Page 53 of The Scene of the Crime (Jessica Russell #1)

Michelle crossed to the window, the blind was partially down, and she eased it up a fraction.

Looking out onto the car park, she tried to digest everything Johan had told her.

She remained standing with her back to him as she asked how Duante acquired the diamonds.

Johan explained that his brother got hold of a diamond mine worker from a nearby shantytown.

This worker would hide a homing pigeon in his lunchbox.

He carefully packed rough diamonds into small sackcloth bags, binding them to the bird’s feet and under each wing.

When no one was watching, he would send the pigeon flying home with the diamonds.

Michelle could hardly believe what she was hearing.

She recalled watching a TV programme about diamond smuggling with Johan when they were last in South Africa.

‘I hope you are ashamed of yourself. Those kids steal stones worth hundreds of thousands to a jeweller but only get pennies per carat themselves. The guards beat them and break their fingers if they get caught stealing. Some have been murdered, and the companies hush up their deaths. How could you be part of that?’

‘No one got hurt, and anyway, the smuggling has stopped now.’

‘How many diamonds did your brother smuggle over?’

‘Thirty or forty in different sizes and carats.’

‘How much are they worth?’

‘I don’t know exactly. Cole said some are worth a lot of money, others not much.’

‘And how long has this scam been going on?’

‘About five months, maybe a bit longer.’ She couldn’t believe this had all been going on under her nose without her noticing.

While she was going through IVF treatment and then having the joyous and long-awaited confirmation she was pregnant, her husband was dealing in stolen diamonds to pay off debts she knew nothing about.

She took a deep breath, resisting the temptation just to walk out.

‘So tell me, if Cole showed clients the stolen diamonds, why were they in your safe?’

‘He said that it would be safer if I looked after them. When he needed some to show a client, I would take them to him, or he’d come to me and give them back to me afterwards.’

‘So you felt you could trust him?’

‘I had no reason not to. We were partners. I even gave him some diamonds to keep on Friday as a parting gift.’

She put her hands to her head. ‘I can’t believe how naive you are, Johan. Can you not see Cole has played the long game with you?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Just think about it, Johan. He manipulated you from the start to get the big payoff. He probably never showed any buyers the stolen diamonds. He just wanted you to think he had. How many times has he been to our house?’

‘Just a couple of times.’

‘Then he’s aware we have no CCTV or other security. Did you mention anything to him about going to the christening over the weekend?’

‘He asked if he could give me the money on Saturday, but I said I was away for the weekend and Friday would be better.’

‘Why didn’t you come with me to the christening?’

‘Because I wanted to put the cash Cole gave me through the books.’

She shook her head. ‘If you had come with me, you wouldn’t be lying here now.

Can’t you see Cole got someone to break into our house?

He knows you can’t tell the police the diamonds were stolen.

And you can’t claim all that cash back on the insurance as they will want proof the money was from business sales. ’

‘Look, I’m sorry I ever got involved with Cole, all right, but I did it for us. If my business went under, I thought we might lose everything.’ His eyes welled with tears. He reached out for Michelle’s hand, but she pulled away.

‘Don’t you dare give me all that “I did it for us” crap. If your business was failing, you should have told me. I would have helped you find a way round it. We could have sold the house.’

‘I couldn’t tell you. That house was what you’d always wanted, we worked so hard to make it perfect, the perfect home for a family . . .’ Tears started running down his cheeks.

‘If you cared about me and the child we are expecting, you would never have contemplated getting with a scumbag like Cole,’ she said bitterly.

‘I was planning for our baby’s future . . .’ he said feebly.

‘Well, your plan has gone tits up, hasn’t it!’ she retorted.

‘There are still some diamonds hidden in wineboxes at my warehouse that Cole doesn’t know about’.

‘Shut up! That can’t solve our problems. We don’t know what Liam Palmer will say when he’s interviewed. If he implicates Cole in the break-in, then Cole will be arrested.’

‘If the police didn’t find the diamonds and the cash at Liam’s, Cole must have it.’

Michelle was shifting her weight from one foot to the other, the way she often did when waiting to enter the court room, her mind ticking over.

‘Cole’s a shrewd bastard, so he’ll probably have devised a cover story, laundered the cash and sold the diamonds already. If the police interview him, he’ll just say he knows you because you bought jewellery from him and rent the warehouse next door.’

‘What should I say if they ask me about Cole?’

Michelle felt drained. She needed more time to think it all through.

She looked over at him and sighed. He seemed so pitiful, with his bruised face and the thick bandages around his head, his blue eyes looking pleadingly towards her, like a child.

But she felt only anger. If they were going to get through this, though, she couldn’t show it.

She had to give him the confidence to do what needed to be done, to make him feel they were working together.

She moved to his bedside and took hold of his hand, then bent her head to kiss his forehead.

‘I’m here for you, Johan. I’m never going to abandon you, however foolish you’ve been.

But you will need to do exactly what I tell you, all right?

So, darling, when the police speak to you, tell them you can’t remember anything about what happened.

It’s all still a blur. I’ll talk with Doctor Babu and tell him how concerned I am about your memory loss.

Hopefully, he’ll say you are not medically fit to be interviewed.

That way, I’ll have more time to speak with Anderson and try to find out what’s happening in the investigation. Then I can tell you what to say.’

‘Who’s Anderson?’

‘He’s the DCI leading the investigation.

He’s not very experienced, so we should be able to pull the wool over his eyes.

The same with the family liaison officer, DC Owens.

However, there’s a woman, Jessica Russell, who’s in charge of the forensic investigation – she’s smart, and she can spot a liar. ’

Johan let out a long breath. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you, Michelle. I’ll do my best to fool them, but I’m worried they won’t believe me.’

‘You just have to use what’s happened to you as an excuse for being unable to remember things.’

‘What if they find out about the CVD machine?’ he asked, a tremor of panic in his voice.

‘It’s not a problem for Cole if it’s legal. If they ask you, say you knew he made lab diamonds but you hadn’t purchased any from him. Did you use your own phone to contact him?’

‘No, I used a burner phone and WhatsApp.’

‘Where’s the phone now?’

‘I went to the warehouse on Saturday to sort out some paperwork. It’s hidden in the air vent next to my desk. Look, Michelle, I know I’ve only got myself to blame for what’s happened, but you don’t need to get involved.’

‘Well, I am involved now. So just listen to me and do exactly what I tell you.’