you doing?” I asked.
“I’ll have some clothes for you. You’re sure 5:00 will work?”
“I’ll make it work. I’ll get someone to come in early.”
“Alright. I’ve got some shit to do,” he said. “See you at 5:00. I’ll just pick you up here.”
I grinned. “Okay.”
“See you then.”
“Hey, you told Patel you were gonna…”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Patel’s an asshole.”
One more reason I liked Dick.
“That, he is.”
He reached for the door and turned around. “See you at 5:00.”
FOURTEEN
Dick
“SO , the day I made the pickup and the delivery for Drake, I called him. I made him think I was already there – ready to do the drop-off – and that Duc’s guys were waiting to receive the package.”
“Okay,” Jess said.
“But I wasn’t. I looked in the case to see what I was delivering, and it was a huge fucking diamond. $3,000,000 worth of diamond. And Drake said he was selling it for a $1,000,000. So, I came home, got $1,000,000, kept the diamond, and gave my money to Drake. Unless he heard otherwise, he’d assume the money came from Duc.”
I’d picked Jess up from work and we were sitting in my living room going over my plan. She sat on the couch across from me, and I sat beside the clothes I’d purchased for her on the loveseat. It seemed strange trusting her – because I trusted no one – but after her performance during the car chase with the cops, trusting her seemed to come pretty easy.
Her eyes widened. “Duc’s the guy from the noodle place? With Drake?”
I nodded. “That’s him.”
“This is so exciting.”
“I’m not done yet.”
“Sorry.”
“So, I took the diamond to a buyer. There’s only a few guys in town that’ll buy a stone like that, and I took it to one who I’ve dealt with in the past. He offered me $3,000,000, which would make me $2,000,000 profit. He needed a few days to get the money from investors, so I took the stone and left. On my way to the car…”
I pointed to the gash on the top of my head. “Some fucker smacked me. When I woke up, no diamond.”
“No honor amongst thieves,” she said.
“Exactly.”
“So what were you going to do when Duc said he never got it. That you didn’t deliver it?”
“He’d tell Drake. Drake would call me, and I’d tell him that one of Duc’s crew paid me for it. The phone call I made to him from Chinatown with all the gooks chatting in the background would support it.”
She looked confused. “But then they’d just say they didn’t get it. That you were lying.”
“And I’d say they did. Drake would believe me. And Duc would question his guys because he doesn’t trust anyone. It’d start a war within his little crew, and I hate that fucker.”
“Wouldn’t Drake just assume you did what you did?”
I shook my head. “No one thinks I’ve got that kind of liquid cash.”
“It’s crazy that you do.”
I shrugged. “Gotta have money to make money.”
“So, now what?”
I raised my index finger. “I’m getting to that. What do you know about diamonds?”
She spread her fingers apart and turned the backs of her hands toward me. “Do I look like I know anything about diamonds?”
“I’ll give you a quick lesson in a minute. Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to get dressed up and become a rich single widow. You’re going to be 30, and your husband, who was 50, died last year of a heart attack. Now, a year later, your diamond ring was misplaced and then stolen while you were getting a massage. When you got home and realized you didn’t have it, you called the parlor, and it wasn’t there. Whatever. Make something up. But you’re looking for a replacement ring. Your husband was some oil tycoon, and money’s no object. All you really care about is the size. And you want a big one.”
“So who am I buying this diamond from? Not Duc?” she asked.
“No. You’re going to the jeweler who I tried to sell it to. Anyone around here who
“I’ll have some clothes for you. You’re sure 5:00 will work?”
“I’ll make it work. I’ll get someone to come in early.”
“Alright. I’ve got some shit to do,” he said. “See you at 5:00. I’ll just pick you up here.”
I grinned. “Okay.”
“See you then.”
“Hey, you told Patel you were gonna…”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Patel’s an asshole.”
One more reason I liked Dick.
“That, he is.”
He reached for the door and turned around. “See you at 5:00.”
FOURTEEN
Dick
“SO , the day I made the pickup and the delivery for Drake, I called him. I made him think I was already there – ready to do the drop-off – and that Duc’s guys were waiting to receive the package.”
“Okay,” Jess said.
“But I wasn’t. I looked in the case to see what I was delivering, and it was a huge fucking diamond. $3,000,000 worth of diamond. And Drake said he was selling it for a $1,000,000. So, I came home, got $1,000,000, kept the diamond, and gave my money to Drake. Unless he heard otherwise, he’d assume the money came from Duc.”
I’d picked Jess up from work and we were sitting in my living room going over my plan. She sat on the couch across from me, and I sat beside the clothes I’d purchased for her on the loveseat. It seemed strange trusting her – because I trusted no one – but after her performance during the car chase with the cops, trusting her seemed to come pretty easy.
Her eyes widened. “Duc’s the guy from the noodle place? With Drake?”
I nodded. “That’s him.”
“This is so exciting.”
“I’m not done yet.”
“Sorry.”
“So, I took the diamond to a buyer. There’s only a few guys in town that’ll buy a stone like that, and I took it to one who I’ve dealt with in the past. He offered me $3,000,000, which would make me $2,000,000 profit. He needed a few days to get the money from investors, so I took the stone and left. On my way to the car…”
I pointed to the gash on the top of my head. “Some fucker smacked me. When I woke up, no diamond.”
“No honor amongst thieves,” she said.
“Exactly.”
“So what were you going to do when Duc said he never got it. That you didn’t deliver it?”
“He’d tell Drake. Drake would call me, and I’d tell him that one of Duc’s crew paid me for it. The phone call I made to him from Chinatown with all the gooks chatting in the background would support it.”
She looked confused. “But then they’d just say they didn’t get it. That you were lying.”
“And I’d say they did. Drake would believe me. And Duc would question his guys because he doesn’t trust anyone. It’d start a war within his little crew, and I hate that fucker.”
“Wouldn’t Drake just assume you did what you did?”
I shook my head. “No one thinks I’ve got that kind of liquid cash.”
“It’s crazy that you do.”
I shrugged. “Gotta have money to make money.”
“So, now what?”
I raised my index finger. “I’m getting to that. What do you know about diamonds?”
She spread her fingers apart and turned the backs of her hands toward me. “Do I look like I know anything about diamonds?”
“I’ll give you a quick lesson in a minute. Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to get dressed up and become a rich single widow. You’re going to be 30, and your husband, who was 50, died last year of a heart attack. Now, a year later, your diamond ring was misplaced and then stolen while you were getting a massage. When you got home and realized you didn’t have it, you called the parlor, and it wasn’t there. Whatever. Make something up. But you’re looking for a replacement ring. Your husband was some oil tycoon, and money’s no object. All you really care about is the size. And you want a big one.”
“So who am I buying this diamond from? Not Duc?” she asked.
“No. You’re going to the jeweler who I tried to sell it to. Anyone around here who
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