from his own efforts. The question was: had they reaped any reward for their labours? The answer to that lay in Oleg Samsonov’s personal files and hidden behind an encrypted security wall that Paul Dornberger hadn’t dared attempt to breach. Fortunately, there was another way. Calculating that the researchers and dealers were unlikely to have been told of the significance of their target, he simply used his authority to contact each of them in turn to ask for an update on their position. The message? No progress. He couldn’t be a hundred per cent certain that the Berlin break-in artist had been unsuccessful, but the fact that the agreed , up-front payment had not been followed by a bonus, led him to believe that was the case.
He had asked his father why they put so much effort into shadowing Samsonov when they already had the Crown. The question had earned him a dangerous stare that had reminded him of the hours in the cellar.
‘Fool! In seeking the Crown, the Russian seeks the Eye, because without the Eye the Crown is nothing but a golden trinket. No man, not even a man as rich as Samsonov, would expend hundreds of thousands of pounds to possess such a thing. Somehow, he has learned of the true nature of the Crown of Isis’s power. As he gets closer to the Crown he will inevitably come across Hartmann’s trail. With his resources he will track down the thief much more quickly than we would ever be able to and where he leads you will follow.’
He had nodded and moved to go, but his father was not finished. ‘Paul.’ The voice was tired and looking back to that day he could recognize the first weariness of the old man’s decline. ‘There is another reason. When Samsonov finds Hartmann’s trail, it is inevitable he will also find my own. If that happens there may come a time when you have to deal with our Russian friend. Do you understand?’
XIV
‘THE EYE OF Isis is a jewel?’
He could see the excitement building as the calculations ran through her mind. ‘
And at its centre, the great gemstone known as the Eye of Isis
,’ he repeated.
‘A diamond, you reckon? A great big diamond.’
‘A diamond or a ruby. Remember the red teardrop on the eye symbol. That would make sense.’
‘How big is a
great gemstone
? How much would it be worth today?’
‘Let’s not get carried away, Detective,’ he laughed. ‘We’re talking about a single reference in a single book. And not from a historian or an academic. You said yourself this is a book of fairytales.’
‘But it must have come from somewhere. It’s too specific. The description is too precise. You don’t make stuff like that up.’
‘Don’t kid yourself, it may be a hundred years ago, but these guys were in the business of selling books.’
She gave him her shrewd look. ‘But you don’t believe that.’
He didn’t reply. The truth was that he wanted to believe in the existence of an enormous unknown diamond.
‘How big would it be? Gimme your best guess.’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t know enough to make a guess. Wait here.’
She sat for five minutes, taking in the very English unfamiliarity of what was going on around her in the museum until he returned with another book.
‘The only big diamond I know anything about is the Koh-i-noor, which is part of the Crown Jewels, that’s—’
‘Yeah, Jamie,’ her voice dripped with sarcasm, ‘I’ve heard of the Crown Jewels.’
‘Well, it says here that the Koh-i-noor, also known as the Mountain of Light, is the size and shape of a small hen’s egg. About this,’ he made an oval with his thumb and fingers, ‘and it weighs about 109 carats. That’s after it was cut and polished for Queen Victoria in the mid-nineteenth century, on the personal orders of Prince Albert. Before it was cut it weighed in at 186 carats.’
‘They cut it in half?’
He nodded. ‘It was very controversial at the time. Many people thought Albert, who wasn’t particularly popular, had botched
He had asked his father why they put so much effort into shadowing Samsonov when they already had the Crown. The question had earned him a dangerous stare that had reminded him of the hours in the cellar.
‘Fool! In seeking the Crown, the Russian seeks the Eye, because without the Eye the Crown is nothing but a golden trinket. No man, not even a man as rich as Samsonov, would expend hundreds of thousands of pounds to possess such a thing. Somehow, he has learned of the true nature of the Crown of Isis’s power. As he gets closer to the Crown he will inevitably come across Hartmann’s trail. With his resources he will track down the thief much more quickly than we would ever be able to and where he leads you will follow.’
He had nodded and moved to go, but his father was not finished. ‘Paul.’ The voice was tired and looking back to that day he could recognize the first weariness of the old man’s decline. ‘There is another reason. When Samsonov finds Hartmann’s trail, it is inevitable he will also find my own. If that happens there may come a time when you have to deal with our Russian friend. Do you understand?’
XIV
‘THE EYE OF Isis is a jewel?’
He could see the excitement building as the calculations ran through her mind. ‘
And at its centre, the great gemstone known as the Eye of Isis
,’ he repeated.
‘A diamond, you reckon? A great big diamond.’
‘A diamond or a ruby. Remember the red teardrop on the eye symbol. That would make sense.’
‘How big is a
great gemstone
? How much would it be worth today?’
‘Let’s not get carried away, Detective,’ he laughed. ‘We’re talking about a single reference in a single book. And not from a historian or an academic. You said yourself this is a book of fairytales.’
‘But it must have come from somewhere. It’s too specific. The description is too precise. You don’t make stuff like that up.’
‘Don’t kid yourself, it may be a hundred years ago, but these guys were in the business of selling books.’
She gave him her shrewd look. ‘But you don’t believe that.’
He didn’t reply. The truth was that he wanted to believe in the existence of an enormous unknown diamond.
‘How big would it be? Gimme your best guess.’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t know enough to make a guess. Wait here.’
She sat for five minutes, taking in the very English unfamiliarity of what was going on around her in the museum until he returned with another book.
‘The only big diamond I know anything about is the Koh-i-noor, which is part of the Crown Jewels, that’s—’
‘Yeah, Jamie,’ her voice dripped with sarcasm, ‘I’ve heard of the Crown Jewels.’
‘Well, it says here that the Koh-i-noor, also known as the Mountain of Light, is the size and shape of a small hen’s egg. About this,’ he made an oval with his thumb and fingers, ‘and it weighs about 109 carats. That’s after it was cut and polished for Queen Victoria in the mid-nineteenth century, on the personal orders of Prince Albert. Before it was cut it weighed in at 186 carats.’
‘They cut it in half?’
He nodded. ‘It was very controversial at the time. Many people thought Albert, who wasn’t particularly popular, had botched
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