“Chvosta.”
Stroessner nodded and de Laiglesia opened the door.
Sergeant Pradera waited until he was sure of the visitor’s identity before he holstered his gun. The fat weapons merchant had to turn sideways to pass through the door. Aur-elia Hortiguela came after him followed by Hendrik De Groot. Chvosta waited until the door was closed before he spoke.
“This is our diamond man, De Groot. Where are the stones?”
General Stroessner groaned again as he stood and turned his back on Chvosta and walked to the bedroom door. He stopped with his hand on the knob and spoke to de Laiglesia.
“Tell them what has to be done.” He went into the bedroom and slammed the door behind him.
“Your General is a pig,” Aurelia said. Chvosta waved her to silence.
“The diamonds?” he asked again.
“There are certain conditions,” de Laiglesia said. “Your expert is to stay here, you are not. He will examine the stones and make an evaluation of their worth at current market prices. Then he will leave. You will all be summoned when we are ready to finalize the arrangements.”
“There can be no more delays. We have waited long enough already.”
“We will finish this as soon as we can. You must understand that there are complicated international arrangements to be made when dealing with sums of money this size…. “
“I care nothing for your arrangements,” Chvosta broke in, coldly angry. “You have had almost a year to play your games. You have no more time. Tell your principals that you have a maximum of twenty-four hours to finish your business and complete this transaction. After that there will be a five percent additional charge, that is five percent of the total sum, levied for every day’s delay. Understand?”
“You can’t do that!”
“I’ve just done it. You know my cabin number. De Groot, bring me the final figure when you have done your sums. I'll be waiting for you.”
“Yes, Mr. Chvosta.” The diamond expert remained calm. He was used to this kind of emotional scene when large sums of money were involved. It was of no importance to him; his fee would remain the same. He sat on a chair against the wall and put his heavy briefcase on the floor beside him.
As soon as the armament merchants had gone, de Laig-lesia hurried to report to the General, closing the bedroom door behind him so their conversation would not be heard. Sergeant Pradera stared as calmly into space as did the Dutchman. They were both used to waiting. Neither mpved until de Laiglesia returned.
“The diamonds, they’ll be here in a moment,” he said. He was trembling slightly, rubbing his hands together. The General had not received the news graciously. A large rum was very much in order at the moment. But he dare not drink alone.
“Mr. De Groot, can I offer you a drink?”
“I never trink alcoholic beverages ven I am vorking.” His English was perfect, his accent thick. “However, a mineral water, iv you please.”
Sergeant Pradera knew very well what de Laiglesia was after so made no offer of help. The Major opened the bar and found a split of Perrier which he poured out. And the rum for himself, which he drained in a single gulp, putting the glass hurriedly out of sight when the bedroom door suddenly opened and the General poked his head out.
“They are on the way,” he said. “Unlock the door and leave it open. And no questions when they come. Just do as they say. I’ll wait in here, so let me know when they have gone.” He popped back out of sight and closed the door.
The Major forgot the mineral water as he hurried to the door and opened it. De Groot did not mention the oversight. What happened next happened fast: de Laiglesia had just turned around when Fritz appeared behind him, stepping in from the hall. His hand was in his jacket pocket and something hard pressed into de Laiglesia’s back. The young German had been living in this suite since they had left Cape Town and knew it well. He looked swiftly around.
“You there, Sergeant,” he ordered. “Take out that gun with your fingertips and put it on the floor.”
“He doesn’t speak English,” de Laiglesia stammered, then repeated the order rapidly in Spanish.
The Sergeant looked at the newcomer for a long moment before obeying. Moving slowly, drawing the gun and putting it carefully down on the carpet. When Fritz was satisfied, he pushed de Laiglesia further into the room and called back over his shoulder.
“O.K.”
Dr. Wielgus came in followed closely by his bodyguard, Klaus, and the other two young Germans who had also been staying in this suite. He was carrying a black leather bag. He looked coldly at De Groot and waited until the door had been closed before he spoke.
“Are you the one to do the evaluation?”
“I am.”
“Then begin.”
The five other men watched in silence as De Groot went to the desk and placed his bag upon it. He was calm, ordered, all trace of any nervousness gone. He was at work now. First he took off his jacket and hung it carefully on the back of the chair. Before he opened his bag he took the blotter, ash tray, everything from the top of the desk, and placed them on the floor beside it. Then he snapped the locks open on his bag and took out a number of items. A sensitive quartz balance scale with a digital readout, a powerful lamp with focussing lens, a white cloth which he carefully unfolded, jeweller’s loupe, tweezers, a printing calculator, one item after another to be arranged in a careful pattern before him. Only when everything had been done to his satisfaction did he turn around to face the others.
“I will see the stones now,” he said.
Wielgus stepped forward and spoke for the first time.
“They are in here. In separate bags. We have records of the diamonds in each bag. You will examine and evaluate each stone, and keep your record by the bag number. Yes?”
“Of course. If you please.”
Fritz was the only one not fascinated by the operation. He had picked up Sergeant Pradera’s gun and now held it in his lap as he sat against the wall, watching the doors and everyone in the room.
De Groot put the open satchel on the floor beside him and reached down to take out the first chamois bag. Their eyes followed his every movement. He put it in the center of the cloth and examined the tag.
“Number 178-J,” he said. Wielgus took a small looseleaf notebook from his pocket and opened it; then made a mark with his gold-barrelled pen.
“Very well. Proceed.”
De Groot carefully shook the stones out upon the cloth. Their facets twinkled with every color of the rainbow under the glare of the spotlight as he pushed them around with his tweezers.
“Seventeen stones,” he said. Wielgus nodded agreement and made another mark in his book.
It was slow, careful, precise work. Each stone was first wiped clean, then carefully weighed and an entry made. Then De Groot would hold the stone before the light and bend forward, the magnifying jeweller’s loupe screwed into his eye, turning the diamond over and over, again and again. Only after careful examination of color, quality and cut would he come to a decision and make an entry into the calculator. He would then place the stone back in the bag and proceed to the next one.
The process went slowly. The only change from routine occurred when he found one stone that bothered him. He put it down on the cloth and took a low-power microscope from his capacious bag and used it to examine the diamond. This resolved whatever doubts he had and he nodded and entered a figure into the machine.
“What is wrong?” Wielgus asked.
“Nothing is wrong. It is chust that this particular stone happens to haf a flaw. A small one, but still a flaw.”
“Show it to me on this list,” Wielgus said, putting the notebook down on the desktop, then tapping the page with his finger. De Groot looked down the page slowly, then pointed out an entry.