“We’re in trouble,” Fuwa said with a serious look and his arms crossed.
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The information network among theft rings was extremely intense. One tiny message board post had over 10,000 hits in half a day. Whether or not the Teardrop of the Nile was actually being transported was beside the point. Some thieves were very likely to jump into action anyway.
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“In this new light, it could be dangerous to let Kazutaka-san go home.”
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The Teardrop of the Nile was like a thieves’ dream. Every thief would want to get their hands on it. If the thief was conscientious enough, they might not take the ornament apart to remove the tanzanites. They would sell it as a whole. The buyer would have to be a trustworthy wealthy person or a rich dilettante.
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The buyer would be able to tell no one about possessing the Teardrop of the Nile. The jewel would have to be stored in a home vault or in a high security safe deposit box at a bank. It would have to stay there quietly for several years, or several decades.
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The only people who would be fortunate enough to view the ornament would be the wealthy buyer himself and a very few trusted people close to him. The jewelry itself would be privately admired, well taken care of, and safely kept. Several years would pass by and the buyer would pass away. Then the jewelry would be secretly taken out of the safe and entrusted into someone else’s custody. Museums are not the only place where valuable jewelry is kept under the strongest protection. When in the hands of an individual’s, unlike at museums, most people don’t get to see it. That’s the main difference. Precious jewelry might wander around from one wealthy hand to another within a small circle for many decades, or many hundreds of years.
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Over time, no one would remember who stole it or where it was obtained. Very rarely, the jewel leaves the individual’s hand and is donated to a museum. But if the jewelry piece is a very important and expensive one, the one on exhibit is normally a replica. The real jewelry lies slumbering inside a vault. It doesn’t matter who owns it. What’s important is that it remains in its original form and is well taken care of and kept safe.
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“What that means to professional thieves is that they know that prominent jewelry, such as the Teardrop of Nile, never fails to bring in a profit. It is destined to be targeted. Kazutaka-san is not a professional jewelry dealer. He’s not a professional thief, either. He’s only an amateur. When an amateur carries around such desirable jewelry, he’s an easy target. It’s a great opportunity for them to get their hands on the piece. That’s what they'll think.”
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“But this one is fake, isn’t it?”
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“Yes, but nobody will believe your word alone. They'll have to hold it in their hands, have it appraised, and only then will they genuinely know they are just zirconias. We didn’t know until we checked it out, right? Other thieves are the same. They hold onto the hope that what they steal may be the real one, Kazutaka-san.”
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“How do I convince them that this is merely a counterfeit?”
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“There is no sure way. Since we are not after a profit, we promised you your safety. But some thieves are rather rough. Who knows what they’ll do to you when they catch you? If you board a plane with that attaché case, you probably won’t even make it to Hamamatsu-chō.”
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“That would be terrible,” Ren suddenly interjected.
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Kazutaka’s eyes bugged out in surprise.
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“Ah, um. I think it’s our responsibility to return Kazutaka safely to his regular life. There are children who need him.”
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“What is your plan for avoiding detection, Ren?”
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“We’ll take Kazutaka back to Tokyo safely hidden in the R.V. I can remove the handcuffs at my factory and send him home.”
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“Todo-san and Toshi-kun have to go back to work tomorrow. Today is their last day off. We don’t have time to drive to Tokyo.”
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“I’ll drive myself, then. If I leave now and drive all night, we’ll be in Tokyo by noon tomorrow. What do you think?”
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Toshi shook his head, disagreeing with Ren’s proposition.
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“It’s true that you’ll make it back in 24 hours, but you can’t drive the whole time. You’ll need at least one backup driver.”
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“Can you do it, Yuri?”
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“My license is not for oversized vehicles. I could drive it as long as the road is straight, I guess. But I don’t feel comfortable driving such a large vehicle.”
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They were all caught up in their own thoughts, humming and hawing while turning it over in their minds.
