CHAPTER ONE
“ What? Did you just say it was a fake?” I stared at Susie, shaking my head. I looked back at my beautiful, sparkling diamond ring again. “I don’t believe it!” I knew Susie had been working at Courtland’s Gems for a while so she knew a lot about jewelry, but she had to be wrong about my ring.
“ I’m so sorry, Janet. I really am, but it’s not real. Let me show you again.”
I handed Susie the diamond ring and she held it up between her thumb and index finger. She clicked on the diamond tester she was holding in her other hand and placed the metal tip on top of the stone. The tester made a low, rattling noise.
“ Hear that noise? It should make a loud, clear beep if it’s a real diamond.”
“ Well, maybe the batteries are dead,” I replied.
“ No, it works fine. See, this is the sound the tester would make if the diamond was real,” she said, gently placing my ring on the counter top. Reaching under the glass counter, Susie pulled out a pear-shaped diamond ring from the velvet display case it was nestled in. She placed the tester tip on the surface of the diamond and almost immediately a crystal clear beep emitted from the tool.
“ See how loud and clear that was?” she asked, setting the ring down. Picking up my ring again, she placed the nib of the tester back on the jewel. The same rattling noise from before cracked out of it.
I shook my head in disbelief. “It can’t be fake. It just can’t!”
“ Here is another test you can do,” Susie said as she put down the diamond tester and picked up both rings. She huffed on the two diamonds. “See this?” she asked, pointing at the jewels. “A real diamond conducts heat well, so the fog from my breath clears fast.”
“ But it’s from Eldon’s,” I said shaking my head. “When I take it off at night, I put the ring in the trinket holder you and Anne gave me, but I kept the original box it came in too.” At my recent Christmas party, Susie and her co-worker, Anne, who was a mutual friend of ours, had given me a lovely ceramic box. It was such a sweet gift, and a timely one, as Bob and I had announced our engagement that evening. The trinket box was perfect to put on my dresser and hold the sparkly ring when I wasn’t wearing it, but I’d saved the Eldon’s box in my jewelry drawer. Even though it was just dressed up cardboard, it was too special and pretty to throw away.
I reached into my purse and pulled out the distinctive gold and green Eldon’s box. Everyone knew that the name ‘Eldon’s’ was synonymous with fine jewelry. Bob had bought it for me at one of their stores when he was traveling.
I admit, I’d felt a little embarrassed that Bob had not bought the ring from Courtland’s. He knew that Sam, aka Samantha, the owner of Courtland’s Gems, was a friend of mine. Though Sam, Susie, and Anne had congratulated me, I was sure they were surprised he hadn’t purchased the ring from their store also. We all knew the jewelry store was struggling to keep their doors open and a sizeable purchase like this one would have helped them a lot. But Bob had said he saw it when he was traveling and thought it was perfect for me, so he’d just had to buy it.
I held the box out to Susie.
Susie winced. “I’m so sorry, Janet. It’s not real.”
“ But it came in this box from Eldon’s!” I cried aloud.
“ That box could have been from his mother. It could have come from at thrift store, or maybe from eBay?”
I shook my head, puzzled. “eBay?”
“ Yeah,” Susie nodded. “People actually sell empty boxes on auction sites like eBay. You can find a variety on there, especially for high priced watches.”
“ Well, what is the point of doing tha…”
“One reason would be to fool someone into thinking they were getting something they weren’t,” Susie grimaced.
I could feel my skin flush. “Bob would never do that.”
Susie looked off into the distance. I knew she felt as uncomfortable as I
“ What? Did you just say it was a fake?” I stared at Susie, shaking my head. I looked back at my beautiful, sparkling diamond ring again. “I don’t believe it!” I knew Susie had been working at Courtland’s Gems for a while so she knew a lot about jewelry, but she had to be wrong about my ring.
“ I’m so sorry, Janet. I really am, but it’s not real. Let me show you again.”
I handed Susie the diamond ring and she held it up between her thumb and index finger. She clicked on the diamond tester she was holding in her other hand and placed the metal tip on top of the stone. The tester made a low, rattling noise.
“ Hear that noise? It should make a loud, clear beep if it’s a real diamond.”
“ Well, maybe the batteries are dead,” I replied.
“ No, it works fine. See, this is the sound the tester would make if the diamond was real,” she said, gently placing my ring on the counter top. Reaching under the glass counter, Susie pulled out a pear-shaped diamond ring from the velvet display case it was nestled in. She placed the tester tip on the surface of the diamond and almost immediately a crystal clear beep emitted from the tool.
“ See how loud and clear that was?” she asked, setting the ring down. Picking up my ring again, she placed the nib of the tester back on the jewel. The same rattling noise from before cracked out of it.
I shook my head in disbelief. “It can’t be fake. It just can’t!”
“ Here is another test you can do,” Susie said as she put down the diamond tester and picked up both rings. She huffed on the two diamonds. “See this?” she asked, pointing at the jewels. “A real diamond conducts heat well, so the fog from my breath clears fast.”
“ But it’s from Eldon’s,” I said shaking my head. “When I take it off at night, I put the ring in the trinket holder you and Anne gave me, but I kept the original box it came in too.” At my recent Christmas party, Susie and her co-worker, Anne, who was a mutual friend of ours, had given me a lovely ceramic box. It was such a sweet gift, and a timely one, as Bob and I had announced our engagement that evening. The trinket box was perfect to put on my dresser and hold the sparkly ring when I wasn’t wearing it, but I’d saved the Eldon’s box in my jewelry drawer. Even though it was just dressed up cardboard, it was too special and pretty to throw away.
I reached into my purse and pulled out the distinctive gold and green Eldon’s box. Everyone knew that the name ‘Eldon’s’ was synonymous with fine jewelry. Bob had bought it for me at one of their stores when he was traveling.
I admit, I’d felt a little embarrassed that Bob had not bought the ring from Courtland’s. He knew that Sam, aka Samantha, the owner of Courtland’s Gems, was a friend of mine. Though Sam, Susie, and Anne had congratulated me, I was sure they were surprised he hadn’t purchased the ring from their store also. We all knew the jewelry store was struggling to keep their doors open and a sizeable purchase like this one would have helped them a lot. But Bob had said he saw it when he was traveling and thought it was perfect for me, so he’d just had to buy it.
I held the box out to Susie.
Susie winced. “I’m so sorry, Janet. It’s not real.”
“ But it came in this box from Eldon’s!” I cried aloud.
“ That box could have been from his mother. It could have come from at thrift store, or maybe from eBay?”
I shook my head, puzzled. “eBay?”
“ Yeah,” Susie nodded. “People actually sell empty boxes on auction sites like eBay. You can find a variety on there, especially for high priced watches.”
“ Well, what is the point of doing tha…”
“One reason would be to fool someone into thinking they were getting something they weren’t,” Susie grimaced.
I could feel my skin flush. “Bob would never do that.”
Susie looked off into the distance. I knew she felt as uncomfortable as I
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