by Peche, Alec
“He was a smart man to require that his wife get her treatment first,” observed Nathan. “That delayed Laura’s death by a good nine months. I wonder why the Russian didn’t approach another chocolatier?”
“Maybe it was due to the unique situation of this particular merchant,” remarked Jill, taking up the question from Nathan. “This Russian guy had to figure out which chocolate stores Laura felt safe purchasing chocolate from and then research each of the owners to see if he would have leverage. I suspect that this owner’s compliance only came about with the impact on his wife’s life from two different angles – he could accelerate her death by withholding medication, or he could prevent her death by getting her to a top hospital. So the next question is why he went to such lengths to want to hide Laura’s death. It likely would have been less chance of discovery and quicker if he took her out with the dart gun like someone used on us at the windmill park.”
"Did the Russian guy ever explain to the chocolatier why Laura needed to be dead,” Angela asked. “The Russian was insanely angry with Laura yet was willing to wait over nine months to kill her?”
“Ladies, sometimes it's hard to get the full story out before you start peppering me with questions and theories!” exclaimed an exasperated Dubois. “The Russian visited Mr. Jacobs about four times while his wife was receiving treatment in Paris. The purpose of those meetings was to keep the heat on the shop owner by informing him of how his wife was doing. When they would move beyond this part of the conversation to the diamond industry, little bits and pieces would leak out.
“The Russian was in the most desperate circumstances as far as a continued supply of diamonds. His mine of over forty years was running out of diamonds. It was a huge hole in the ground over five hundred meters deep and over twelve hundred meters wide. They had discovered the mining pit created by an asteroid in the 1950s. Close to the surface, mining operations yielded ten million carats a year. As they dug deeper, the diamond supply decreased eventually to four million carats and would soon decrease to two million carats and then none. Laura had begun siphoning profits out of the consortium just as the man’s mine was seeing strong declines in production. He suspected his fellow consortium members were delighted that they would be reduced to five members in the future as they all had plenty of supply.
“So at the root of this was the demise of a family business due to the natural geology of the earth, but as the company was dying, he also had to pay Laura. It was like poking an old dying bear.”
“Isn’t that irrational? Laura’s thefts were creating greater demand for the diamond supply,” Marie said.
“In the last three years, they were more a nuisance than a help to the industry,” explained Dubois. “As diamonds from Canada and Australia were capturing a bigger part of the market, Laura’s total haul of stolen diamonds was equal to 1 to 3 percent of the African members of the consortium, and after they paid her 80 percent of the diamond value and redid the serial numbers, they were making the tiniest profit, if any. For the Russian, her thefts represented more like 10 to 15 percent of his business, resulting in no break-even point.
“The consortium had tried to end the arrangement, but she loved her charity and threatened to expose the consortium theft arrangement to the public. They knew they would never recover from the bad publicity and criminal sanctions if the information got out. Our chocolatier said the Russian had lost his mind when it came to Laura. He had contemplated just hiring a sniper to take her out, but he began to relish the idea of killing her with her favorite pleasure, chocolate, and thus his plan was formed.”
“What was Chloe’s role in this plan? When we met her in the ladies room, she seemed fearful of the consortium,” Angela noted. “Why would she feel that way?”
“Good question. We did not think to ask Mr. Jacobs that question, but we released him on his own reconnaissance with the promise that we would be following up with more questions in the morning.”
“Is he safe at home, or will the Russian kill him too?” Jill asked.
“Inspector Willems and I discussed that scenario with Mr. Jacobs. He thought it unlikely, but he took an immediate vacation with his wife and left his mobile number so that we could check on him as well as ask further questions.”
“When Mr. Jacobs made that decision to take a vacation, was he aware that Chloe had been murdered?” questioned Jill. “He might rethink his decision if he knows that there have been two murders and not just Laura.”
“Good point. Inspector Willems, would you like to call him and see if he would like police protection while we search for this Russian?”
Willems stepped out of the room with his mobile phone and made the call. Since he had Mr. Jacobs on the phone, he would ask him what he knew about Chloe Martin.
“So what doesn't fit for me is Chloe’s fear of the consortium,” Jill pointed out. “She didn’t mention the Russian rather, she named the whole consortium. Where or why was she or Laura threatened by the consortium, and why didn’t she tell the staff that Laura had been murdered?”
“There's also the unanswered question of why Laura swallowed diamonds shortly before her death," prompted Marie. “That question still puzzles me.”
“Yes I can't fit the swallowed diamonds into this scheme so far,” Jo agreed. “Why don't Ms. Bernard and I investigate the Russian consortium’s financial records? Maybe the answers are there.”
Inspector Willems re-entered the room. “Mr. Jacobs has agreed to police protection. You were correct, Jill once he knew that Chloe was dead, he was immediately worried for his wife's safety. While I had him on the phone, I asked him about what he knew of Chloe Martin.
