Part 34 (1/2)
”By, um, us.”
”By Portman Jewelers. A name with a long-standing reputation for fine jewelry. One would hope it was well deserved.” She nearly winced at her own arrogance and reminded herself it was for a good cause-getting rid of the last trace of Banner Westfield. ”As for its intrinsic value, well, I am in possession of the original receipt for this ring. The price was quite impressive. I would hope that a diamond ring costing as much as my BMW would be worth what my husband paid.” Whoops. The BMW had been Banner's idea, too; the car would have to go. Maybe she should make a list.
William Portman turned an interesting shade of dusky purple. ”Portman Jewelers is compet.i.tively priced. The price on your ring was fair. Your diamond is of exceptional quality, Miss Aims.”
”Of course it is. Heirloom quality, some might say. And it comes with a rather interesting history, don't you agree?” If you were interested in high-profile criminals who committed daring crimes like drug running and attempted murder, that is.
Janet lifted the ring box, admiring the brilliance of the stones. ”I had many compliments on the ring. I'm sure you could sell it again. Or even reset the stones. The large one must be quite valuable on its own.”
Portman took the ring from the box, allowing the diamond's facets to catch the bright overhead lights. Tiny arrows of color shot from its surface, as the smaller diamonds twinkled beside it. ”I don't know.” He spoke quietly, almost to himself. ”It would be highly irregular, against store policy.”
Janet felt a surge of excitement-if he was waffling, she had him.
”My father still owns the store, you know,” Portman continued. ”Going strong at seventy-six. He doesn't care to make exceptions to the rules.”
The final hurdle; she knew just how to handle it. ”Oh yes, Lewis Portman. I believe my mother-in-law, Elizabeth Westfield, knows him well.” Janet inserted herself back into the Westfield family temporarily and hoped Elizabeth wouldn't mind. She seemed to like Janet better than her own son these days anyway. ”She's purchased so many lovely pieces of jewelry from your store over the years.” She paused deliberately. ”The Westfields have always been good customers of Portman Jewelers.”
”That's true.”
She waited while he thought about the possibility of offending a long-term customer. A very wealthy wealthy long-term customer. long-term customer.
”Unfortunately, I couldn't give you anything near what Mr. Westfield paid for the ring.”
Warm relief coursed through her, spreading heat to her cold limbs. ”I understand completely, Mr. Portman, and I trust you'll offer a fair price. Oh, and I wonder if you could include this in the purchase. It was a gift from Mr. Westfield, and I would rather not keep it.” Before he could object, she pulled a crinkled wad of tissue from her purse and set it on the counter.
Portman frowned at the tiny bundle as if she'd placed a toad on his immaculate display case. ”I really don't think-”
Janet rushed to remove the tissue before he could reject the piece unseen. A double-strand pearl necklace slithered out, followed by a clunk from the attached pendant. Portman stopped talking.
Janet angled the pendant toward Portman. Inside an ornate, filigreed circle of gold, a large red stone glowed under the store's strong fluorescent lights. ”If you don't want it, I'll take it elsewhere. I just want to get rid of it.” No sense blowing the whole deal because he didn't want her ugly necklace.
Portman leaned closer. So did Ellie, showing her first glimmer of interest in the proceedings. ”When did you get that?” Ellie asked. ”It's kind of gaudy, isn't it?”
Janet nodded. ”Banner bought it for my birthday. I didn't want to offend him by not wearing it, but it's awfully heavy and definitely not my style.”
Portman touched the pearled chain, spreading it across the gla.s.s to get a better view of the pendant. Janet said nothing and watched his expression grow thoughtful. He was obviously intrigued as he lifted the necklace and let the pendant dangle. Areas of solid gold were decorated with curlicues and raised gold beads. In Janet's opinion, it skipped over being pretty and went straight to tacky.
”Where did your husband buy this?” he asked without looking away from the necklace.
She was tempted to correct her marital status, but decided not to distract Portman from his obvious fascination with the necklace. If she'd known it would get this sort of reaction, she would have shown it to him before the ring.
”I don't know where he bought it. I've never seen anything like it.”
”I have,” Portman murmured, lost in his examination. ”Somewhere. The style is quite old; it might be a copy of a museum piece. Quality workmans.h.i.+p...” His voice faded out as he fumbled beneath his collar, pulling out a chain with a gold hexagon on the end. He opened it like a jackknife, revealing a jeweler's loupe. Portman held it to his eyes and peered closely at the stone. Seconds pa.s.sed. He tilted the pendant at different angles, still saying nothing. Janet wondered if he'd forgotten about her.
Portman finally looked up, dropping the loupe and letting it hang over his tie. ”Fifteen thousand.”
Her mouth opened, but it took a couple more seconds for words to come out. ”Sorry, what?”
”Five for the ring, and ten for the necklace. You understand, I'm taking a big chance on the ring. It's possible no one will want it, with its shady history.” He didn't even look embarra.s.sed when he said it.
Janet stared. The ring was worth ten times what he offered, but she hadn't expected more. It was the offer for the necklace that threw her. It had been an afterthought to bring it along, and she would have been thrilled if he'd offered a few hundred dollars for it.
”Ten thousand dollars for the necklace?”
”Again, a risk on my part.”
He didn't strike her as the type to take risks with money. ”Then the stone is real?”
”Real? Yes, it's a gemstone.”
”A ruby?”
The corner of his mouth gave an arrogant twitch upward. ”No. Quality rubies don't come that large. I'm sure it's a spinel.”
His expression was unreadable. She had a feeling he wouldn't lie to her, but he also wouldn't offer information. ”Is that good?”
”Depends. Historically, they were often mistaken for rubies and used in fine pieces of jewelry, most notably in England's Imperial State Crown. Today, they are less common but smaller ones are quite affordable.”
She tried to sort out the pertinent facts. ”Are you saying this could be one of those historically fine pieces?”
He s.h.i.+fted from one foot to the other, looking suddenly uncomfortable. ”Possibly. It could also be a modern knockoff and relatively worthless.” He pursed his lips as he took her measure, probably weighing how far he could push her. ”My father is the expert on antique jewelry. If you'd like to wait a couple days for him to look at it-”
And risk having him reduce the price to two hundred dollars? ”No need. I accept your offer.”
Portman gave a brisk nod. ”Is a check okay?”
”Of course.”
He moved quickly to the back of the store. Ellie grabbed her arm. ”Are you crazy? What's the hurry? You should let Rocky look at the necklace. No one knows more about precious gems than he does, and he wouldn't lie to you.”
”I don't think Mr. Portman is lying.”
”And he's not telling you the whole truth, either. That necklace could be worth a fortune. Rocky would know. Why don't you let me call him?”
Rocky again. Just the thought of him made her all jumpy and nervous inside.
Making an effort to keep her voice calm, she said, ”No. I don't need his opinion, exjewel thief or not. You know I don't like him.”
”So you keep saying.”
”So why don't you believe me?”
”Because he's a great guy, and you can't give me any reason why you don't like him.”
”He's an ex-con,” Janet said.
She should have known Ellie wouldn't buy it. ”Jack's an ex-con.”