The Diamond Hunter Read online

  They shook hands and Reuben gestured for Reggie to join him at the counter. He obliged, and the group in the workroom was now close enough to the action that Clem felt she could reach through the peephole and touch her uncle. She could certainly make a noise to alert him.

  Will touched her elbow. It was only a light squeeze, and he let go immediately, but something in his sad yet forbidding expression made her relinquish the notion of saving her uncle. Will shook his head once, as if to say, Let it play it out as it must. It spoke to her sense of what was right.

  So be it, she thought, remembering Joseph One-Shoe’s warning that Uncle Reggie loved her but was not to be trusted. It came like a peal of warning bells. This is what Joseph had meant. Perhaps he had known the truth about her father all along but had let Reggie take her back to England, where she was obviously headed towards a better life.

  She swallowed her grief and returned her attention to the two men on the other side of the peephole.

  ‘So, a single buyer?’ Reggie asked.

  ‘No, Mr Grant. It’s a syndicate in America.’

  ‘Excellent. How will it work?’

  ‘They trust me and my contacts to value the stone for purchase. I will pay a deposit on their behalf to secure it. They will send their valuer to view it and then, if all goes to plan, the balance will be paid.’

  ‘How long will that all take?’ Reggie frowned, his tone urgent.

  The son arrived with the coffee tray.

  ‘Perhaps until February. But,’ Reuben said, holding up a finger, ‘I will make the deposit today. The Atlantic is not forgiving at this time of year, Mr Grant, so the American representative will undertake the voyage as soon as it is feasible. I will need ten days or so to make a proper valuation, of course, but even I can see we are talking about a mighty sum of money.’ He smiled at Reggie. ‘May I see it again, Mr Grant?’

  ‘Of course.’

  As Reggie clutched the linen, in which the orb sat in a separate wrap, the diamond specialist unrolled a velvet mat and brought over a magnifying lens on a stand. Reggie admired an elegant electric lamp Reuben was hefting to shine over the roughs. Must be a carbon filament, he thought, to be used with such abandon, for the light had been on since he’d arrived.

  ‘What guarantee do I have if I leave my stones here?’ Reggie asked evenly as he unwrapped first a handful of small stones from a handkerchief. They scattered on the velvet mat like fallen stars.

  It was the son who replied. ‘Our word, Mr Grant.’

  ‘Really?’ He smiled. ‘Benjamin, your father is prepared to trade a diamond that has no paperwork, no formal provenance, despite stringent laws surrounding the exchange of diamonds. I don’t think his word cuts it – or mine, quite frankly. This is not a gentleman’s agreement. This is business, son.’

  ‘It seems . . . shady,’ the son replied, and won a glower from his father.

  ‘Mr Reuben, perhaps your son would prefer to withdraw from our proceedings. I do not require his judgement.’

  ‘My apologies, Mr Grant,’ the son said quickly into the awkward pause. ‘Wrong choice of word. I am more concerned than you can imagine that we are handling a stone lacking provenance.’

  ‘Don’t worry, lad,’ Reggie assured, revealing the large stone. ‘The sight of it will overcome any reservations on the part of the buyers.’

  Behind the wall, Clem gasped, choking off the sound with a gloved hand, as Uncle Reggie placed a familiar rough stone, the size of a golf ball, on the velvet. Everyone now leaned in to get a better look. On the other side of the wall, Uncle Reggie smirked.

  ‘Brilliant, isn’t it? So . . . my security?’

  ‘We shall discuss that,’ the elder Reuben said.

  Clem felt the tension around her ascending. For her, it was the opposite: she was dipping in a sickening swoop as her gaze locked on to Sirius for the first time since childhood. A tidal wave of memories came roaring back. Suddenly she could hear the deep-toned songs of the Africans who dug for others. There were the smells of the dug earth of the Big Hole, the unwashed bodies of men at labour, the aroma of meat cooking in the distance. She could even conjure the aroma of Joseph One-Shoe’s skin, hear his big laugh, feel the curls of his hair when he bent down to whisper to her.

  ‘Mr Grant, just for my own reassurance,’ Reuben said, ‘tell me all you know of this stone, so that when I tell the Americans, I get it precisely in your words.’

