Honolulu Blues

by Larry Darter

  “How tall are you?” he said.

  “Six-three.”

  “How much do you weigh?”

  “Two-twenty, this morning when I weighed at the gym after my workout.”

  “You seem quite fit. How often do you work out?”

  “I run most days and hit the weights a few times a week,” I said.

  “I suppose staying fit is important for a man in your line of work.”

  “Indispensable,” I said.

  Wilkins swallowed a spoonful of soup and then washed it down with the rest of his scotch.

  “You were with the Los Angeles Police Department for a time?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Why did you leave law enforcement?”

  “My supervisors thought me incorrigible,” I said.

  “Were you?”

  “I prefer to think of it like this,” I said. “I wasn’t afraid to bend the rules when they needed bending to get the job done. My supervisors found that unsettling.”

  “Were you dismissed from the force?”

  “No, I resigned,” I said. “But to be fair, the movers and shakers at LAPD weren’t sad to see me go.”

  The server brought our entrees.

  “I’m told you’re a very tough man.”

  “You betcha, tough as old boots, meaner than a junkyard dog.”

  “I was also told that you were—and I’m quoting here—a sarcastic son-of-a-bitch who can be a real pain in the ass,” Wilkins said. “Though my source did add you could be relied upon to get the job done when hired to solve a problem that required your unique set of skills.”

  “Whew,” I said. “For a moment I thought you had been speaking with my ex-wife.”

  Wilkins ate a couple of bites of Cod. He appeared to be mid-fifties and fit for his age. A swimmer perhaps, or maybe a cyclist. I tried to visualize him wearing tights and one of those silly helmets. He wore designer steel-gray metal half-rim glasses, the style you see a lot of in Europe. He had a square-jawed face and a salt-and-pepper buzz cut like Brad Pitt sported a few years ago. Even with his not-quite-British, not-quite-American accent, that affected Faux-British elocution taught in east coast finishing schools or learned for use in the theater, it was clear Wilkins was no softy.

  “Is Great Western Marine and Casualty planning to commission my biography, or did you want to hire me to rough someone up?” I said.

  Wilkins smiled again, but not like he planned to invite me over for Thanksgiving dinner. “Actually there is this insurance regulator that works for the State of California that I find annoying. I’m kidding. To answer your question, no I didn’t ask you to lunch for either of those reasons.” He ate a couple of bites of lotus root from his plate. “Do you know much about diamonds?”

  “Not much,” I said. “My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen. My crown is called content, a crown it is that seldom kings enjoy.”

  “King Henry the Sixth?” Wilkins said.

  “Yep. I have an intellectual friend, a psychiatrist, and she reads to me sometimes.”

  “Wilkins frowned for a moment. He seemed unable to quite work out whether my remark had been frank or sardonic. “Well, no doubt you are aware that they are very valuable.”

  “Yes,” I said. “I guess that’s why Mark Twain said, let us not be too particular; it is better to have old secondhand diamonds than none at all.”

  “Yes, anyway, among other things, my company insures diamonds. That is to say, we insure jewelry stores and diamond dealers against losses from theft, that sort of thing. The reason I asked you here is this. I wish to discuss the possibility of you undertaking an investigation into the theft of some very rare and valuable diamonds. My company had insured them. When a band of armed robbers stole them, we absorbed a very significant loss.”

  “A recent robbery?”I said.

  “Actually, no,” Wilkins said. “Have you ever heard about the Los Angeles Diamond Exchange robbery that occurred in 2003?”

  “Actually, I have,” I said. “It was a little before my time on the cops given that it happened more than 15 years ago. I must have been about sixteen when it happened. But, I recall the news stories on television from back then. The robbery got a lot of coverage. After all, wasn’t it the biggest jewel heist in the history of Los Angeles?”

  “Indeed, it was,” Wilkins said. “It still holds that dubious distinction. At any rate, that is what I wished to talk with you about. My company paid out a small fortune to cover the loss from that robbery.”

