Rarities Unlimited 04 - The Color of Death

and not simple at all. That was the good news. The bad news was that no one in the room made his instincts sit up and howl. Most, if not all, of the conversations meant nothing in particular to him. Maybe Kate would be able to drag some wheat out of the chaff of whining and gossip.
    Maybe not.
    A lot of investigative work was a sheer waste of time. It was the nature of the beast. You never knew where a trail would lead until you followed it to a dead end.
    Kate appeared in front of him.
    Carter was about two inches behind her.
    “Cash, please,” Kate said, holding out her hand.
    Sam pulled out the wallet he’d filled with cash. Getting the money had damn near wiped out her bank accounts and his own, because he hadn’t dared to put in a request for FBI undercover funds to establish his confidential informant’s stature on the buying and selling circuit.
    And Kate had made it painfully clear that credit cards and checks weren’t welcome. Cash and carry. Period.
    He handed the wallet over to her without a flicker, as though he didn’t have any money at stake. But while he was doing it, he made sure that Carter got a good look at the weapon harness Kate’s “bodyguard” wore. Maybe seeing the gun would take some of the zip out of the jerk’s joystick.
    With no expression, Sam watched Kate count out bills. When she handed the wallet back to him, he put it away. Two minutes later the rough was wrapped up and stashed in her bag.
    Without saying a word, she went back to the table that held a rough rainbow of colors.
    Sam followed, crowding out Carter just for the pleasure of it. The TV in the corner was running a banner across the bottom: Live from the Scottsdale Royale. Sam gave up on Carter for the moment and eased closer to the TV. There was a medium close-up of an earnest blonde holding her exaggerated lips close to a microphone. He couldn’t hear all of what Tawny Dawn said, but he heard enough.
    “Sources close to the investigation…the Purcells were involved with the South American gangs…plaguing the jewelry trade.” Tawny turned aside. The camera shifted. “FBI Special Agent Mario Hernandez, could you tell us…”
    Sam bit back a curse. Kennedy must have his balls in a twist if he was playing the old “try the victims if you can’t try the crime” game for the news vultures.
    At least now Sam didn’t have to call Mario or Doug. Not much doubt about what they were going to tell him.
    He still didn’t want to hear it.
    Sorry you got the short straw, Mario. But look at it this way—you’re learning how to handle TV reporters.
    Carter made his move on Kate, closing the last two inches of space between them. About three seconds later Sam stepped hard all over Carter’s loafers.
    “Watch it!” Carter said angrily.
    “Stop crowding her,” Sam said in a voice only Carter could hear.
    The man might have been pretty, but he wasn’t stupid. He took one look at Sam’s eyes and backed off all the way to the other side of the room.
    Sam resumed watching and listening to the men milling around while Kate looked at a piece of deep blue rough. She went through four different loupes from her bag, examining the rough as thoroughly as she could without a microscope. Then she put the rough down and shook her head.
    “I asked to see only natural rough,” she said distinctly.
    The sound level in the room dropped.
    “I’m sorry, Ms….?” the Butterworth employee said.
    “Collins,” Kate supplied.
    “Ms. Collins, you’re mistaken. This is a fine Burmese blue, untreated. I have the certificate to prove it.”
    The employee reached into a drawer beneath the case. A moment later he pulled out a piece of paper with a Swiss lab certification of 43.7 carats of blue sapphire from Burma. He slapped it down in front of Kate.
    She read it with the kind of speed that said she’d seen a lot of gem certifications.
    “Very nice,” she said evenly. “There’s just one problem.”
    “Really. What would that be?” the employee asked. His voice said he didn’t believe her.
    Though no one moved closer, everyone was quiet, listening. It wasn’t uncommon for a stone to be questioned, but it was always interesting when it happened.
    “Untreated Burmese blue with origins as described in that certificatewould have pyrrhotite inclusions,” Kate said evenly. “I haven’t found any hint of them with even my 40x loupe. Perhaps you could point them out to me?”
    The employee’s mouth opened, closed, and stayed