  Clem stared at the dull shine of what might be the world’s biggest rough diamond. As she looked at it now, her heart began to pound at the realisation that it could reach over three hundred carats. There was no doubting its quality. She remembered holding it up to the light in their shanty; she’d needed Joseph to support her little palm to lift it.

  ‘Clearwater,’ Joseph had murmured all those years ago. She’d learned that as the diggers’ term for perfection, while also discovering that brokers preferred ‘first water’.

  Her uncle’s voice dragged her back into the present. ‘This was dug from a claim I acquired from a poverty-stricken man. He might have been Australian, I don’t know, but he was a drunk and glad to swap his claim for my money. I had no sense of what I was buying, to tell you the truth, but I got caught up with the romance of digging for diamonds. There was a sort of frantic energy in Kimberley. It felt lawless, as though anything was possible. And, it seems, that was the case. The poor sod couldn’t unearth anything in his claim, yet on our first dig my team found these.’

  ‘Did you not fear the loose tongues of those men?’

  ‘I did, Mr Reuben. I paid them very well with cash and with liquor to make sure every last one of them was still inebriated the next day, by which time I was on my way back to Cape Town.’

  ‘And you left your claim vacant? There could have been more stones like this,’ Reuben said, incredulous. He had clearly been schooled to ask all the right questions, Clementine thought. She was amazed at how easily her uncle was weaving the story.

  ‘I sold my claim to someone at the Kimberley Club. I had this huge diamond, so frankly I no longer cared. I needed to return to England with my niece before her dying grandmother took her final breath. Look, I’m not a greedy man, Mr Reuben. I didn’t care if someone else profited from the claim. I had my prize,’ he said, pointing to the small boulder before them. ‘I had another prize, too. I had a little girl to care for. She was more important than anything else.’ Clem swallowed to hear it. It wasn’t a new sentiment, but it seemed to carry more weight today. ‘I had two precious items of cargo in my care. This child was freshly bereaved and still coming to terms with the death of her mother, let alone the tragic loss of her father.’

  ‘And now you’re dying, you said,’ the younger of the Reubens qualified.

  Clem caught her breath and glanced at Will, who looked baffled.

  ‘That’s right. I’m tidying my affairs, you could say.’

  ‘And Sirius, as you’ve called this stone, is a loose end?’

  ‘If you must see it that way, Benjamin, yes.’

  Clementine watched her uncle glance at the traders.

  ‘Now, gentlemen, I have been candid with you and it’s time you either committed to the sale or returned the diamond. I’m ready to part with it, but I shall want a down payment, a receipt, a photograph of me holding this stone, a document from you saying you have taken custody of it but not ownership, etcetera, etcetera.’ He smiled, awaiting their response.

  ‘One more question, if I may?’ Ben Reuben asked. ‘It’s actually from the American syndicate.’

  ‘Go ahead.’

  ‘Sirius, the name that you’ve coined for this stone. The Americans wondered how you chose that and why.’

  It was the first time she’d seen her uncle look unsure. He frowned. ‘Oh, they can call it anything they wish. That’s just my pet name for it.’

  ‘No, they like it. They specifically asked for the origin of the name.’

  She watched her uncle’s smile falter. ‘Do you know, I can’t
remember. It’s Nordic, isn’t it?’

  The two Reubens gazed back at him, waiting.

  He shrugged. ‘It was a long time ago I nicknamed it that. I suppose I was thinking how strong it looked and gave it a Viking name. Or maybe it’s Latin. I don’t care to recall. Let them rename it any romantic title they choose – the Desert Star, how’s that? Or African Light? That will create distance, too, which is preferable.’

  He sounded confidently dismissive, but Clementine could tell he was uncertain. The question had caught him off guard and she could hear the anxiety in the slightly dry sound of his voice.

  Clem looked down at the toes of her boots. He’d admitted long ago that he knew nothing about astronomy.

  ‘I see,’ Saul Reuben said, and nodded. ‘Never mind. Er, Benjamin, can you fetch my things from the workroom? We shall get Mr Grant sorted out with his deposit.’

  ‘Yes, of course. Please help yourself to coffee, Mr Grant.’

