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Authors: James Craig
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at the remains of the bullet camera hanging from the ceiling in the corner. ‘What happened to that?’
Carlyle shrugged. ‘Dunno.’ Taking a seat, he gingerly tasted the coffee and tried not to wince. ‘Okay,’ he said, once he’d regained his composure, ‘where do you want to start?’
Cole picked the top document from his pile and handed it to Carlyle. ‘This is a list of the items that are missing from St James’s Diamonds following the robbery.’
‘Thanks.’ Carlyle counted eight sheets of A4 paper stapled together in the top left-hand corner. He scanned the neatly typed, single spaced list of jewellery, with their prices attached:
A single stone diamond ring, the round brilliant-cut diamond weighing 4.05 cts of H colour, SI1 clarity, with Gemmological Laboratory certificate number 3001518968, eight-claw set to a platinum crown collet, with tapered D-section shank, cheniered shoulders, hallmarked platinum London 2002, gross weight 5.3 grams – £98,000.
A fin-de-siècle dragonfly brooch, the two pairs of wings encrusted with rose and old brilliant-cut diamonds, silver set to a pierced gold mount, wingspan 6.1 cm, a curved tail of nine graduated oval pearls, set in gold and measuring 3.9 cm, the body of an oval shape faceted emerald, eight-claw set to a gold mount, the head encrusted with rose-cut diamonds and cabochon-cut ruby eyes, the legs of carved gold, gross weight 15.1 grams, circa 1860 – £18,250.
10 × Picos Chronograph Watch in stainless steel with black rubber and silver and black dial. Size large, 42 mm case, chronograph function, mechanical movement with automatic winding, date window, water resistant to 100 metres/328 feet (10 bars), Swiss-made – £5,300.
A single stone diamond ring, the round brilliant-cut diamond weighing 6.06 cts, of F colour, VVS1 clarity, Precious Stone Laboratory certificate number 4002318781, four double claw-set to a platinum collet, to a tapered D-section shank with tapered baguette-cut diamond-set shoulders, bearing the Evelyn Shaw sponsor mark, gross weight 7.1 grams – £495,580.
£495,580? It slowly dawned on him that the price was almost half a million pounds. For a fucking ring! Holy shit! Carlyle’s brain went into overdrive, bombarding him with questions. How much had he spent on Helen’s engagement ring? He couldn’t remember. How many years would he have to work, to earn that kind of money? After tax? He couldn’t work it out. Many, many decades was the best he could come up with. Resisting the urge to let out a low whistle, he looked up at Cole. ‘How much in total?’
Cole pointed to the papers in Carlyle’s hands. ‘It’s on page eight.’
Carlyle quickly flipped to the last page and the number in bold at the bottom. This time he did whistle. ‘My God,’ he said, dropping the list onto the table. ‘You mean to tell me that these comedians got away with almost forty million quid’s worth of gear?’
Cole clasped his hands together, as if in prayer. ‘Not exactly, Inspector,’ he said.
Carlyle frowned. ‘What do you mean, “not exactly”?’
‘Well,’ Cole explained, ‘a preliminary review of the security cameras seems to suggest that not all of the items went missing in the course of the robbery.’
How were you able to review the CCTV pictures already? Carlyle wondered. However, he let the point slide as he waited for Cole to spell it out.
‘There are at least three items on that list,’ Cole continued evenly, ‘that we believe were in the store when the police arrived.’
Carlyle quickly held up a hand. The last thing he needed now was two cases of theft to deal with. ‘If you let me have a copy of your report,’ he said, sitting up straight to convey the seriousness with which he was taking the matter, ‘I will look through all of this in detail. You can rest assured that it is my intention to recover all of your property as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I will keep you informed of all
Carlyle shrugged. ‘Dunno.’ Taking a seat, he gingerly tasted the coffee and tried not to wince. ‘Okay,’ he said, once he’d regained his composure, ‘where do you want to start?’
Cole picked the top document from his pile and handed it to Carlyle. ‘This is a list of the items that are missing from St James’s Diamonds following the robbery.’
‘Thanks.’ Carlyle counted eight sheets of A4 paper stapled together in the top left-hand corner. He scanned the neatly typed, single spaced list of jewellery, with their prices attached:
A single stone diamond ring, the round brilliant-cut diamond weighing 4.05 cts of H colour, SI1 clarity, with Gemmological Laboratory certificate number 3001518968, eight-claw set to a platinum crown collet, with tapered D-section shank, cheniered shoulders, hallmarked platinum London 2002, gross weight 5.3 grams – £98,000.
A fin-de-siècle dragonfly brooch, the two pairs of wings encrusted with rose and old brilliant-cut diamonds, silver set to a pierced gold mount, wingspan 6.1 cm, a curved tail of nine graduated oval pearls, set in gold and measuring 3.9 cm, the body of an oval shape faceted emerald, eight-claw set to a gold mount, the head encrusted with rose-cut diamonds and cabochon-cut ruby eyes, the legs of carved gold, gross weight 15.1 grams, circa 1860 – £18,250.
10 × Picos Chronograph Watch in stainless steel with black rubber and silver and black dial. Size large, 42 mm case, chronograph function, mechanical movement with automatic winding, date window, water resistant to 100 metres/328 feet (10 bars), Swiss-made – £5,300.
A single stone diamond ring, the round brilliant-cut diamond weighing 6.06 cts, of F colour, VVS1 clarity, Precious Stone Laboratory certificate number 4002318781, four double claw-set to a platinum collet, to a tapered D-section shank with tapered baguette-cut diamond-set shoulders, bearing the Evelyn Shaw sponsor mark, gross weight 7.1 grams – £495,580.
£495,580? It slowly dawned on him that the price was almost half a million pounds. For a fucking ring! Holy shit! Carlyle’s brain went into overdrive, bombarding him with questions. How much had he spent on Helen’s engagement ring? He couldn’t remember. How many years would he have to work, to earn that kind of money? After tax? He couldn’t work it out. Many, many decades was the best he could come up with. Resisting the urge to let out a low whistle, he looked up at Cole. ‘How much in total?’
Cole pointed to the papers in Carlyle’s hands. ‘It’s on page eight.’
Carlyle quickly flipped to the last page and the number in bold at the bottom. This time he did whistle. ‘My God,’ he said, dropping the list onto the table. ‘You mean to tell me that these comedians got away with almost forty million quid’s worth of gear?’
Cole clasped his hands together, as if in prayer. ‘Not exactly, Inspector,’ he said.
Carlyle frowned. ‘What do you mean, “not exactly”?’
‘Well,’ Cole explained, ‘a preliminary review of the security cameras seems to suggest that not all of the items went missing in the course of the robbery.’
How were you able to review the CCTV pictures already? Carlyle wondered. However, he let the point slide as he waited for Cole to spell it out.
‘There are at least three items on that list,’ Cole continued evenly, ‘that we believe were in the store when the police arrived.’
Carlyle quickly held up a hand. The last thing he needed now was two cases of theft to deal with. ‘If you let me have a copy of your report,’ he said, sitting up straight to convey the seriousness with which he was taking the matter, ‘I will look through all of this in detail. You can rest assured that it is my intention to recover all of your property as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I will keep you informed of all
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