"What son-of-a-bitch are we talking about?" I asked, trying to get him to say it.
"You know damn good and well who we’re talking about.”
"Of course I do. Why won't you say it?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"I want you to admit you broke into the Vault and stole from Vladimir Solonik.”
"The only thing that matters is getting Riley back safe and sound," Shane said. “The rendezvous is at midnight.”
"Midnight!?”
“You see the pressing nature of things.”
“What did you steal from him?”
Shane said nothing.
"I'm trying to help you get Riley back. You can keep playing games, or you can start telling me the truth.”
After a long beat, he said, "I'm not admitting to anything... But I know where his money is.”
"Even if you hand it over, he's not gonna let you walk away. Not after what you've done.”
"That's why I need your help.”
"Where's the money?"
"It's not just about the money.”
"What's it about?”
"Hypothetically speaking, if someone were to have stolen from Vladimir's vault, those people would have stumbled across something more valuable than money.”
“Like what?”
“A rare gem.”
"A rare gem?”
"The cash is chump change. The Eye of Destiny is the prize. It’s worth $140 to $150 million.”
That hung there for a moment.
“What is the Eye of Destiny?”
“It’s a 72.3 karat blue diamond that was stolen from a pre-Hindu temple. A French collector in the 1700s acquired it. It was taken from him, and a Russian Tsar came into possession of it. It remained in the royal family for almost a century before it was lifted again. It bounced around the black market, then disappeared. It surfaced recently in the possession of a Russian Oligarch. Shortly after his death, it was pilfered again and found its way into Vladimir’s collection. Word is, he’s got a buyer lined up.”
“Seems to get stolen a lot,” I quipped.
“It’s part of the curse.”
“Curse?”
“We’ll talk about that later. I don’t really buy into that kind of thing. But the way things have been going…”
"You really screwed up this time.”
