Page 68 of An Artful Dodge
“Billy will put on the uniform.”
I gave a bark of a laugh at the absurdity of it.“While he’s doing that, who’s getting me into the shop and the safe?”
She refolded the picture of the necklace and the map of Hatton Garden, tucking them away. “We’ll have a hook ladder, so the two of you can climb the gate and jump down into the alley. The jeweler’s door is three down. As you said, there are two Yale locks, which my smith can pick.”
“Who is it?”
“He’s not from here,” she replied. “But don’t worry. He keeps a cool head and is the quickest I know. He’ll get you into the office, which you’ll examine, so you can leave it exactly as it was. He’ll open the safe, give you the necklace, and after you change out three stones, he’ll put the necklace back. It’s an hour’s work.”
“Closer to ninety minutes,” I said. “And I need a good supply of paste. The stones need to match. The right color and size, the same cut and brilliance.”
She sniffed, touching her nose delicately with a lawn handkerchief. “Seamus has collected a variety—good ones, cut like the ones in the necklace.”
So she’d roped Mr. Ardle into this, too.
The thought flicked into my mind that he’d had me doing more stone replacement and repair the past few weeks.
“There’s variation in the stones,” Maggie said, “so you’ll be able to find three that are close enough. You can practice at his shop. You have plenty of time.”
“Hardly,” I snapped. “The ball is on Wednesday. That’s only nine days. What if the necklace is being picked up tomorrow? Or has been picked up already?”
“The necklace will be picked up Monday morning.”
“You have someone inside the jeweler?” I asked. “Why not have them do—”
“Not inside the jeweler,” she replied.
So, someone inside the house. A maid or footman, bribed, no doubt, to divulge when the necklace was being retrieved. She’d crafted this dodge down to the smallest threads.
“So we must go before Monday,” I said. “Less than a week. It’s not much time to practice.”
“You have clever hands.”
Like yours were, once.
“And what if Simonson wants to take one last look at the necklace before it’s picked up?” I asked.
“Simonson is away for a week beginning Thursday.”
“Why?”
“Does it matter?”
I merely looked.
Her eyes rolled toward the ceiling in annoyance. “He’ll be visiting his mistress in the country.”
So you’ve hired someone for that, too, I thought. “You’ve anticipated everything.”
“I’ve had years,” she said softly.
I considered the dodge from her side, imagining her waiting here for us to return with the gems.
“And after I’ve finished my part,” I said, “what’s to prevent Billy or your cracksman from killing me and throwing me into the river, to keep me from telling anyone what I’ve done? Why would they keep me alive?”
“There’s no reason to kill you.” She turned over the palm of her injured hand. “If you’ve done as I ask, you can hardly betray me without incriminating yourself.”
But if I’m alive, I might let something slip—or I might hold what I know over your head, I thought.No, you won’t be able to live with that threat, so you’ll have to kill me—and likely Sarah, too, unless we’re beyond your reach.
