34 - The Queen's Jewels (16 page)

I was aware that I was in a strange, somewhat uncomfortable position. I knew both Michael and Dennis, but both were operating under assumed names. I hadn’t let on that I knew them; as far as the others were concerned, I had no former connection with either one. Dennis told the group that we’d met during a friendly game of darts in the pub, and that I’d invited him to join our dinner table. Haggerty stuck with his cover as a Dublin antiques dealer, which Dennis never questioned, nor had anyone else. I felt very much the keeper of secrets. Harry Flynn was the only man who was who he said he was.

It was a pleasant few hours in the magnificent Queens Room. The problem, at least from my perspective, was that neither Haggerty nor Stanton was in a position to further his respective investigation. Both men had identified Kim Chin-Hwa as the prime suspect in the theft of the Heart of India, but he was nowhere to be found that evening.

Our little group started to disband when Harry announced that he was going to the casino to enjoy another toss of the dice. The rest of us declined to join him. He wished everyone a pleasant rest of the evening, kissed me, Jennifer, and Kiki on the cheek, and strode off, whistling “Ain’t She Sweet” along with the orchestra.

The question of whether Michael or Dennis would get to extend the evening with Jennifer was answered when Michael announced he was tired and going to bed. Dennis suggested to Jennifer—pointedly leaving Kiki out of his invitation—that she join him in the disco. She thanked him but said she, too, was tired and needed a good night’s sleep.

“I can’t thank you enough for including me this evening, Jessica,” Dennis said as we watched them leave the room.

“You seemed to be enjoying yourself,” I said.

“Oh, the evening provided more than simple enjoyment, dear lady, thanks to you.”

“I’m pleased to hear that, Dennis, and I can imagine why. You seem taken with Ms. Kahn.”

“A lovely creature.”

“I saw her jewelry was of interest to you, not surprising, considering all the gems you’ve dealt with in your—in your career.”

“Don’t be reticent, Jessica. When we’re alone, you may feel free to refer to my previous wayward past. I have no regrets about having been a jewel thief. It’s led to a rather interesting life on the right side of the law.”

“Well,” I said, “I’m just glad that you and Jennifer hit it off so well.”

“Much to Mr. Jones’s displeasure.”

For a moment, I didn’t recognize the name. “Oh, yes, Wendell,” I said, recovering. “He seems to be taken with her, too. Will I be seeing any more of you now that you and Jennifer have—how shall I say it?—have
found
each other?”

I said it in jest, but his reply was anything but joking.

“My interest in her, Jessica, is purely professional.”

My face expressed my surprise at the comment.

“Professional?” I said.

“Yes.”

“How so?”

“The lovely lady is well-known in my professional field, so to speak.”

“I hadn’t realized she was such a famous jewelry designer.”

“Designer? Is that what she told you?”

“Yes. Isn’t she?”

“My dear, Jennifer Kahn is a rather famous—or should I say infamous?—jewel thief.”

“Oh my!”

“Yes, oh my, indeed. Care for a drink?”

“If it will keep you talking.”

“
I
can’t believe this,”Stanton said after we’d found a secluded corner of the Commodore Club. “You took the words right out of my mouth, Dennis. You owe me a few more details.”

“Jennifer Kahn is a jewel thief, and, I might add, a very successful one. I had no idea she was on the ship. Thanks to you, not only do I know it—I’ve had the perfect opportunity to befriend her, the pleasure of dining with her, and even enjoying a dance or two. Thank you, Jessica.”

I hadn’t intended to have a drink, but since I’d barely touched my sidecar in the Queens Room, I opted to order one from the waitress. Dennis bantered with her: “We’re celebrating,” he said. “I believe that champagne would be appropriate. Your best and two glasses.”

“Cancel my sidecar,” I said. “Champagne will do just fine.”

When the waitress walked away, I asked Dennis, “Why a celebration?”

“Because, dear lady, you have put me in the position of possibly killing two very large birds with the proverbial single stone.”

I shook my head, confused.

“I’ll try to explain,” he said.

“Please do.”

“But let’s wait until the bubbly arrives.”