  ‘Don’t mind if I do. Making money makes me thirsty.’

  As Benjamin tiptoed into the workroom, they all moved back from the slithole and turned towards the detective. He sucked his teeth and looked to Clementine.

  ‘Clem?’ It was Will.

  She could hear her uncle and Reuben senior making small talk in the next room. ‘You said there was a witness?’ she whispered.

  ‘It’s time to confront him, Clem,’ Will whispered back. ‘At the very least he has stolen your father’s diamonds, correct?’

  She nodded reluctantly.

  He spoke slightly louder for the policeman to hear. ‘Now, whether you care about that or not is irrelevant. Benjamin Reuben was so spooked by the notion of handling this mysterious diamond that he came clean to the police immediately. I had nothing to do with it, and I doubt very much the detective feels terribly comfortable about being dragged into what is essentially entrapment.’

  The detective nodded, murmured softly. ‘No judge would go for this.’

  ‘I’m glad you see it that way,’ she said.

  She’d never been scared of confrontation and she was going to show Will Axford that she would not back down. She needed to extricate her uncle from this situation immediately.

  Clem spun on her heel, and Will had to chase her down the small corridor. She entered the room just as her uncle turned around from the fireplace with a puzzled expression.

  ‘Clem?’ he said, sounding delighted but baffled. Then his gaze shifted as Will Axford arrived, followed by a stranger, a big man wearing an overcoat, and then Sammy Izak. She could see from his frown how his thoughts were turning over.

  She watched as his happy, almost smug expression of just moments ago fell and his eyes dulled. A light had gone out.

  ‘Clem,’ he repeated, but this time it sounded like accusation. How could you?

  31

  Despite the warmth of the room the atmosphere was frigid. Everyone seemed to be rooted to the spot. Only her uncle looked surprised; the other players in this horrible scene had the grace at least to look embarrassed.

  It was Saul who spoke. ‘Miss Grant, I am terribly sorry that you are witness to this.’

  ‘Are you, Mr Reuben?’ she asked, with only a hint of sarcasm. ‘I understand you have a reputation to protect, and that’s why the police are involved. Nevertheless, the fact remains that my uncle chose you to be his dealer. He would not have made this decision lightly – certainly not without solid research and a strong belief in your ability to shift these stones without the proper paperwork.’ The man opened his mouth to deny his wrongdoing but she continued. ‘More to the point, he obviously knew he could count on your discretion . . . and your son’s.’ She let that sink in while she looked over to her uncle – who, bless him, gave her a rueful wink of thanks.

  Will took up the reins. ‘Reggie, we’re here because we believe those diamonds are stolen.’

  ‘Stolen?’ he said, frowning. ‘How ridiculous.’

  ‘Clem?’ Will prompted.

  ‘Let him speak,’ she replied, looking at her uncle. ‘Go ahead, Uncle Reg.’

  ‘Well, my dear,’ he said – regaining his confidence, it seemed. ‘These are your diamonds, of course. They were hidden in your ragdoll. Your father told me about them, told me where he’d hidden them, before he died.’

  ‘Did he give you permission to take them?’ she said, amazed by his silver tongue and oozing confidence.

  ‘No,’ he admitted, and as the men around him made sounds of outrage he held up his hand. ‘I lied about how I came by them because no one would believe the truth that we carried these out of Africa in the belly of a ragdoll. But they are not stolen; I was simply their caretaker.’

  ‘But you’re trying to sell them underhandedly,’ Will exclaimed, looking first at Clem and then the policemen.

  ‘I am selling them, yes! Nothing underhand about it, Mr Axford. I simply don’t have papers. There is no way to sell them except under the counter, as they say.’ Clem couldn’t help being so impressed by his performance; she wanted to clap when Uncle Reggie managed to sound affronted.

  She was torn. Reggie was lying and she could certainly contradict him with the truth, but she couldn’t be complicit in having her uncle put behind bars simply because of some diamonds. He would have spent the proceeds on her, anyway.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she asked him. She chose not to ask why he had lied to her face only days earlier.

  Reggie sighed. ‘I don’t know. I was scared you’d judge me, think me a crook. I took them from your ragdoll when you were so little. When might have been the right time? When you were ten? Sixteen?’

