Page 71 of Gem Warfare

“Have you heard of the Queen’s Ruby?” I asked.

“No.”

“Twenty years ago, there was a big exhibition in New York with a jewel named the Queen’s Ruby as the centerpiece of a whole bunch of other jewels and jewelry. Right after opening night, the ruby was stolen and never seen again.” I passed Garrett my phone, the browser open to the page with the ruby’s picture. Since my searching the night before, I felt I knew as much about the theft as anyone at the time did. The ruby was stolen, and there were no concrete leads only theories and rumors. I’d even found a website dedicated to crimes that listed it as one of the most audacious thefts of the century.

“That does look a lot like our ruby,” Garrett said, nodding as he contemplated it.

“It also explains why no one’s seen it in all this time and why it’s never turned up. It was buried in Charlie Black’s shallow grave in a minor city where no one would ever think to look.”

“It’s going to be hard to place Black in New York at that time. We already know he used at least one alias and I’m not drawing any luck tracking his movements under his real name or the onehe used to live here in town. He could have used any number of names in his lifetime.”

I settled in my chair, the glazed donut in hand. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“And security wasn’t as good then as it is now so I doubt we’ll get much from the robbery file. Let me see if I can track down the detective in charge of the ruby case. It’s the kind of crime that would stand out in your career so he or she should have something to say.”

“There’s another thing,” I said. “I got a weird call from Maddox earlier. He says he wants to know if any female thieves turn up in our case. Something to do with a jewel thief inhiscase. I doubt the two cases cross but Maddox thinks she’ll be interested in this.” I tapped the newspaper’s front page. “He said he doubts she’ll be in town but there was something about how he said it that makes me think she might be familiar with the city.”

“That’s a lot of thinking,” said Garrett. “The jewels are locked up tight. Let’s deal with one thing at a time.” He shoved the donut into his mouth and turned his attention to the computer screen. He tapped at the keyboard, frowning with concentration. That was funny because back in my temping days, I used to frown hard at the computer screen when I wanted my employers to think I was doing something productive instead of playing my seventy-fifth game of online solitaire. “Okay, I got a Detective Phipps who was assigned the Queen’s Ruby case but he retired six months ago. There’s a good chance he’s still alive.”

“That’s good news.”

“For now. Let’s hope he didn’t have a heart attack in the last six months. Odds are good though. I’m going to give the department a call and see if I can get a number for him. Do you want to sit in?”

“Duh. Obviously, I do.”

“Then hang tight.” Garrett reached for his desk phone and tucked it between his ear and shoulder as he dialed. While he went through the rigmarole of getting to Detective Phipps’ previous captain, I relaxed in the uncomfortable chair and stretched my legs. Finally, Garrett made a note, smiled, thanked the person on the other end of the line and hung up.

“I have Detective Phipps’ number. Apparently, this case was one of his biggest bugbears and he was disappointed to retire without it being solved. His captain says he’ll be happy to hear there might be a new lead.”

“Can we call him now? I want to hear what he has to say.”

“No time like the present.” Garrett was already dialing. I barely dared breathe as I waited, trying vainly not to raise my hopes. Detective Phipps hadn’t solved the case twenty years ago; I wasn’t sure what he could offer us now after so long. “Hi there. This is Lieutenant Garrett Graves looking for Detective Phipps,” said Garrett. He hit the speaker button and replaced the handset. “I’m here with Lexi Graves, who’s consulting for the police department over here. She brought in the lead.”

I said my “Hello” as I bristled happily, thrilled once more to be an official consultant. Who knew that would ever happen? I couldn’t wait to remind Garrett about this forever.

“My captain texted me just now. I didn’t expect you to call so quickly,” said Detective Phipps, his voice warm and congenial. “He probably told you the Rachenstein museum case sat on my desk for years. One of those that just bugs you, you know? I’m hoping a good lead must have lit a fire under you to call me this fast.”

“You could say that,” said Garrett. “We’ve got two interesting leads that may have a connection with your case. The first is a body we found.”

“A body? Huh! Well, you don’t say!”

“Caucasian male, fifties, would be in his seventies now,gunshot wound to the head that our ME ruled as homicide. We struggled to identify him correctly at first since he was found with a driver’s license under an alias, Joe Smithson, but we’ve now identified him as Charles or Charlie Black. Do those names ring a bell with you?”

“Can’t say they do. I was going to get my copy of the file out because it’s been a while since I looked at it and I’m a little shaky on the particulars. All the same, no, I’m sure I don’t recognize those names. I’m sure that’s not what you wanted to hear.”

“No, all good. We figured if Black used one alias, he may have used more, especially as building a history for him is turning up blank. Can I send you a photo?”

“Of this Black guy? Of course. If you have a pen, I’ll give you my email address or you can text my phone.”

“Phone would be good, thanks, but I’ll take your email address too,” said Garrett, scrabbling for the pen he’d dropped only moments before, then giving up and plugging it directly into his cell phone. “I’ll send it to you now.” The message disappeared with awhoosh.

“Got it. Hmm. He’s not a standout guy in the looks department. I mean, not memorable in any particular way. Just kind of average. Something’s a little familiar about him but I can’t think of what. When it comes to me, I’ll call you back if that works?”

“Sure does. While we’ve got you, it would be great to get your thoughts on the case.”

“Off the top of my head? Can do. I wish I had a chance to refresh my memory of the minor details before you called but I can give you the key facts now.”

“That would be great.”

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