The waitress delivered our champagne in an ice bucket with great flourish, deftly uncorked it, and poured the fizzy liquid into two graceful flutes. She left, and Dennis raised his flute. “To Jessica Fletcher,” he said, “and to this lovely ship.”

“Thank you, and now I’m eager for your explanation.”

“Let me see,” he said. “I’ll start here. Are you aware, Jessica, that there were a number of London jewelry shop break-ins over the past few weeks?”

“Yes, I am—three, if I’m not mistaken. At least that’s what I recall hearing.”

“Exactly. Three. The thieves walked away with a hefty payday, gems worth millions of dollars.”

Anticipating what was to come next, I said, “And you think that Ms. Kahn was behind them.”

“Oh, it’s not a matter of what I think,” he said. “We
know
she was behind at least one of them, maybe two, and possibly all three.”

“Then why hasn’t she been arrested?”

“Because there’s no proof—yet. She’s a clever operator, has others do the actual heists, and stays very much in the background. She has an international crew of thieves working for her, and they’re suspected of strikes everywhere. Paris, Rome, London, Dubai, Cairo—you name the city and chances are good that they’ve plied their trade there.”

“And she has the perfect cover as a jewelry designer,” I put in.

“Precisely. Not only does her ‘work’ enable her to break down the merchandise and reset it for the market, but she’s expected to wear ostentatious jewelry to showcase her designs. She’s been so successful lately, however, she may not have had time to remake all the pieces. We believe there are times when she simply dons one of the necklaces, pins, and bracelets taken from a recent heist, and passes it off as one of her own creations.”

“Were those jewelry shops where the thefts took place insured by Consolidated Casualty?”

He took a sip of his champagne, smacked his lips, and said, “Yes, indeed.”

“But you said you’re on this crossing because of the Heart of India diamond. You had no idea that she would be here?”

“Not a clue, Jessica. I was in London trying to nail down her involvement in those cases but had to abandon the investigation once I learned that Kim Chin-Hwa was about to leave London for New York. It put me in a sticky spot, deciding which one to focus on. Obviously, Kim took precedence. However, now that Jennifer Kahn is also aboard, it not only makes my job easier—it verifies to some extent what I’ve come to believe.”

“Which is?”

“That Ms. Kahn and Mr. Kim are linked.”

“Well!” I said, sitting back. “This trip gets more and more intriguing.”

“‘Intrigue’ is the word. You already knew that the late Walter Soon Yang was suspected of funding terrorist organizations. He got a steal on the Heart of India when certain other buyers and their representatives were unable to attend the sale, a nifty bit of maneuvering if I do say so. Yang and his investors—we know of Kim, but there may be others—were merely waiting for the diamond to increase in value before putting it back on the market. Those who’d been squeezed out of the first opportunity to buy it would likely bid up the price a considerable amount. The resulting auction would allow the sellers to net a tidy profit to share, with enough left over to pour into whatever nefarious activities they’d taken a liking to.”

“Is Jennifer Kahn also suspected of aiding terrorists?”

He shrugged. “Hard to say. But she is believed to have begun fencing some of her stolen jewelry through a certain businessman in London.”

“Kim Chin-Hwa?”

“We don’t have names yet. But if it is Kim, that would explain her sudden presence on the ship.”

“Sudden?”

“A last-minute decision on her part. She’d had plans for last weekend to visit with friends in Bath. But I’d heard she’d canceled those plans at the last minute. Now I know why. She booked passage on this ship, where Mr. Kim and party also happen to be passengers. Intriguing coincidence, wouldn’t you say, Jessica?”

I sipped my champagne and gazed through the large window at the ocean illuminated by a full moon.

Had I made a mistake in accepting the offer to lecture on the
Queen Mary 2
? I certainly couldn’t be accused of having instigated any of the mounting mystery that had swirled around me ever since leaving Southampton on Saturday. Nor could I have anticipated that the theft of a famous diamond in London, and the three break-ins of London jewelry shops, would have followed me on board.

I hadn’t seen Michael Haggerty in years, yet there he was at the dinner party, and here he was on the ship. And Dennis Stanton, my reformed jewel thief friend, also showed up after years of no contact.