“He had met her several times over the course of a decade usually in the company of Laura, but occasionally on her own. His sense was that the two were close and had the common bond of the diamond industry. He had most recently seen the two of them together within the last month and he had asked them if everything was okay. They assured him things were fine and asked after his wife. He remembers the conversation because he felt so conflicted and guilty, offering words of caring and concern when he planned to allow her to eat nuts hidden in chocolate from his store within the month. He didn't know when he would be asked to give Laura chocolate; he just knew it would be soon, as his wife had successfully completed her treatment in Paris. I probed him with a few other questions, but he provided no other new information.
"I have word from my men that they have completed the interrogations of the seven men we captured earlier this evening. I will have them join us in this room as it is the fastest way for all of us to be informed.” Inspector Willems had no sooner finished that statement than there was a knock on the door and his men entered.
Each man proceeded to give brief highlights of their interviews of the suspects, and the story was consistent throughout all seven men, even though they had been interviewed separately. Each person was individually hired, but they each described a different Russian as doing their hiring. Their assignment was to capture the four women – they were to kidnap them, not hurt them. There were no weapons found on any of the seven men. The captured men were working with a police artist to create a drawing for the person that hired them. All seven failed to identify the Russian diamond company CEO as being involved. They were paid a quarter of their 100,000 euros fee up front with the remaining 75 percent to be paid upon the completion of the job.
Willems excused himself to put in one more call to Mr. Jacobs. He wanted to e-mail the photograph to him to confirm if he was the Russian who demanded Mr. Jacobs sell Laura chocolate tainted with nuts.
Dubois's men departed having completed their report. Willems returned to the room and said, “Mr. Jacobs stated that the diamond company CEO matching the picture on screen is not the man who asked him to provide Laura with the nut-contaminated chocolate. However, he indicated that the tray with the tainted chocolate that we confiscated at his store had the Russian’s fingerprints on it, as he’d handed the tray to Mon
sieur Jacobs.”
Many of the participants in the conference room were dragging from the lack of sleep the previous night. They decided to let the crime lab process the fingerprints on the chocolate tray and reconvene early the next morning. While Jo and Ms. Bernard had about half of the financial information they needed on the Russian CEO, they were both grateful for the overnight break from staring at financial reports. Jo would leave it to Ms. Bernard and her staff to pull the data and she would need less than ten minutes in the morning to review it.
They received a ride in another Interpol vehicle, and before they entered their hotel, it was searched by Willems’ men for weapons, explosives, and listening bugs, but everything came up clean. Since they’d a late lunch and no dinner, Nick was elected to find food. He returned thirty minutes later with Chinese take-out and bottled water. It was actually the perfect meal to end the long, strange day.
“Hey Angela, how are you going to describe today’s pictures in your scrapbook?” asked Marie.
“What do you mean how am I going to describe today? I think every day of this vacation has resulted in good pictures, but we have managed to do a good job playing tourist and then flipping the switch and playing Sherlock Holmes with more technology. I’ll just leave out the picture of the Interpol building I’m not sure I could find the scrapbooking decals to describe that photo.”
“I am hopeful that the case will get solved tomorrow so we can all leave on schedule, and Nathan can get back to visiting with his clients in this region,” said Jill, looking over at Nathan. “And just how would you begin to describe yesterday and today to those clients?”
“You know, I don’t even try,” Nathan replied. “You ladies lead such a weird existence that I can’t begin to describe it for acquaintances, so I don’t. My excuse for canceling earlier meetings is that this is your first trip to Belgium and you are running all over the region and need my language skills to better enjoy Belgium. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
“Good cover story! I’m tired after this long day, so I am heading to bed,” mumbled Jill, a yawn interrupting her speech. “I think we should slide a dresser over in front of the door once Nick leaves for added protection tonight. Call me paranoid, but I just want a good night’s sleep.”
The others, equally tired, soon went to their respective rooms. Before Nick left, he helped Nathan move a heavy piece of furniture over close to the door. Nathan would slide it in front of the door once Nick left.
Shortly thereafter Nathan joined Jill in bed, but she was already deeply asleep. With a quick kiss to her brow, he settled down for some sleep himself.
Chapter 14
After an uneventful night, the group had an early meeting at Interpol. A vehicle was sent for them after the surveillance problem yesterday. Coffee, tea, and pastries were provided, and they enjoyed this breakfast as they reviewed the night’s new evidence.
Dubois started the conversation with, “We got fingerprint identification from the chocolate tray back and it is our CEO – Alexei Bok of the Russian diamond firm. Sometime in the last five years he has had extensive plastic surgery, but his prints don’t lie. Thankfully Mr. Jacobs kept the tray in a plastic bag in his storeroom in case it would be useful someday.”
