Page 53 of Gem Warfare

“Plus, Gideon would have been set up for life with those jewels. Even if they were worth less back then, it would still have been a fortune. Even if he didn’t know how to fence them, he wouldn’t just leave them. Anyone with a pinch of sense would take them and figure it out later.”

“Unless he knew where they’d been all along and thought he could come back anytime.”

“Then why head for a life of crime if you knew there was a payday just waiting to be dug up?” I asked. “He could easily have lived a boring, normal life, waiting for the right time. He didn’t need to risk, well, all the risks he’s taken.” I stared at the photo on my screen, wondering how this wannabe Karate Kid had spiraled into a life of crime.

Maybe because he’d been born into one?

“Plus, why didn’t he just dig up the jewels when he was last here? It doesn’t make sense. I should tell Garrett,” I said, reaching for my phone.

“Call him on the way to the car and then we’re heading home,” said Solomon. “It’s time to wrap up for the night.”

I opened my email and sent the school’s website link to Garrett first, then I closed the laptop and slid it into my desk drawer, grabbed my purse and followed Solomon out. On the way down the stairs, I called my brother.

“I just emailed you something for the case,” I said.

“I’m at my desk. Gimme a minute to get to my emails. Whatam I looking at?”

I explained and Garrett was silent. “You have got to be kidding me,” he said finally.

“That’s what Solomon said too. Can this information help identify the body?” I asked as we got into the car. I put the phone on speaker so Solomon could listen in as he drove.

“Maybe, but DNA would be better. I’ll look up the kid’s records and see if there’s anything I can cross-reference.”

“We have Lucas running him down too. If this is his real identity, we’ll know soon.”

“I’d appreciate the info when you get it. The ME says the autopsy is scheduled for the morning so I hope to have more information then. Thanks for this.”

“Thanks goes to Mom. She was the one who recognized the badge in the photo when you showed it to her at lunch. I only remembered to check out the school after you dropped me off at the office.”

“It must have slipped my mind with everything else going on. Guess we owe Mom a big thank you. Did you ever meet him as a kid? I think I would remember but I don’t.”

“I don’t think so and you would have already moved out by then. Mom said she knew there was a kid but it didn’t sound like she met him either. The school he attended was a boarding school so maybe he never came to Montgomery. It’s only in Boston so if Joe Smithson is his dad, it’s not far to visit without raising suspicion. Or Gideon could have lived with his mother? Mom said the guy she remembers was single but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a wife stashed somewhere else. Or, at least, a woman he visited.”

“If this guy were up to something like we think, it makes sense that he’d put his family somewhere safe. Boarding school would fit the bill for the kid. Like you said, it’s close enough from here to visit but far enough away to put distance between them.Given that it looks like Smithson was murdered, that was a good decision. I’d like to know where the kid’s mom is.”

Solomon pulled over in front of our house, the street unusually empty of vehicles for the early evening. He turned off the engine and waited.

“Lucas is running her down too,” I said. “I still don’t think Gideon killed him, whatever their relationship is. Gideon Black’s not a killer. He’s a lot of things, but not that.”

“I’ll bear that in mind. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

“There’s one more thing. The Ben Rafferty I knew had a sister, Madeleine. He let it slip when I last spoke to him but I can’t guarantee it wasn’t another lie to cause confusion. And Madeleine probably isn’t her real name anyway.”

“I’ll consider that but there’s been no hint of a woman or girl so far in this case. Let’s catch up tomorrow. I need to update the chief, then I have other cases to review.”

“I should tell Lucas about Madeleine,” I said to Solomon when Garrett disconnected.

“I sent him a text already.” Solomon waved his phone before pocketing it and popping his door open. “What do you make of all this?” he asked when we both reached the sidewalk.

“I have no idea what to think. You?”

“I’m as confused as the next guy, but I do think Ben Rafferty, Gideon Black, or whatever his name is, turning up in this case is bad news for everyone.”

~

Solomon’s words bothered me all night and in the morning, I felt unrested and confused about the troubling discovery of the boy’s identity.

How had Gideon Black become Ben Rafferty? And what did he know about the man in the photo?

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