“It was a Russian gun. The initials were from the Russian alphabet.”
“It’s called Cyrillic, but go on.”
“In Russian, C has the same sound as S in English, and the H is the Russian for N. So even though the initials on the gun are CH it’s like saying SN in English. Sergei Nikolaisen. It was your gun.”
“Bravo, Douglas, I am impressed. Really I am. At the time no one even considered any other possibility. Maybe you’ll make a detective yet.”
“You killed him.”
Sergei took a deep breath. “Yes, yes I did. I’d like you to believe that it was an accident, that I didn’t mean to do it.”
“That’s kind of hard to do since you shot him twice.”
“I fired three times, I only hit him twice,” Sergei said. “We were in my hotel room, talking, when he suddenly became angry. He wanted to sell the diamond right away, I had other plans. He charged at me and I panicked. I just kept shooting till he stopped.” Sergei paused and looked across the table to Doug, the slight smile disappearing from his face. “He was a violent man, a dangerous man. He would have killed me, I’m sure of it. Still, it’s not an easy thing to live with. It’s not something I’m proud of.”
“You had no trouble killing the guards when you stole the diamond.”
“Douglas, we both know who killed the guards. In my plan, there was to be no shooting at all.”
“That’s what Mr. Ahmed said this morning when I called him in Morocco,” Doug said. “The man has a great memory and once you get him started he loves to reminisce.”
Sergei rolled his eyes and shook his head. “That is precisely why I didn’t want him talking to you.” He sighed and continued. “So, monsieur detective, what inspired you to call Mr. Ahmed?”
“Once I figured out it was your gun, I assumed that much of what happened to me was your doing, starting with Mr. Ahmed.”
“I told him you were a reporter snooping into my private life and we came up with the hit-and-run idea to send you away,” Sergei said. “He told his staff you were a hired killer. I heard that you put quite a scare into them. How did you get him to talk to you?”
“Simple,” Doug said. “I told him the truth.”
“Clever. But I don’t suggest you make a habit of it. It’s generally not a good policy.”
“Oh I love requin au four,” Aisha said, reading the menu. “What would go best with that?”
“I’m partial to Number 47,” Doug said. “Tastes just like a Number 18.” He turned back to Sergei. “So how long have you been following me?”
“I received word you were in Casa on your first day. After searching your room—oh, don’t look so surprised, the poor man at the hotel gets paid next to nothing—I determined that you might have some information about the diamond that I hadn’t been able to uncover.”
“Same here,” Aisha said. She was thumbing through the desserts. “When you came asking questions I figured you were hiding something. I didn’t buy the dumb hick act, by the way.”
“Yeah, I figured you were in this together.” Doug tried not to look disappointed.
“Not at first,” Sergei said. “For years each of us had kept an eye out for the diamond, myself much longer than Miss Al-Kady here has been alive. After I retired from the museum—this would be five years ago—I moved to Morocco. I had always liked the weather there and, as I said, I do have many friends in Casa. Thanks to her grandfather, Miss Al-Kady and I have known each other for years. Casa is like a small town and we share some similar interests.” Aisha looked over and flashed her eyebrows up and down suggestively. “We became partners when we realized we needed to move you along. You seemed to take a rather long time making decisions and, since we were both confident that the diamond was not in Morocco, we prodded you a bit.”
“That makes sense, but why all the warnings about dangerous killers out there? For a while it seemed as if you wanted me to quit.”
Sergei and Aisha smiled at each other. “We disagreed on how best to motivate you,” Sergei said. “You see, I didn’t think the—what did you call it Aisha? The ‘hick act’?—I didn’t think that was an affectation. A naïve young man like you, I sensed you would be best motivated by the idea of danger and suspense…never letting you out of sight, of course. With the help of some friends of mine, I think we created a believable scenario.”
“Captain Yehia, for one,” Doug said.
“Yes, and the altercation in the back alley. Without the threat of violence, there really is no sense of danger.”
“Cruising the red light district, Doug?” Aisha said with smile. “Tsk-tsk-tsk.”
