Dead Guilty Part 33

"Kendel says to each other looked like The card was labeled

faience ceramic is made of lime, crushed quartz and alkali and makes a glaze when it's fired," said Korey. "She says a lot of their jewelry was made that way."

"These are wonderful," said Diane. "They'll make an incredible exhibit."

"The designers are already at it. I've just about had to run them out of here to get any work done. Can't blame them, though. This is really fine stuff."

"Now, what did you ask me up here for?"

"The lawyer for Raymond Waller called and asked us if we could make the arrangement to send the base ball collection to the Negro Leagues Baseball Mu seum. I told him sure, we interact with museums all the time."

"Certainly, we can handle it. Is there a problem?"

"I think you need to call the lawyer and talk to him. I mean, in order to make sure what's supposed to go the museum and what's supposed to go to his heirs."

"I'm not following," said Diane.

"You will." Korey and Mike led her to the climatecontrolled vault in the rear of the lab, where he stored the baseball collection.

Chapter 37.

The vault was cool. Diane s.h.i.+vered and rubbed her hands over her bare forearms. It had rows of shelves filled with items that had to be stored in a stable envi ronment, always kept at the same temperature and humidity. Some items never left the vault until Korey was sure they would not deteriorate outside. Some of the objects couldn't stand the normal museum envi ronment and had been in the vault since the museum opened. The mummy was there, lying on a table, with the plastic wrapping removed.

"Alicia's working on the wrappings that came with him," said Korey, with a nod of his head toward an other table holding the linen mummy wrappings. "It's in pretty bad shape, but we'd like to use it to re wrap him."

A large table in the center of the room held Ray mond Waller's pride and joy-his collection of arti facts from the Negro Leagues. There was the bat that David mentioned, and the ball. In fact, there were several b.a.l.l.s and bats. There were uniforms and pen nants, stacks of photographs, cards, signs and newspa per clippings.

"I went ahead and deacidified the paper, checked out the material. I figured you wouldn't mind me tak ing care of his stuff."

"Sure. That's fine."

Korey picked up a handkerchief that had something wrapped in it. "I was checking out the uniforms for moths and things and I found this stuffed in the pocket of the Birmingham Black Barons uniform with the number ten on it. That's significant."

"Korey."

"I'm getting to it."

He unwrapped the handkerchief. In the center were three crystals about the size of marbles, each shaped like two pyramids stuck together at their base. They looked like they were made of clear ice.

"When I found these, I called Mike."

"What are they?"

She looked at Mike, who had that amused glint in his eyes again.

"You tell me," he said.

"Are you saying these are diamonds?"

Mike nodded his head. "Good-quality, uncut dia monds. I've already mapped and photographed the internal structure-thought it'd be nice to have on file."

"How much are they worth?"

"Cut price, we're talking in a range over two hun dred thousand dollars."

"For three rocks?" said Diane.

"Three very sweet rocks."

Diane shook her head. "You were right, Korey. We have to call the attorney back and let him know."

She took the stones and let them rest in the palm of her hand.

"d.a.m.n. This is what the thief was looking for. Where in the world did Raymond get them?" she whispered almost to herself.

"There is a way to trace a diamond back to the mine of origin," said Mike.

Diane looked up at him sharply. "How?"

"Every diamond has a chemical signature that is specific to its origin. It would require drilling a micro scopic hole in it with a laser beam. The only problem is that not all the world's mines have been cataloged. And there's also the problem of diamonds mined from alluvial plains that have been washed maybe hundreds of miles from their origin."

"I'll present that option to Mr. Waller's executor."

"It's a very new methodology. It was developed to help legitimate diamond dealers. There's a big blackmarket trade in blood diamonds. Those are the dia monds used to finance the various African civil wars, and most dealers want to make sure their diamonds aren't part of that trade."

Blood diamonds, thought Diane. She wondered if that would turn out to be an appropriate name for these stones if indeed they were what caused Ray mond's death. thought Diane. She wondered if that would turn out to be an appropriate name for these stones if indeed they were what caused Ray mond's death.

"I'm going to have to tell Garnett too." Diane started to put the diamonds back in the handkerchief.

"Here." Mike handed her a jeweler's box with de pressions in which to fit each diamond. "Stones like these don't need to be knocking around against each other."

"You put them against black," she said, smiling.

"Well, since we already know the color, you might as well present them at their best." Mike put the box in a jeweler's bag and handed it to Diane.