  “Correct me if I’m wrong,” I said, “but I seem to recall that the police got the crew that pulled that robbery. I thought the cops recovered those stolen diamonds. You mean to say that your company has paid a recent claim connected to that heist?”

  “Oh, heavens no,” Wilkins said. “You have a good memory recalling what you saw on television over 15 years ago. But, the authorities did not release to the media all the information about the theft, or robbery rather. The case was thoroughly investigated back then by the LAPD, and by our own internal fraud investigators. The FBI even got involved at one point. The three perpetrators were swiftly identified. Two of them subsequently died in a shootout during a confrontation with the California Highway Patrol on the I-5 north of San Diego. The police arrested the third man, a Mr. Kyle Murray, a short time after that. Murray was tried, convicted, and sentenced to prison.”

  “Ah-ha,” I said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “The reason behind your invitation to lunch is beginning to take shape,” I said. “The robbery suspects were all accounted for, but not all the diamonds were recovered. Hence, the loss your company absorbed and the reason you’re looking to employ me. A search for the missing diamonds and an attempt to recover them.”

  I sipped a little beer. I couldn’t have Wilkins thinking I was a lush either.

  “Yes, exactly,” Wilkins said.

  “But, I guess I still don’t understand something,” I said. “I assume the authorities and your company must have done a thorough search for the diamonds back then. What I don’t understand is why you’re thinking of mounting a new search now, 15 years after the fact.”

  “Actually, here is what happened, the part that was not fully reported in the press,” Wilkins said. “Yes, the authorities recovered the bulk of the stolen diamonds. They recovered most of them from the vehicle driven by the two suspects killed by the state police. But, in spite of the very thorough investigation and search 15 years ago, an even dozen diamonds taken in the robbery were never recovered. Those are the gems my company paid out the large claim on, and the ones we wish to employ you to search for.”

  “But if you didn’t have any luck finding them back then what makes you believe you can find them now? Why pay someone like me to look for the diamonds after more than 15 years has passed?”

  “A recent development makes us believe there is a reasonable chance to recover those diamonds,” Wilkins said. After all the years that have passed, there has been a break in the case. Someone with your skills might be able to recover those missing diamonds.”

  “What development?” I said.

  “Let me explain,” Wilkins said. “Mr. Kyle Murray, the third suspect that the police captured alive, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the robbery. When the police questioned him, he insisted that he was the junior member of the robbery crew. He claimed his accomplices had possession of all the diamonds from the time of the robbery until they were killed. Murray told the police the three of them were meant to meet up in San Diego to divide the diamonds the day his accomplices were killed. Afterward, Murray did his time, always denying any knowledge of what happened to the diamonds that remained missing. During those years Murray was in prison, none of the missing diamonds ever surfaced.”

  “So, based on that, that the missing diamonds never surfaced while Murray was in prison, you’re assuming Murray lied to the cops. You believe he had the diamonds all alo
ng and stashed them somewhere before his arrest.”

  “Actually, it’s far more than only that,” Wilkins said. “Murray’s sentence is up. He was paroled three weeks ago. Coincidentally, ten days after Murray’s parole, one of the missing diamonds surfaced.”

  “Where?” I said.

  “Toronto, Canada,” Wilkins said. “The stone came into the possession of a Toronto man. The Toronto authorities charitably describe him as an unscrupulous dealer in jewelry, gemstones, and precious metals.”

  “A fence, a thiefspawn?” I said.

  “Yes, exactly,” Wilkins said. “In fact, the man was already under surveillance by the Toronto police. He was a suspect in other nefarious activities unrelated to the diamonds we’ve been discussing. Based on the intelligence collected they executed a search warrant on the man’s establishment in the unrelated matters. During the inventory of the seized property, they found a rare blue diamond. They came to the conclusion it was one of the gems stolen in the 2003 robbery in Los Angeles. They then contacted my company.”