“You insisted that you were going to Cairo even though Miss Al-Kady and I were absolutely certain that the diamond was not there either. Remember, we’ve been looking for some time now. We wanted you in Singapore and assumed that’s where you would be heading eventually. We needed time, something to delay your arrival in Cairo while we orchestrated a series of events that we felt would fit both Miss Al-Kady’s and my approach to keeping you motivated.”
“So you planted cocaine in my flight bag,” Doug said, watching Aisha flip through the wine list.
“I’m innocent and pure,” she said without looking up.
“That was not cocaine, Douglas, it was baking powder. We assumed you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. And I’m afraid it was I who slipped it in your carry-on bag while you were sleeping.”
“So you paid off someone to have me arrested and thrown in jail, where I conveniently met Abe.”
“An old flame of Miss Al-Kady’s. There are surprisingly few opportunities for a character actor who does impressions in Egypt, even with the movie industry there. I feel he did a fine job.”
“He said to say hi,” Aisha said. “Oh and you’re supposed to rent the movie Aladdin—he did some of the voices.”
“You kept me locked up long enough to put together your little charade,” Doug said. “So no one was shooting at us, no one fell off a building….”
“They were shooting,” Aisha said, “they insisted they get to shoot. But no, no one fell off the building.”
“Former boyfriends?” Doug said, trying not to sound sarcastic.
“Cousins,” she said.
“Well it worked,” Doug said and sipped his drink. “You got me moving. But the car crash in the desert wasn’t necessary.”
“Oh that was Abe’s idea,” Aisha said. “He and his buddies worked on that for hours.” She started to laugh. “He says you were going to shoot out his back window, but that would have given it all away since there were blanks in the gun. That’s Abe.” Despite everything, Doug still found her laugh sexy and encouraging. “He said he worked really hard on the dramatic ‘there was no crash’ scene, but on the tape it sounds way over the top.”
“He taped it?” Doug said. “You’re kidding.”
“For his portfolio. He wants to show he can do serious parts as well.”
“You caused us some difficulties when you disappeared in Bahrain. We thought for sure you had run home to Pennsylvania,” Sergei said.
“Not me,” Aisha said, closing the menu. “I figured you got wise to us and just slipped loose. I mean after I heard Abe overdo it on that tape….” She shook her head, a strategically placed strand of hair bouncing lightly.
“When you managed to eliminate the man we had following you here in Singapore, we realized that you were ready to pick up the diamond and flee the country. We assume the woman you had dinner with last night was your contact here but, and this is truly embarrassing, my cab driver lost you when you left Raffles.”
“We were just lucky you called. We thought for sure we had missed our last chance.” Aisha poked at the fat olive in her martini, skewering it on the third try. She used her teeth to slide it off her fork, careful not to smudge her lipstick.
Doug was looking down at his drink, trying to remember eliminating anybody.
“You shouldn’t feel bad, Douglas,” Sergei said. �
��You’ve had the adventure of a lifetime. This one just ended a bit differently than you would have liked. Remember, it’s not the destination, it’s the journey that counts.” He smiled at Doug. “It has been quite a time, hasn’t it?”
“What makes you think it’s over?”
Sergei laughed. “Because I know you, Douglas. I know the kind of man you are, what you are capable of and what, frankly, is beyond you. Look,” he said, leaning forward, “I’ll tell you what you’d have to do. First you’d have to get out of Singapore with the diamond.”
“That should be easy.”
“Ha,” Aisha said. “You think I’m just going to let you waltz out on me? Hardly. Believe it or not, I can get rather demanding.”
Doug looked at Sergei, who gave a slight shrug and continued. “Miss Al-Kady is right, of course. We would work to ensure that, if you did leave Singapore, it would be without the diamond.”
“I take it you’d kill me. You had no problem killing my uncle.”
“As I said, that was not my plan. I regret it and I would also regret seeing you hurt. But yes, we would see to it. But let’s assume by some minor miracle you do end up with the diamond.”
“Major miracle,” Aisha said.
