That’s it. He disappears too. Do you want me to keep digging?”

“Please,” I said, “but let me know if it’s fruitless. And can you check his aliases too? Ben Rafferty. Tom Benedict. Also Charlie Black instead of Charles Black. Can you send your research to Garrett too, please?”

“Of course. Ben Rafferty I did and cross-referenced with Gideon Black. Asides from the arrest you already know about, there’s nothing that connects to the man we’re looking for. Do you want me to play around with the name combinations?”

“Yes. It’s a longshot but maybe there’s a reason he chooses particular names.

“I’ll get back to you,” said Lucas and disconnected.

“Good news?” asked Lily. When I turned to face her and Ruby, they were already leaning across the bar. I was pretty sure they’d heard everything.

“Frustrating more than anything. Our suspect knows how to cover his tracks but we do know a few more things about him now, and the timeline for our dead guy’s disappearance is becoming more conclusive. It seems like Black, regardless of aliases and who knows what else, really cared about his son. He made sure he was looked after.”

“What about the documents we found yesterday? Where they any help?” asked Lily.

“That’s my next task. Want to come?”

“I can cover the bar,” said Ruby.

“Then you bet I want to come! Let me grab my stuff,” said Lily, grinning broadly. Then she stopped and asked, “Should I get an umbrella? Or will a poncho do?”

“Neither I hope.”

“Both then,” said Lily as she disappeared around the corner of the bar.

“I hope itisthe ruby,” said Ruby while I waited. “It would be the find of the century and it sounds like you’d solve a mystery that’s kept people guessing for decades!”

“If it is, I’ll make sure you’re credited.”

“Thanks! Dibs on any tiaras they might give you in their undying appreciation and gratitude.”

“We’ll have a long way to go to prove their ruby isourruby but even if it isn’t, you’ve given me some ideas to broaden my search for stolen gems. There’s no way someone isn’t missing a stone that size.”

“And if they are, then it’s probably of dubious origin anyway,” said Ruby. “Or what if they already collected a huge insurance payout? They might not want it back.”

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