Posing as a curious customer, he spoke briefly with the proprietor, but the man was deluged with new customers and quickly told him he didn’t have and hadn’t seen any diamonds with a bluish tint.
Undeterred, he tried another shop. A pear-shaped man with a metal nose ring—such an odd accessory for a guy peddling jewels—tried to pitch him on walking out the door right this very second with a 20 percent discount on a fair-trade diamond set in a white gold band that was a size six but could be reset for the woman of Jake’s dreams.
No such woman fit the bill.
At the next shop, Jake used the weather as a warm-up, with a simple remark about the sunshine.
“They say not every day in the Caymans is wonderful,” the woman replied. “For instance, we only get sunshine and perfect temperatures three hundred and sixty-four days of the year.”
“That three hundred and sixty-fifth day is a rough one, isn’t it,” Jake replied with a smile as he perused the jewels. “I trust business is as fantastic as the weather?”
He was met with a blank stare. Then a curt “yes.”
She bent down to straighten out some displays, making it clear to Jake she wasn’t the type to gab about who was moving what in carats these days.
“Thanks for your time,” he said on the way out, peering down the block, hunting for more. He was flying blind on this recon mission. There were no guarantees he’d glean anything useful from this trip, but he had to keep trying. Porny name or not, he headed into Uncut at the end of the block. The glass cases by the wall were lined with so many necklaces, they nearly blinded him.
A dark-haired man with a thick beard and an eager grin strode up to him. “Greetings and welcome to Uncut, where we specialize in the best duty-free diamonds on the island,” the man said, sounding like a TV commercial. “Are you looking for something for that special someone?”
“Potentially.”
The man placed his hands together, as if in prayer. “Ah, excellent. So this is for a lovely woman in your life you want to make your wife?”
Jake laughed and shook his head, ready to nix that notion. He wouldn’t even go there in a cover-up. He leaned on another answer—one that could be true. “I don’t see that happening anywhere in the near future. Or even the far future. But my little sister is graduating college soon, so I thought I might get her a little something. What’s a good graduation gift?”
The bearded man walked behind the counter, unlocked a glass case, and gestured to several diamonds that could be set into a bracelet or earrings. “Surely, a lovely pair of simple diamond earrings would be a wonderful gift for your sister as she embarks on her first job after college. They say classy and elegant, and what employer wouldn’t want that?”
Jake rested his elbows against the counter, taking in the sea of sparkling gems that shimmered like brilliant reflections. “So many to choose from. What do other customers get?”
The man reached into the case for a handful of small diamonds, and he sprinkled the gems on a swath of black velvet. “These are very popular. And the price is incredibly reasonable.”
Jake nodded, as if considering his purchase. He screwed up the corner of his lips. “Business is good these days?” he asked casually as he studied one of the gems. “I keep hearing all about diamonds in the Caymans.”
The man nodded vigorously and gestured to the door. More customers were starting to stream in. “Business has never been better. Sometimes it’s so good I can’t even handle it. I am a lucky man to work here. The only thing that would make me luckier would be if I can beat my brother at darts someday.”
Jake cracked up, thinking of his dart coach from last night. “Is that so?”
The man nodded. “Oh yes. He plays a mean game of darts.”
“As a matter of fact, I got some pointers last night from a lovely lady. It’s all about the angle,” Jake said, then raised his arm and mimed tossing a dart.
The man nodded approvingly. “I shall try that next time.”
Jake flashed him a smile, then snapped his fingers as if he’d just remembered something. “Say. Do you happen to have any of those diamonds with a sort of bluish tint to them? A very faint blue glow?”
The man shook his head. “Ah, sorry to say I do not. Those are quite special. One of my colleagues down the street at International Diamonds has some from time to time. A few months ago, he handled a small batch of them for a new customer, who brought them in from the United States. International Diamonds is where you want to go for a stone like that. He might even have one or two left over from that batch.”
Ding, ding, ding!
“Excellent,” Jake said, reining in a grin and extending a hand to shake. “I appreciate that. And I’ll be back to pick one up for my sister soon. What’s your name?”
“Wilder.”
“Nice to meet you, Wilder.”
The man bowed once more, then headed over to his new customers as Jake took off.
As Jake walked away from the shop, he grabbed his phone and called up that e-mail from his case file—the one Andrew’s IT guy had resurrected from the deleted folder.
Jake scrubbed a hand across his chin as he studied it once more. The note referenced an amount. The sender discussed safe transport. But there was no mention of paintings or art, specifically.
The luxury good itself had gone unnamed. Andrew had suspected art given Eli’s affinity for it, as well as his fiancée’s business venture.