Summoned Again?

Not surprisingly, it took several hours for everyone present to be questioned by everyone. Both mine and Whitney's testimonies took almost no time, since we were well away and didn't see or hear anything. We had agreed to only say that we kept each other company in the meeting room and the interviewer gave us a look that told us that he knew exactly what we were doing.

Surprisingly, Whitney was given a commendation for getting a civilian out of the line of fire when her interview was done. She would have refused it if the seal on the corner of it hadn't been made of gold foil. She accepted it with aplomb and I saw her trying to resist licking it. I distracted the interviewer for her and I heard her make a 'mm' sound. Both I and the interviewer smiled awkwardly.

Mr. Graham started working on my case right away, right after his interview, and he told me that he wasn't sure if he could fix all of it, since it did use proper government channels for some of it. I took out one of the small cameras that had recorded everything and gave it to him as proof, then told him that it had all started with a criminal act and they had abused the privilege of government regulations.

His eyes almost lit on fire and he agreed that he would do what he could to undo the injustice that had been done to the system. I was perfectly fine with that motivation, because either way, I was getting the benefit of whatever he did. Whitney decided to stay late to assist him and fulfill her promise to help get it resolved quickly. Having gold stolen was a deadly crime in her eyes.

The authorities let me go soon after that and it was well after suppertime. I knew there was no way I was getting a taxi to drive me all the way back home, which meant I needed a car. I had several in inventory that I couldn't actually use, until I planted them as evidence.

I took out my cell phone and texted Jenny and told her where I was, now that I had a chance. She sent me texts in a steady stream for nearly two minutes. I didn't try to respond to anything she sent and waited for her to stop. I then explained why I was where I was and she didn't respond for nearly ten minutes. I typed that I would find a nice hotel to stay at tonight and would be back sometime tomorrow.

I was getting low on actual paper money and since I didn't really have any bank account at the moment, I needed to sell a few things. The problem I had was that I knew I wouldn't get anywhere near what my things were worth. That was just how things were, unless I found a reputable dealer that wouldn't mind dealing with me.

I used my cell phone and looked for jewellers. Dozens of them popped up and a lot of them started with A, AA, AAA, and everything else to get their listings posted first. I chuckled and scrolled down to one near the dead middle of the list and clicked it to get the number and address. I had no clue where that was in comparison to where I currently was, so I walked down the short road to the guard shack.

The guard there waved me by and I stepped onto the street. There was almost no traffic and I leaned back towards the guard and asked him for a local taxi service.

“Thanks.” I said and just over a minute later, one appeared. I waved to the guard and told the taxi driver the address I wanted to go to. I just hoped that the place was big enough for what I wanted to do.

The taxi dropped me off and I paid him, which almost broke me. I didn't think a drive like that should have been quite that expensive; but, I wasn't from here and he could have been giving me a deal. In any case, I knew I wasn't wasting any more money on taxis. I climbed out and looked at the jewellery store and if my eyes didn't deceive me, this was a very nice upscale neighbourhood.

There were several other stores on the street and a few people were browsing and walking around. That was always a good sign, as was how well dressed they were. I was glad my clothes were brand new and a little stylish, so I fit right in. I entered the store and two other people were walking around and browsing the merchandise inside.

There was only one clerk behind the counter. She was an older woman that was tall and thin. She also looked a little like she thought we weren't good enough to be there looking at her things.

Perfect. I thought and walked right over to her.

She saw me approach and her eyes followed me all the way over to the counter and I stopped when I was directly across from her.

I leaned over the edge of the counter, without touching it of course, and whispered. “I am terribly sorry to bother you, dear lady.” I said in the same tone of voice I would use when talking to royalty in another world, softly and dripping with oodles of respect. “It seems I have fallen on hard times and both my appearance and financial situation are in dire straits.”

Her eyes roamed over me and she nodded. “You need a proper haircut.”

I gave her Angel's professional supermodel smile and nodded. “I was in such a rush to come here that I forgot to tie my hair up. Please excuse me for a moment.”

She watched me step away and over to a small alcove near the back of the store, then I did the same hair trick with bending over, quickly combing the hair and adding the hair tie, then standing back up. It created that perfect hair curtain behind my shoulders, like a cobra, and I walked back over to her. Her eyes weren't wide like I thought they would be, however.

“What can I do for you?” She asked in a normal voice.

“It's a matter that should be discussed in a more private setting and I would rather not have any witnesses.”

She raised a single eyebrow at me and she looked over me and then remembered what I said about being in dire straights financially. Her hand started to reach for something under the counter, which I did expect because I had phrased my words that way on purpose, and I put a single diamond on the counter. It was over an inch wide and she took in a sharp breath.

“The clarity...” She whispered as her eyes examined it thoroughly. “...it's flawless.”

That got one of the customer's attention and the woman walked over to us. “Oh, my.” She said and leaned in close to look at it. “Please tell me it's for sale.”

“It's not mounted, Marjorie.” The clerk said.

“I don't know if something that large can be mounted on anything except a jewel stand.” Marjorie said. “Perhaps a necklace, once the bottom is removed and made into a ring?”