Had Kim Chin-Hwa murdered his partner, Walter Soon Yang, in order to take possession of the Heart of India? If so, had he brought it with him with the intent of selling it in New York, and using those funds to aid terrorist activities around the world?

Jennifer Kahn was the mastermind of an international jewel theft gang? Was Dennis correct in suspecting that she’d begun fencing the jewels stolen by her gang through Yang and Kim? Had she booked last-minute passage on the ship because Kim and his entourage would be on board? What would she gain by that? Was she there to keep an eye on him? I certainly hadn’t witnessed any connection between them, no conversation, no meetings. Of course, it was also possible that any fencing of her stolen gems through Yang or Kim might have been executed by a middleman, and that neither Yang nor Kim knew who she was or that she was involved. I doubted that, but it was a possibility.
So many possibilities.

But there had been that clandestine nighttime exchange between an unknown person and Kahn’s assistant, Kiki Largent. Whom had she met, and why?

Michael Haggerty was aboard because of allegations that Kim funded terrorists. Perhaps Uri, the Israeli intelligence agent, booked the crossing for the same reason. Aside from when I’d seen him tailing Kiki Largent, he’d been invisible. Was he working hand in hand with Haggerty? It would be just like Michael not to mention that.

Dennis intruded on my silent introspection. “Tell me more about this Kensington chap, the honeymooner,” he said.

“Oh, yes. I looked for him at dinner tonight, but he and his wife weren’t at their usual table. They probably decided on room service—they are on their honeymoon after all—or ate in the Kings Court.”
But are they really on their honeymoon?
I silently wondered. “Frankly,” I said, “I can’t help but wonder whether he has some connection with the Kensington insurance firm.”

“I don’t blame you for wondering that, Jessica. I’ve been working with a British freelance agent who’s been assigned to the case. I’ll call or e-mail him and see what I can find out.”

Without waiting to be served again, Dennis lifted the champagne bottle from the bucket and poured himself a second glass. I waved my hand over mine. I was tempted to reveal that he wasn’t the only person on the crossing using an alias, and that there was another undercover agent interested in stolen jewelry—Michael Haggerty. Their motives for being passengers were different, however. Haggerty was tracking the terrorist aspect of the case, while Stanton wanted to save his insurance company a large payout. It might prove beneficial for them to join forces, or at least compare notes. But to raise that would be to expose both men for who they really were, and I’d promised each not to betray the other.

“You keep drifting off to another planet,” he said.

“I’m sorry. There’s a lot to digest in what you’ve said.”

“Yes. I’m sorry to burden you with all this when you were expecting simply to have a pleasant voyage. But your connections with these individuals could prove very beneficial for me, and I’m eager to hear your thoughts.”

What I’d actually been thinking was how much I wished I could talk to George Sutherland. He would be able to sort it all out for me. He’s one of the most clearheaded, rational, and insightful men I’ve ever known, and to be able to analyze the various scenarios with him would have been wonderful.

“I think a good night’s sleep will aid my weary brain immensely,” I said. “I’m going to go back to my cabin.”

“But you’ve barely touched your champagne.”

“It was wonderful, Dennis, but I’ve had enough to drink for tonight.”

“Hope my laying this out hasn’t upset you.”

“Upset me? Not at all. But I do have some thinking to do.”

“Lecturing tomorrow?”

“Yes, in the evening.”

“See you at breakfast?”

“I suppose so.”

“You don’t mind my sharing your table again?”

“To stay close to Jennifer? Of course not. You’ve been a big hit with everyone.”

“Except that Jones fellow.”

I smiled. “I think he considers you a competitor for Jennifer’s affections. He doesn’t know that she steals jewels for a living.”

Dennis laughed. “I promise not to disillusion him.”

As I prepared to leave, I thought of one more question. “What about Jennifer’s assistant?” I asked. “Do you know anything about Kiki Largent?”

Dennis’s smile was rueful. “From what I hear, she’s Jennifer’s muscle.”

“Muscle?”

“Kiki does the dirty work when someone in Jennifer’s gang gets out of line. She can turn quite nasty, they say.”