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“Todo-san and Toshi-kun, you really don’t have much time left. You should get going right now. I’ll try to come up with a way to send Kazutaka-san home safely somehow.”
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Todo and Toshi stood up, still looking worried, but they really did to have to get going. They couldn’t stay forever.
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“Why don’t you post, telling people that the previous message about the Teardrop of the Nile traveling in Japan was a false rumor?”
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“Bud has already done that. I’m afraid that may make people even more suspicious, though. You know, they may think that the person carrying the jewels wrote it in order to distract attention from himself.”
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Ren opened the browser on his cell phone, asking Fuwa the URL of the message board.
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The message board seemed to have true and false information all mixed up. But professional thieves had ways of telling well-founded information from mere rumor relatively easily. The post, presumably written by Shīno, sounded like it came from reliable source.
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“Seeking witness: Tanzanite (estimated insurance value of twenty billion yen), that suddenly disappeared from Singapore, was found by a jeweler. The jewelry was stolen on the way to the authorities. It is rumored that the jewelry is currently being transported somewhere in Japan. I wonder if it’s true. :-D”
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“Do you think Shīno told someone about the incident?”
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Kazutaka was hopelessly trusting, Ren sighed.
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“Kazutaka-san, I think Shīno wrote this himself in order to divert people’s attention away from himself.”
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“Shīno did?”
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“Some thieves are probably confused now, wondering which Teardrop is real, the one in Hong Kong or the one in Japan. They’ll start looking at the place near them. Some group will be able to trace the stones to Shīno Jewelry. But the store is open for business as usual, so then they'll try to figure out who stole the Teardrop of the Nile. They'll wonder if it was Shīno or someone else. They’ll try to figure out any suspicious moves that may have occurred during the transport. Then, they'll find out there was this friend of Shīno's involved, a middle school teacher who has helped him transport valuables several times in the past. This teacher has been missing since Monday. So, they’ll watch Kazutaka’s apartment. If he goes home, it’ll be like a moth flying into the flame. They'll kidnap Kazutaka before he has a chance to get inside. They’ll take him directly to their hide-out where torture or violence awaits.”
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“Kazutaka, do you want to go to the police with this replica, requesting official protection?”
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“No way. If the police conduct an investigation, I’ll eventually have to talk about you all.”
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Fuwa glanced at Ren and smiled slightly.
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Ren felt thrown off balance. He thought Fuwa must have sensed something from Kazutaka’s unwillingness to take the matters to the authorities. Ren needed to put whatever might be going on between Kazutaka and himself aside for now, though. Figuring out a way to return Kazutaka safely to where he belonged was his top priority. Fuwa spoke as if to conclude this discussion.
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“Let’s just wait until Bud uploads some new information from Hong Kong. He’s a regular on this message board. He’s also very famous on other valuable jewelry sites. When Bud writes something, it’ll be deemed credible and things will calm down.”
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Fuwa then looked at Ren and smiled broadly.
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“You can go now, Ren. I’ll take care of Kazutaka-san.”
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Fuwa's trying to push my buttons by putting me on the spot, Ren thought. “Well, I...”
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Both Kazutaka and Fuwa looked at Ren at the same time. Fuwa had a straight face on whereas Kazutaka had a desperate look. Ren knew he could not ditch him and simply go back to Tokyo alone once he saw Kazutaka’s face.
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“When it comes to a showdown, don’t hesitate. Where there is a will, there is a way,” Ren’s father used to tell him.
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Dad, there aren’t so many crucial moments in our lives, Ren spoke to his father in his mind. What Yuri does and how I get involved in the theft business aren’t important. But I need to take Kazutaka home safely. Dad, I have to take this risk.
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Ren made up his mind, stood, and made a fist with his right hand.
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“I’ll stay with Kazutaka until the end of our road. Only when Kazutaka is home, free from all restrictions and danger, will my job be done.”
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Kazutaka looked serious, almost absorbed by something. He looked like a child, who had found something wonderful and stopped everything else to examine it. It was a very innocent look.