“Flying out of Singapore is easy, just don’t get caught smuggling any stolen diamonds. This time jail would be for real, and for keeps. You might have to go through Malaysia or Thailand. All this would be the easy part.”
“It gets harder?” Doug said.
“Let’s say you get back to the States and you and this woman who put you up to this trip actually have the diamond in front of you. Would you know what to do with it? Do you know any international jewelry brokers who would be able to handle such a legendary diamond? You certainly can’t walk into a jewelry store in the mall to try to sell it, nor can you take out an ad in the paper. I’m afraid you’d be stuck with an extremely valuable souvenir. But sooner or later the temptation would be too great and you’d try to sell it to someone and the FBI or Interpol would get wind of it and I’m afraid that would bring on the start of a different adventure altogether.”
“I have connections,” Doug said.
“No you don’t, Douglas, don’t be silly. You live in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. You count bottles for a living. You’re kind, you’re honest, you’re a gentleman in a blue-collar sort of way. You’re just not the sort of man that outwits murdering jewel thieves. Not many people are. The truth is you’re a nice guy, Douglas, and that’s not a bad thing to be.”
“And you look good in a suit,” Aisha said, holding her hand out. “Well?” she added.
For almost a minute Doug didn’t move, then, with a deep sigh, he reached into his coat pocket and took out a small wad of tissues. He placed it in Aisha’s palm.
Aisha peeled back the layers of tissue to reveal the grape-sized red diamond. She plucked it out and held it between her thumb and forefinger.
“Oh my God, it’s so beautiful,” she said as she held it up to the light. Doug watched her as she stared at the diamond, her eyes wide and soft. He wondered what she saw as she looked into the dark red facets. She stared a moment longer, blinked twice, and the look was gone. “It’s worth more than I thought,” she said.
“May I?” Sergei said, reaching across the table. From his pocket he removed a jeweler’s loupe and a small white box. He placed the loupe to his right eye and examined the diamond. “It’s not flawless, but it’s close. And as for its value, you’re not alone Miss Al-Kady, it’s worth more than I dared speculate.” Sergei opened the box and set the diamond inside on a bed of white satin. “Thank you, Douglas,” he said as he closed the lid and returned the box and the loupe to his pocket.
Sergei smiled at Aisha as he opened his menu. “Enjoy your meal, Douglas,” he said. “I’m sure you see it our way. You really have no other choice. As for you, Miss Al-Kady, I suggest either the risotto or the carpaccio de Beouf. Both are marvelous.”
“Sorry, Doug,” Aisha said, laughing, “no hamburgers.”
Doug left his menu closed on the table and cleared his throat. “Actually, I have another idea.”
“For dinner?” Aisha said. “It’s a little late now.”
“No, it’s about the diamond,” Doug said. Sergei and Aisha looked up from their menus.
“You don’t seriously think we’re going to let go of the diamond now, do you?” Aisha said. “Deal with it, Doug. We win, you lose.”
“Now Aisha, no need to be less than gracious. So, Douglas,” Sergei said, setting his menu down and folding his hands in front of him. “After all I explained to you and after hearing Miss Al-Kady’s rather firm declarations, you still have an alternative plan for the diamond. Interesting. And what, may I ask, would that plan be?”
“Well,” Doug said, “it goes something like this.”
Doug raised his hand and caught the eye of the maitre d’, who in turn caught the eye of Mr. Fung Kee Fung, who only had to raise his finger slightly to get the attention of Andrew Chan, who, smiling, led a swarm of Raffles security guards and TV camera crews towards the lone table in the corner of the room.
“What’s going on?” Aisha said, her voice anxious and less confident.
“Don’t do this, Douglas,” Sergei said as uniformed guards and the bright lights of shoulder-mounted video cameras surrounded their table.
“Mr. Pearce, it is so very good to see you again.” Mr. Fung Kee Fung extended his arm and cameras clicked as Doug stood and shook his hand. “Your adventures are certainly adding to the storied reputation of our little hotel.”
