Chương 4
“Did you pay Mr. Shaw directly?” Evelyn asked.
Vanessa’s jaw tightened.
“Did you?”
“I paid the entity on the invoice.”
“What entity?”
“Bellweather Private Client Services.”
Evelyn knew the name. Not well, but enough.
Three months earlier, Hart’s finance team had flagged Bellweather after a prospective buyer presented an appraisal on a bracelet that had never been made by Hart. The address had been a mail suite in White Plains. The telephone number routed to a generic answering service. Legal had sent a cease-and-desist letter, which came back unopened.
Claire reentered the showroom.
“Bellweather,” Evelyn said.
Claire stopped.
Vanessa watched both women. “What?”
Claire crossed to the tablet and opened a compliance folder. “We’ve received fraudulent documents bearing that company’s name.”
“Fraudulent according to you.”
“According to the independent laboratory whose seal they copied.”
Vanessa swallowed.
Ryan took out his phone again. “Show me the invoice.”
“It’s not on this phone.”
“Where is it?”
“My work phone.”
“Where is that?”
“In the car.”
“Give me the keys.”
“No.”
“Vanessa.”
“No. Your attorney said not to touch anything.”
“My attorney said not to delete anything.”
“I’m not deleting anything.”
“Then give me the keys.”
She folded her arms.
The engagement indentation remained on her finger, pale and unmistakable.
A soft chime announced someone at the side entrance. Terrence spoke into his earpiece, listened, then approached.
“Detective Serrano is here.”
Detective Isabel Serrano wore a charcoal coat over a navy suit and carried no visible urgency. She was in her early fifties, with short silver-threaded hair and the patient expression of someone who had spent years allowing liars to become tired.
A uniformed officer entered behind her.
Serrano introduced herself to everyone, including Claire and Terrence. She did not begin with Vanessa. She asked who had first discovered the ring missing.
Evelyn answered. “Our inventory director reported a discrepancy at seven fifteen. Claire and I confirmed the physical count. We checked the archive records and notified our insurer. The report was made at eight forty-three.”
“Who had access to the archive?”
“Seven employees under normal procedure. Additional access was permitted during photography and maintenance.”
“When was the ring last physically verified?”
Evelyn disliked the answer before she gave it.
“Six weeks ago.”
Vanessa looked at her sharply.
Serrano noticed. “Something about that date?”
“That’s when I bought it,” Vanessa said.
The detective turned toward her. “You’re Ms. Cole?”
“Yes.”
“And the ring came into the store on your hand?”
“Yes.”
“Who removed it?”
“I did.”
“Did anyone compel you?”
“No.”
“Did it leave your sight?”
“No.”
Serrano inspected the tray without opening it. Claire showed her the inventory photographs, internal engraving, creation records, restoration log, and the police report number.
The detective’s attention stayed on the restoration photograph for several seconds.
“Was it ever sold?”
“No,” Evelyn said.
“Insured?”
“Yes.”
“Current value?”
“Three point four million for coverage purposes.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Ryan stared at her.
Serrano asked, “Who told you the ring was worth two point eight?”
Vanessa did not answer immediately.
“Mr. Shaw.”
“Emmett Shaw?”
“Yes.”
“You know him personally?”
“I met him three times.”
“Before or after the purchase?”
“Both.”
“Did you know he had worked for Hart?”
“He told me.”
“Did you know he had been fired?”
“He said he resigned.”
“Did he tell you why?”
“He said there was a dispute over commissions.”
Serrano looked at Evelyn. “Was there?”
“I can provide the employment file through counsel.”
The detective nodded. She did not ask Evelyn to violate her own caution simply because they were standing beside a stolen object.
“Ms. Cole, do you have the purchase documents?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“In my vehicle.”
“Would you be willing to retrieve them?”
“My attorney is coming.”
“That’s fine. I’m asking whether you’re willing.”
Vanessa looked at Ryan.
He gave no help.
“Yes,” she said finally.
The uniformed officer accompanied her outside. Terrence remained by the door.
Ryan watched Vanessa leave through the glass frontage. Pedestrians passed behind her on Madison Avenue, most without noticing anything unusual. A cyclist shouted at a taxi. A delivery van idled in the bus lane. Vanessa stopped beside a black SUV and stood with one hand on the driver’s door, waiting for the officer to catch up.
Ryan rubbed his mouth.
“I apologize,” he said.
Evelyn looked at him.
“For what I said earlier.”
“Which part?”
His hand dropped.
It was not a gracious question. She knew that. He did too.
“All of it.”
“You believed you were speaking to an employee.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
“No.”
He glanced toward the door. “She’s not a thief.”
Evelyn looked at the ring.
“I didn’t say she was.”
“She wouldn’t knowingly buy something stolen.”
“You were certain of several things ten minutes ago.”
Ryan absorbed that without argument.
“I’ve known her two years.”
“How long have you known where the ring came from?”
His eyes moved to the street again.
“Six weeks.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
He looked back at Evelyn. “I still don’t know.”
Vanessa returned with a second phone, a cream document folder, and an expression that had regained some of its polish. Her attorney arrived thirty seconds later.
His name was Martin Keene. He was compact, careful, and visibly annoyed that the facts had begun without him. He spoke with Vanessa privately in the consultation room for twelve minutes while Serrano waited near the counter, reading the records Claire provided.
Ryan was not invited inside.
He stood near a display of diamond studs, hands in his pockets. His reflection multiplied in the glass.
At one point, his phone vibrated. He read a message, typed three words, deleted them, and put the phone away.
Claire poured water for Serrano and the officer. She set another glass beside Ryan. He thanked her without looking up.
May you like
When Vanessa and Keene returned, the attorney carried the cream folder.
“My client purchased this ring through what she reasonably believed was a legitimate private transaction,” he said. “She is prepared to cooperate while reserving all rights concerning the seizure of her property and any defamatory statements made in this establishment.”