  “How did they figure out it was one of the diamonds from the robbery?” I said.

  “There is a database maintained by the diamond industry that lists stolen diamonds,” Wilkins said. “The database includes all identifying information. The cut, the measurements of the stone, the carat weight, color, clarity, and so forth are recorded. The database also includes the crown angle, crown height, pavilion angle, and pavilion depth. It includes the star length, the girdle, and culet. It’s common today for law enforcement agencies to have any loose diamonds they seize examined by a qualified gemologist. A gemologist can identify any stolen gem if it is listed in the database.”

  “You mean to say that is how the Toronto cops identified the diamond they seized as one from the Los Angeles Diamond Exchange robbery?” I said.

  “Indeed, a qualified gemologist identified it,” Wilkins said. “But, there was something else that helped us know for certain it was one of the diamonds we paid the claim on. When it was graded by the Gemological Institute of America, they engraved a serial number on its girdle. That’s the small rim around the perimeter of the stone. We had only to check the serial number provided by the Toronto gemologist against the certified diamond certificate to identify it.”

  “It’s always been my experience that when something seems like a coincidence, it isn’t,” I said. “But do you have more than a suspicion that the fence in Toronto obtained the diamond from Murray? In other words, can you put him in Toronto sometime after his release from prison?”

  “That’s where things become a bit murky,” Wilkins said. “After his parole, Murray promptly disappeared. His whereabouts since the first few days after his release from prison are unknown. Murray could be anywhere in the world by now.”

  “So, to even start searching for the diamonds, a person would have to find Murray first?” I said.

  “That’s about the size of it,” Wilkins said. “So, assuming we can strike a deal, what would your fees be to take on the case?”

  “Three-hundred-fifty dollars a day, plus expenses,” I said.

  “Plus expenses?”

  “Yes, you know. Tracking dogs, rappel gear, extra ammo if I run out, that sort of thing. Expenses.”

  “I’m sure I could find someone to hire for a lot less,” Wilkins said.

  “Yes, no doubt you could,” I said.

  The server came over, cleared the lunch dishes, and poured coffee.

  “I’m not authorized to pay that much,” Wilkins said.

  I took a sip of my coffee, which I found excellent.

  “I can offer you two-hundred-seventy-five a day, plus reasonable expenses.”

  I shook my head. “I told you, I don’t do things I don’t like doing when I can avoid it.”

  “And you don’t like working for two-hundred-seventy-five dollars a day?”

  “Nope. Not for the kind of job you are offering me. The length of time that has passed since the robbery is a problem. And, as you noted Murray could be anywhere in the world right now. The entire world is a rather large haystack to sift for a needle. In my experience, it is pretty difficult in general to find someone intent on not being found.”

  “But, can you find him?” Wilkins said. “Is it possible?”

  “Ay, there’s the rub,” I said. “It depends on how much effort Murray puts into not being found. I probably can’t find Murray if he chooses to drop completely off the grid. If he avoids using credit cards or a passport to cross borders, doesn’t travel by common carriers, that sort of thing. I can try, and if he makes a mistake, I might find him. But if he doesn’t care about living anything close to a normal life, I can’t guarantee that I’ll find him no matter how hard I try.”

  “Yes, I can understand that,” Wilkins said. He didn’t seem ecstatic about understanding it though.

  “What about the police?” I said.

  “We do plan to ask for law enforcement assistance,” he said. “But also, we feel we need someone with your knowledge and skills too if we are to have any real chance at recovering the diamonds.”

  “I see. But there is something else you need to understand. Even if I find Murray, he isn’t going to simply say “okay, you got me copper,” and hand the diamonds over. He didn’t play ball with the cops all those years ago when he probably could have gotten a lighter sentence if he had cooperated. If I find him, I could follow him around, harass him a little, and annoy the hell out of him. But, it’s not like I can threaten him with jail. I’m not for example, willing to waterboard him or attempt to beat a confession out of him. I simply won’t have any leverage to use. If in fact, he has the diamonds, he isn’t going to have any reason to even talk to me, much less tell me anything.”