A crowd three deep ringed the table but they stepped back far enough to allow Doug space to speak. “Thank you Mr. Fung Kee Fung, but it’s this remarkable hotel that adds to my little adventures.” Flashes from a dozen cameras accompanied Mr. Fung Kee Fung’s humble chuckle. Sergei and Aisha sat quietly, swirling their drinks and staring at the ornate ceiling.
“Fifty years ago, Al Ainab, one of the most beautiful and legendary diamonds in the world, was stolen,” Doug said, addressing the bank of television cameras and newspaper reporters. “Several people were killed in the process, including my uncle, Russell Pearce. He was murdered in this city and his killer was never found. This man here,” Doug said, turning to face Sergei, “is the educator, museum director, and author Dr. Sergei Nikolaisen.” Sergei stared at a chandelier, took a deep breath and raised his chin slightly.
“Thanks to evidence that has recently come to light, I can say with confidence that it was this man,” Doug continued, pointing at Sergei, “who made the recovery of Al Ainab possible.”
The news cameras shifted to Sergei as a dozen reporters scribbled approximations of his name in their notebooks. Sergei’s shoulders relaxed and he turned to look up at Doug. “Thanks to his expertise, his wisdom, and his incredible patience, we were able to recover this legendary diamond.”
“And this is Miss Aisha Al-Kady,” Doug continued. The cameras shifted and zoomed in on Aisha while reporters, security guards and hotel management committed her name to memory. Aisha held a flat, hard smile as she stared at Doug. “It was Miss Al-Kady’s brilliant research that enabled us to track the diamond to Singapore.” As if on cue, Aisha tilted her head and smiled while lowering her eyes modestly. For a moment that corner of Raffles Grill lit up like noon from a barrage of camera flashes.
“Thanks to the knowledge and dedication of these two scholars, it was easy for us to locate the diamond, hidden among my late uncle’s belongings, held in trust by the fine staff of this hotel. With Mr. Archer’s assistance,” a few cameras turned away from Aisha to get a shot of the museum curator bowing, “and the help of Chong Kim Siap of the Singapore Police Department,” Kim winked and gave Doug a thumbs-up, “I’m pleased to say that the mystery of Al Ainab has been solved. Now,” Doug said, turning to Sergei, “if Dr. Nikolaisen would be so kind….”
Sergei glared at Doug as the reporters and guards looked on. Then suddenly he smiled and stood up next to Doug.
&nbs
p; Doug turned and offered his hand to Aisha. She gave Doug a cold smile as she took his hand. The cameras clicked to capture the group photo.
Sergei reached into his pocket and retrieved the small white box. “It’s been our great honor to play a small role in the history of Al Aniab.” He lifted the lid and held the box so that the camera crews could zoom in on the red glow.
Chapter 37
Edna Bowers signed her name with a flourish and handed the check to Doug.
“This should cover all these expenses,” she said, referring to the pile of receipts on the glass-topped coffee table in front of them. It had taken over a month for the last charges to appear on his Visa statement and Edna had insisted that he wait until it was updated. “I added a little something extra, sort of a bonus. I don’t want to hear any nonsense about you not earning it.”
Her townhouse looked as it did in early June. The plants were a bit fuller after the summer sun and there was a stack of new books next to her chair, but not much had changed. Edna still looked far younger than her age and her slight tan indicated she had benefited from some time in the sun as well.
Doug’s pickup truck had been stolen in early July. The neighbors couldn’t recall a specific date they first noticed it missing, but it was insured and the money allowed him to rent the bubble-shaped sedan parked out front. Doug wore one of the shirts Sergei had bought him in Cairo and a pair of pants he had bought the night before in Buffalo. He hadn’t put back on the weight he had lost that summer, but his tropical tan had faded away.
“So have you found any work yet?” she said, leaning back in her chair.
“Funny thing about that,” Doug said. “A week after I’m back I get a call from the brewery. They want me back with a bit of a pay raise and a better position.” He sipped his glass of red wine. “You wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would you?”
“It’s only fair,” she said, “seeing as I’m the one that had you fired in the first place.”
“When Mr. Odenbach offered me the new position he mumbled something about a foreign investor making staffing decisions for him. Didn’t sound too happy, by the way.”
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