“You can do that?” I asked and both women chuckled.

“An expert jeweller can cut anything to fit anything.” Marjorie said and looked at the clerk. “I want that as soon as you buy it.”

I was a little surprised that she would say that and she didn't even know what the price was going to be.

“I will keep that in mind.” The clerk said as a small smile appeared on her face, then she looked at me. “May I pick it up?” She asked and I nodded. “Hmm. It's about five carats. The cut is very nicely done. I can't even see striations on the facets.”

She picked up a jeweller's magnifying glass and put in on her eye. Her breathing was a bit heavy when she was done examining it. She put the jeweller's glass away and put the diamond down onto the counter.

“I'll give you thirty thousand for it.” The clerk said.

Marjorie took in a sharp breath and glanced at me with surprise on her face.

“Cash or check?” I asked with a smile.

“You're not going to argue or haggle?” Marjorie asked.

“Marjorie.” The clerk said with a stern voice.

“I know I'm getting the worst part of the deal.” I said. “I've already admitted that I'm in dire financial straits.”

“I can do cash now.” The clerk said. “Any more than that would have to be a bank transfer or a withdrawal tomorrow.”

“Damn, it's the same for me or I would buy it for more than that.” Marjorie said, sadly.

“Marjorie.” The clerk said.

“The other customer left already.” Marjorie said with a shrug.

The clerk sighed and looked at me. “Before I hand over the money, I assume that you can prove a gem of this quality isn't stolen.”

“I don't want to shock you by providing proof, dear lady.” I said.

“Oh, this I have to see.” Marjorie said with smugness.

“I can't buy it if you don't.” The clerk said.

“I did warn you.” I said and pretended to pull from my pocket the small bag of 'worthless colored rocks' that I had received from the Tup. I opened it and started to take out rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, amethysts, and garnets from the bag, all of equal or larger sizes to the first diamond. They were also completely flawless and were a mix of brilliant cuts.

When I had over two dozen of them on the counter and the bag was empty, the clerk had to brace her arms on the counter to hold herself steady. Marjorie took off her fancy hat and waved it at her own face, then at the clerk, then at herself again.

“How... how can you... have such treasures?”

“You believe I didn't steal them?” I asked and she nodded.

“It's not possible for anyone to have these things taken and not have it be national or international news.” The clerk said. “I also can't afford to buy them.”

I chuckled and started to put them back in the bag.

“NO!” The clerk gasped and then sighed. “Give me a moment to prepare a proper case for them.”

I nodded and she went in the back and came out with a nice long case, lined with velvet and it had adjustable holders. She added the gems to it, careful of banging them together, and closed the case and handed it to me.

“I'm sure we can work something out, like one a month or one after every sale?” I asked.

She didn't comment as she went to the back again and came out with a small leather bag. Inside was thirty thousand dollars and she handed it to me after counting it.

“I can put out the word that such gems are available.” The clerk said and took the diamond she just purchased and stashed it under the counter.

“I definitely want that diamond and at least one of the rubies.” Marjorie said and put her hat back on. “I'll also spread the word about new stock of raw gems coming in.”

The clerk nodded to her and looked at me. “Will you agree to leave them here on consignment?”

I put my hands on the nice case and rubbed it a little. “What's to stop you from cutting them up and not giving me their worth?”

“I can only give you my word that none of them will be touched until I can buy them from you.” The clerk said. “Although, the amethyst and garnets are not big sellers, even in a strict market. I'll be leaving those until last.”

I looked at the case one last time and pushed it across the counter to her. “You can keep the garnets.”

Marjorie gasped and had to take her hat off again to fan her face.

“Maybe you can give Marjorie a deal on one of them.” I said and winked at her.

The clerk smiled and nodded, which made Marjorie gasp again. We exchanged contact info and addresses and I signed a consignment contract. Apparently, that was an occasional thing for the shop to do and the clerk kept several copies on hand, just in case. When it came to exchanging banking information, I had to explain what was going on at my bank.

“I suppose that's why you needed cash.” The clerk said, not surprised that I had a hundred million dollars in gold coins. “As soon as I turn that diamond into...”

“...a necklace and a ring...” Marjorie interrupted.

“...and sell it, I will contact you for another purchase.”

“Hopefully, I'll have another bank set up before then, or that branch fixed.” I said. “If you will excuse me, I need to find a nice hotel to stay for the night.”

“You can stay at my house.” Marjorie offered.

The clerk sighed. “You're married and you shouldn't be offering things like that to strange men.”

“There are lots of spare rooms.” Marjorie said and gave me a demure smile.

I chuckled and took her hand. “I appreciate the offer.” I said and lifted her hand to my mouth and brushed my lips over her knuckles. “I don't need even more complications in my life right now.”

Marjorie's demure smile increased in intensity. “Now that is a shame.”

“Truly.” I smiled and let her hand go. “Farewell.” I said to them and left the shop. I used my cell phone and looked for hotels in the area and was surprised that there was one only a couple of blocks away. I went there and booked a modest room for the night. In the morning, I would have a couple of things to handle before I left for home, like visiting the Smithsonian Museum and perhaps the White House.

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