  “Yes, we’ve considered all that,” Wilkins said. We spoke to our corporate loss prevention head about it. Frankly, he didn’t feel very confident hiring a private investigator would result in a successful recovery effort. Nevertheless, the head of the board of directors wants an effort made. He is also willing to spend some money making it.”

  “I can tell you this,” I said. “If I take the case and reach a point where I feel there is no real chance of finding Murray or of recovering the diamonds, I won’t keep taking your company’s money. I’ll tell you we’ve reached that point of diminishing returns if and when I decide we’ve reached it.”

  “That sounds fair,” Wilkins said. “Look, Mr.Malone, I want to hire you for this case. You seem ideal in most respects for this assignment. Notwithstanding the personality issues and quirks, I was told about, you came highly recommended by someone whose judgment I trust unequivocally. But, let me be candid. The daily fee you quoted is simply far beyond what the board has authorized me to offer. I could go back to the board and ask them to authorize more money, but I expect that they would simply tell me to find someone else for the case.”

  The server came over and poured more coffee for Wilkins and me from a small sterling silver pot. Lunch had gone long. All the tables around us had long since become vacant. Our leisurely lunch didn’t seem to bother the server. She was likely banking on a substantial tip.

  “I understand that,” I said. “But, you must understand that a case like this would absorb all my time. I wouldn’t be able to work on other cases because yours would require my complete attention. Bottom line, if your company wants me to take on the case, they will just have to be willing to pay what it’s going to cost.”

  Wilkins nodded. He seemed to understand my point.

  I leaned back in my chair and offered what I hoped was an encouraging smile. “You might also point out to your board of directors that they probably shouldn’t expect too much help from the cops,” I said. “They have limited manpower and resources. Having been a cop, I can safely say they aren’t going to be very interested in spending man-hours and resources on a crime that happened more than 15 years ago. Especially a crime that they are going to view as one they already solved. The more I’ve learned about this ca
se, the more certain I am that you would be getting a bargain at three-fifty a day,” I said.

  Wilkins said. “You seem to be a confident man, and you’re physically imposing. People I’ve talked with, who should know, say that you are as tough as you look. They say you are honest and dependable. Mr.Malone, I want to hire you. I think you’re the best man for this job. While I fully understand everything you’ve explained, I’m simply unable to meet the rate you’ve quoted.”

  “What you want Mr. Wilkins, is someone persistent enough to find a man that will try very hard not to be found, and someone capable enough to be successful at it. And after finding Murray, you expect that someone to be able to convince Murray to reveal where the diamonds are stashed. That even though Murray will have not a single, solitary reason to even talk to him, much less tell him where the diamonds are. Give me one good reason why I should consider taking this case for less than my usual fee. Sure, you can find someone willing to take the case for what you’ve offered, but I don’t like your chances of ever finding Murray or getting the diamonds back if you do.”

  Wilkins was silent for a moment. We were the only patrons left in the restaurant. All the other lunchtime diners had left. We were alone except for several servers, standing together near the door and chatting in whispers.

  “I think I can give you a good reason, actually,” Wilkins said, “a good reason for taking this on for what I’m offering to pay.”

  “I’d love to hear it,” I said.

  “Back when my company paid the claim more than 15 years ago, we offered a reward for information leading to the recovery of the missing diamonds. At the moment, that reward is still on offer. The offer is $500,000. If you manage to recover the diamonds, you will get more than the quoted rate plus reasonable expenses. You would be entitled to that rather substantial reward.”

  “That’s an attractive thought,” I said. “I’ve seen that much money a time or two. But, I will admit I’ve never had that much money, or even anywhere close to it all at once.”

  “Then, would you be willing to take the case at the rate I’ve offered, with the chance to get the half million dollar reward?”