“We are attempting to locate Mr. Bok with the plan to bring him in for questioning. We checked passport control and he has not left Belgium by any of the airports. He could have taken a train or car across the border, but we hope he is still in Belgium. His company owns an apartment in Antwerp, so naturally we are looking for him there. We have also begun looking for family members or company employees to help us ID who hired the seven men who were supposed to kidnap you yesterday.”
“That is indeed good news,” said Jill. “It sounds like the case will be resolved today. What new information have you gathered in the financial records?”
Dubois turned to look at Ms. Bernard and she replied, “Sir, we have significantly more information on the financial transactions of Laura, Chloe, and now Mr. Bok. I would like a few minutes to discuss these transactions with Jo before we explain them to a larger group.”
“Go ahead and use the room next door and come back here when you are ready," said Dubois. “I have just received word that the Belgian police have Mr. Bok in custody in Antwerp. He is being transported here and should arrive in about an hour.”
Unable to resist asking, Jill requested Dubois and Willems get two questions answered for her “I know I can’t be in on the questioning, but I would love to have these questions answered by Mr. Bok. First, did he know why Laura swallowed diamonds on the day of her death, and second, what is the consortium’s relationship with Chloe? I know you have far more questions for him to answer, but I hope you could work my two in.”
Dubois and Willems shared an amused expression with each other, but nodded to Jill that her questions would get asked. Nearly everyone in the room was catching up on their e-mail during the lull provided by the wait for the financial analysis and Mr. Bok's arrival. Marie and Angela were hard at work planning their last day in Brussels with the assistance of one of the Belgian police officers. They did not know how much free time they would have today, but they didn't want to waste a moment of it.
Jo and Ms. Bernard reentered the room and, after securing everyone’s attention, Jo began the narrative. “We have some fascinating financial data collected by your people, Officer Dubois. With the help of the Swiss Bank, we have a more complete picture of Laura and Chloe's finances. Let's start with the consortium members, then focus on Mr. Bok, and finally on Laura and Chloe.
“These are old companies in business a minimum of three decades. There have been billions of euros worth of diamonds dug out of the ground and sold during this period. Profit margins have ranged from a low of 75 percent to a high of 150 percent. Four of the six are privately owned and operated and thus have far fewer public records. However, no matter where you live on earth, there is a tax authority that knows your business and this is where we acquired most of the data.
“All of the consortium members except the Russian company are doing well with no financial worries. Their executives are well-paid and their profit margins are stable. During the time they initially hired Laura to steal for them, their profit margins had dipped low, but that was a reflection of a global recession. Margins recovered two years later, but by then Laura had them over a barrel because they were her criminal co-conspirators. They did not need her to steal, but she wanted ongoing revenue for her charity. She obviously had the skill to avoid capture, and she stayed silent on the consortium's role. In the grand scheme of things, her thefts were a very small part of their business, but for Laura it was the major source of income for her charities.
“The Russian company had a problem that the other companies are not facing – running out of diamonds. Its net revenues have been declining by 30 to 50 percent each of the last three years. Sometime in the next two to four years, the mine will run out of jewelry-grade diamonds. There are another two to three years where industrial-grade diamonds will be mined, and then the company will cease to exist. By the way, Ms. Bernard says our Russian counterparts shared this information with us as they have had their own watch on Mr. Bok for a variety of concerns. He seems to be unable to rationally deal with the loss of the mining operation. Personally he has enough assets that he will not run out of cash in his life-time, so the problem seems to be more ego than financial desperation. He has so many accounts containing his assets that even the Russians feel that they have not traced all of them. These multiple accounts make it hard to find any payments made to men like our kidnappers. So that is all we have on Mr. Bok. Questions?”
“Not at this time let’s move on. Overnight we received an accounting from Swiss authorities as to their accounts and the contents of their safe-deposit boxes.”
“Great. Next we will discuss Chloe. Like her cousin, she operated under a variety of names. She had assets in excess of ten million euros, and a house in Istanb
ul and ski chalet in Val-d'Isère. She contributes to the charities that Laura developed, and seems to have inflows into her account at about the same times as Laura. This would lead us to assume that they were partners in crime. She was a co-owner along with Laura of the jewelry store in Antwerp. She shows no spouse or dependents on any document. Really there is nothing remarkable about her finances other than she was well set.
“Moving on to Laura, as we said earlier she operated under a variety of aliases, but she used just one name for the Swiss bank account that we have been able to find so far. Wealthier than her cousin, she has some forty million euros in assets in Basel, Switzerland. Each cousin listed the other as heir to the account and the dissolution of the accounts with assets placed into Laura’s charities if they were both gone. The safe-deposit box also contained an estimated thirty million in diamonds. Laura was a regular visitor to her box, visiting at least once a month. So we may speculate that she rotated her diamond cache between the jewelry store and the vault. The bank said her behavior was unusual as most customers visited far less frequently.