Sanctuary by Faye Kellerman Page A

with a client.” His finger scanned down the calendar. “Last I saw Arik was maybe Friday morning around…ten.”
    “You have no idea where the family might have gone?”
    “None whatsoever. I don’t mind telling you I’m scared for the family. People think they have plenty of money just lying around the house. What we have is inventory and investments, but burglar doesn’t know that. He puts gun to your head anyway. Says open the vault. He doesn’t see cash, he sees stones that are hard to fence.”
    “I take it you’ve checked the vault?”
    “As soon as you called and told me about the family is gone, I checked the common vault. Nothing is missing.”
    “Does Arik have his own private inventory?”
    “I think no.”
    “You’re sure?”
    “Yes. We’re partners.”
    Decker smiled. “You’ve never heard of partners cheating each other?”
    Gold waved him off. “That is not a problem, I promise you.”
    Decker paused. “You check up on him, don’t you, Mr. Gold.”
    “Cheating is not a problem,” Gold stated once again.
    “I’m just wondering if Mr. Yalom has diamonds that are not part of your business partnership. Maybe diamonds acquired from Mrs. Yalom’s wealth.”
    Gold shrugged, then lit another cigarette. “Maybe. I never thought about that…but maybe.”
    “The thought seems to bother you.”
    Gold hid behind a cloud of nicotine. “What do I care what Arik does with his money?”
    Decker waved the smoke away from his face but didn’t answer.
    Gold put out the cigarette. “Why do you ask about Arik’s money?”
    “If somebody robbed him, Mr. Gold, I’m wondering what they would take from the house if the vault is here in the diamond center.”
    “Maybe Arik has a safe at home. We’re partners, but I don’t know everything about his personal life.”
    “How’d you two become partners?”
    “He brought me into the business as a salesman. Arik is a terrible salesman.” Gold sat back in his chair. “I can sell anything. Believe me, Mr. Detective, I could have even sold you a diamond if I want. So it works well that Arik picks the diamonds and says when to sell. And I get the clients and match the stones to the clients. I just wish we could get more of the good stuff. It’s not always easy to pick up stones at the right price. They keep the quantity limited, you know.”
    “Who does?”
    “VerHauten. You know about them?”
    “It’s a South African diamond company, isn’t it?”
    “More than a company. VerHauten is a nation to itself.”
    “Tell me about them.”
    “What’s to tell? They own eighty percent of the diamond mines. VerHauten mines a little more, they bring in more diamonds to sell and they make money. They mine less, they bring in less diamonds, the price of diamonds goes up, they make money, too. They not only own the mines, they own the distribution of the stones. No one can compete against them.”
    Decker sensed that Gold was talking from a point of personal experience. “You’ve tried competing with them?”
    Gold burst into laughter. “Me? I’m nothing. A glob of spit. I can’t compete with VerHauten.” Again, he laughed. “No, it’s impossible even for the big dealers, let alone small potatoes like me and Arik. No one even tries.”
    “You said they own eighty percent of the mines,” Decker said. “Who owns the other twenty percent?”
    “There are other mines—in Africa, in Canada, in Russia,” Gold said. “Big mines in Russia in the north area. A region called Yakutia. They are government mines. The last I heard the Russian government was setting up a joint venture with VerHauten. It’s a smart move. The Russians may be able to mine diamonds, but they can’t distribute them without VerHauten’s blessing.”
    “Why not?”
    “Where would they set up shop?”
    “Why not in Russia?”
    “The minute VerHauten finds out about competitors, they either buy them out or undersell them. They own the market. What does this have to do with