Rarities Unlimited 04 - The Color of Death

handled the rough for the Seven Sins?” Sam asked quickly.
    “Um.” She scratched carefully beneath the back part of the wig, trying not to dislodge it.
    He didn’t look at her. He told himself he couldn’t smell her elusive, maddening perfume. He told himself he couldn’t still taste her. He told himself a lot of lies while he watched the floor numbers crawl by as though they held the secret to winning the next big lottery and weren’t going to give it up anytime soon.
    “There are a lot of gem traders,” she said finally, prodding another part of the wig, “but only a handful that would be able to purchase and resell world-class rough and finished goods.”
    “Why didn’t you mention that before?”
    “I didn’t think it mattered. The rough wasn’t stolen from CGSI. They don’t make regular deliveries in any sense of the word, so they haven’t suffered the losses bigger, less specialized traders have.”
    “Did you approach CGSI at any other show since Lee went missing?”
    “They weren’t showing anywhere. The Scottsdale event is new to the high-end circuit. CGSI wants to show the flag in case there’s a rich collector out here who’s been living under a cactus and hasn’t heard of them. Then there are the German collectors and cutters. They turn out for anything that’s within driving distance of red-rock country, which means that Arizona is a big favorite with them.”
    “So no one here is likely to recognize you?”
    “No. I’ve never bought anything from CGSI. Couldn’t afford it.”
    “You still can’t. Keep it in mind.”
    “Don’t look so worried. Bodyguards are supposed to be calm yet alert.”
    He said something under his breath and rapped on the closed door of room 1516. The door opened just enough to show a two-inchslice of someone who had all the welcoming qualities of a junk-yard dog.
    “Ms. Collins and bodyguard,” Sam said, and hoped the man wasn’t as familiar as he looked.
    The guard closed the door to a slit, flipped through a list, and opened the door. He was wearing a weapon harness and the attitude of a man who was used to being armed.
    It was Bill Colton.
    Neither man showed any recognition of the other, but Colton looked at Kate like he was memorizing her.
    Sam had no doubt that he was.
    Kate gave the guard a glance and nothing more. She headed straight for the table that had every color in the rainbow except red. Unlike other dealers, CGSI didn’t divide rough and finished goods. Rather they left them together to reinforce and enhance each other. If the buzz in the room was any example, it worked.
    Wondering how to warn her about Colton, Sam stood near Kate when she bent over the sapphire display.
    “Who was that?” she asked quietly.
    Once again, Sam was grateful that Kate was smart rather than slow. “My roomie.”
    “Your…” She remembered his earlier sardonic summary of Colton. “Oh, shit.”
    “Something like that.”
    “Want to leave?”
    “The damage is done. Let’s see if something good can come out of it.”
    “Some gorgeous stones would come if we could afford the rough,” Kate said wistfully.
    Sam looked at the display. Even to his untrained eye, the gems seemed brighter, cleaner, more colorful than anything he’d seen before. He whistled softly.
    “Yes,” Kate said, running a fingertip lightly over a deep blue gem that exactly matched the color of Sam’s eyes. “This is like going to the Smithsonian and lusting after their gems.”
    “Good thing I have control of the wallet.”
    Kate rolled her eyes.
    The table just beyond Sam held rubies in every shade, tint, and tone of the color called red. Two men were standing close to it. One man was looking. The other was talking.
    “It’s the gem of the future, I tell you,” the man said emphatically, pointing to the ruby display. “Emeralds are tainted by politics, sapphires are just too common, and diamonds aren’t worth investing in because DeBeers isn’t propping up the market anymore what with all the new synthetics. That leaves rubies. And these, my friend, are rubies. ”
    “Salesman?” Sam murmured against Kate’s hair.
    Her breath caught at the stir of warmth. “Not unless it’s used cars. I’m betting the silent one is an investor and the noisy one is a trader who has an ‘understanding’ with CGSI.”
    “He brings a live one to the cash register, he gets part of the kill?”
    Kate laughed softly. “Bingo.”
    As they had in the last five private showings,