  ‘You always said I was the most mature 21-year-old you knew – why not then?’

  ‘Because, my darling, all you left behind on that dark continent were sorrows. I wanted to protect you. Showing you the diamonds might have brought all those bad memories back. You’ve never been one for material things, and I didn’t think for a moment you’d want to keep the diamonds that essentially ruined your father. I just didn’t think you’d want to own them, parade them, wear them in any shape or form. Perhaps I misjudged that but I was doing this for you.’

  Credible. Again, she could have applauded his convincing performance.

  ‘Uncle Reggie, the stone is called Sirius, the Latin form of the Greek word seirios, meaning “burning” or “scorching”.’

  ‘If you say so, darling.’

  ‘But that’s not why the stone is called that. It is named after Sirius, the brightest star in our galaxy that shines over our planet. My father, Joseph One-Shoe and I named it on the day Joseph dug it out of the ground. It belonged to him, not my father and I. It was his find, but he gave it to us, and wanted no part of it. My father was bringing me home, with the diamonds hidden in my ragdoll, to sell in Europe. He was frightened by the size of this stone and knew he would not get the best price for it from the brokers in Kimberley.’

  Reggie shrugged. ‘Well, that’s just lovely, my dear. Here you are, letting us all in on its provenance.’

  She felt a gust of a nervous laugh wanting to escape. Somehow Uncle Reggie was turning this situation to his advantage. She moved over to the counter to stare closely at the roughs.

  The detective spoke for the first time. ‘Do you recognise it, Miss Grant?’

  ‘Yes, of course. Uncle Reggie, this is Detective Chief Inspector Burns from the Metropolitan Police.’

  Reggie, resigned, nodded to the man.

  Clem continued. ‘I’d hazard it’s three hundred carats. I’d put my trust fund on it being what the diamond trade calls a first water.’

  ‘I’d agree,’ Sammy Izak said, nodding. ‘Even a single gem from this stone, polished and set, would be worthy of royalty.’

  Clementine gave him a sad smile. ‘There was rock clinging to it when it was found. But that rock is fragile and when it is exposed to the air it crumbles. As you can see, there is nothing left of that, though I’d hazard there’s some still in my ragdoll and wherever you kept this
all these years, Uncle Reggie.’

  ‘In my sock drawer,’ he admitted, looking vaguely ashamed. ‘As safe there as anywhere else.’

  An awkward pause filled the room and Clem knew everyone was waiting for her.

  ‘Detective Burns, I do not wish to press charges against my uncle. I don’t care about the stones that have been sold in the past – they would have been sold for my benefit, anyway,’ she said, glancing at Reggie. His expression told her he couldn’t love her any more than he did in this moment. ‘The showcase rough is intact, and I believe my Uncle Reggie when he says that he did not steal it in the first instance but was taking care of my heirloom.’

  ‘Even though he was trying to sell it without your knowledge?’ Will asked, keeping his tone even and without accusation.

  ‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘He was not trying to harm me. My uncle, if nothing else, is a true Grant and he cares about our good name. I believe the sale of these diamonds was intended to protect the Grant empire.’

  ‘Thank you, darling Clementine, for seeing the truth,’ Reggie said.

  To his credit, Will didn’t give any sign of exasperation, although he did sigh, as though considering whether to raise the matter Clementine did not especially want to hear.

  Their gazes met and held. He surprised her by holding his tongue.

  ‘Well, gentlemen,’ Uncle Reggie said in a freshly self-assured tone, looking around at them all, ‘I think that concludes our business, does it not? Mr Reuben, I’m guessing the claim of a syndicate was a ruse?’

  Reuben nodded, embarrassed.

  ‘Detective Burns, do you have any other business with me?’

  The policeman took a slow breath and shook his head. ‘Not if Miss Grant is not pressing charges.’

  ‘Then I shall gather up our property, if you don’t mind, and ask everyone here to be discreet.’ He quickly retrieved the diamonds, wrapping them back up in his linen squares. ‘The diamonds have remained safe because no one knew about them. Clementine, my darling, shall we? Young Reuben, my hat and coat please?’