"I feel like I need a guard to go back down to my office."

"I'd be happy to oblige," said Mike, holding out an arm for Diane to pa.s.s.

Diane walked with Korey and Mike out of the vault as Alicia, one of Korey's a.s.sistants, was entering.

"Dr. Fallon? Andie told me about last night. That must have been terrifying. Jeez, two nights in a row. You must be feeling besieged."

"I'm fine. Thanks, Alicia."

"You were attacked again?" asked Mike and Korey at the same time.

Diane gave them the briefest description of the events. The two of them gawked at her.

"A few cuts on the soles of my feet from having to flee the house without my shoes, but other than that, I'm fine."

"But they caught the guy?"

"Yes," said Diane. "They have him."

"You be careful, Dr. F.," said Korey when Diane and Mike left the conservation lab.

"Could you use that technique to compare the cut stone I was telling you about with these to see if they were from the same place?" Diane asked Mike.

"Yes, but that stone's already been cut. The owner might not want even a microscopic hole in it. You could ask her."

"No, I can't. She was murdered."

Mike stopped in his tracks. "Her diamond?"

"Gone."

"d.a.m.n, Boss. Do you think you should stay in your apartment?"

"I'm not. I'm staying with Frank."

"He's got a gun, right?"

Diane frowned. "It looks like they have the guy."

"He's the one doing all the killings?"

"That's what the crime lab is trying to determine." "If there's anything you need..."

"Thanks, Mike. I'd like to relax in a nice, cool dark cave."

"Now you're talking. How about next weekend?"

"Sounds good. I'll tell Neva."

Mike escorted Diane to her office. She sat down behind her desk, found the business card for Russell Keating, Raymond Waller's attorney, and gave him a call.

"Mr. Keating, we've found items in the baseball memorabilia that probably don't belong with the base ball bequests. It may be the reason he was murdered, so I need to tell Chief Garnett about it too. Could you come to the museum this afternoon?"

"This is going to cause me problems with the twins, isn't it?"

"I think so."

"Lord have mercy." He paused and shuffled some of his papers on his desk. "I can be there at three thirty."

Russell Keating and Chief Douglas Garnett sat in front of Diane's desk staring at the stones she had in front of her.

"And you say these are worth how much?" asked Keating.

"Our geologist says they would be worth more than two hundred thousand dollars after they were cut." "That's what his murderer was after," said Garnett.

"It has to be. We'll have to hold these as evidence." "Hold on now, evidence of what? Of your idea that this is what the murderer was after? You thought the murderer was after the collection and you didn't hold it as evidence. You told me you brought it to the museum for safekeeping."

"We don't know who the diamonds belong to,"

said Garnett.

"The h.e.l.l we don't. They belong to Raymond Wal ler's estate. They were in his possession."

"Where did he get diamonds that valuable on his salary as a morgue a.s.sistant?"

"It doesn't matter," said Keating. "He could have found them in his backyard. He owned his house and property, including the mineral rights. These aren't cut diamonds. They are the way G.o.d made them." "This is Georgia. We don't have diamonds just lying around," said Garnett.

Diane cleared her throat, and they both looked at her. "According to Mike, in the 1800s when prospectors panned for gold in Georgia, occasionally they'd find small diamonds. It sparked a few diamond rushes, but no one has been able to find the source."

"So he could have found these in his backyard,"

said Keating.

"None has ever been found this large. I believe Mike told me the largest ever found was about two carats. I think it would be unlikely he'd find three significantly larger ones in his backyard."

"But not impossible," said lawyer Keating. "Mr. Keating. Why don't you let us keep them in our safe for the time being? You have a good argu ment, and all things being equal, it will certainly hold up in court. However, Mr. Waller was murdered, and Chief Garnett wants to find out who did it. And these stones may very well belong to someone else-for in stance, Mr. Waller may have been holding them for a friend."

"How would anyone else claim them?" asked Keat ing. "All three look alike. How would this hypotheti cal friend describe them to a court of law?" "By the internal structure. It's like a fingerprint.

Every diamond is unique."

"All right, then. I certainly don't want to keep them in my office."

"That's fine by me," said Garnett. "And I don't want to take anything that rightfully belongs to his heirs." He shook his head. "This is getting far too complicated."

"What are you complaining about?" said Keating.

"You don't have to deal with the twins."