‘In a way.’
‘In a way? What does that mean? Who sent you?’
‘I heard about you.’
‘You’ve got quite a nasty cut there.’
‘Where?’
‘There, on your face.’
‘Oh.’ Sheremetev’s hand went to his cheek. The bruising had started to come down, but the sutures were still embedded along the line of the laceration.
‘If you’ll excuse me, you don’t look like the kind to get into fights.’
‘It was an accident.’
The woman scrutinised him for a moment, as if wondering whether to throw him out. If she was, she decided against it. ‘Okay. Let me explain how it is. Everything we do is legal, in case you’re wondering.’
‘I didn’t mean—’
‘Well, it is. So, we buy watches. If it’s just an ordinary watch – two, three thousand dollars – we sell it here ourselves. If it’s something special, there are other places we take it to. Some are shops, some are dealers who work privately with certain clients. Not every watch should be displayed in a shop window, if you understand what I mean. So anything you’ve got, believe me, one way or another, we can handle it for you.’
Sheremetev frowned. A watch that cost two or three thousand dollars was just an ordinary watch?
‘What’s your name?’
Sheremetev hesitated. ‘Nikolai Ilyich.’
‘Nikolai Ilyich…?’ She waited.
‘Just Nikolai Ilyich.’
‘Okay. Suit yourself. I’m Anna Mikhailovna Rostkhenkovskaya. So, are you going to show me something, Nikolai Ilyich, or have you just come for a chat?’
Sheremetev reached into the inside pocket of his coat and fished out a small bundle wrapped in a handkerchief, trying to keep his hands from trembling. Under the young woman’s eyes, he put it down on the down on the counter and drew back the wrapping.
Anna Rostkhenkovskaya had a healthy scepticism when people came in off the street and announced that they wanted to sell her a watch. Half the time, they pulled out a treasured Swatch. But as soon as she saw this one emerging from its wadding, she knew she was dealing with something serious.
‘May I?’ she asked.
‘Please,’ said Sheremetev.
She pushed back her hair with a quick flick of her fingers and picked up the watch. Nothing in her expression gave any indication of what she was thinking as she examined the timepiece.
What had come out of the handkerchief, to Rostkhenkovskaya’s surprise, was a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Daytona in gold and platinum with a gold strap. What was even more surprising, as she studied it, was what appeared to be a series of sparkling, baguette-cut diamonds in place of the hour markers around the watch face and embedded in each of the watch hands.
Rostkhenkovskaya had seen plenty of Rolex Daytonas, but never one bejewelled like this. She wasn’t aware of Rolex ever having produced such a series, which meant that this was a bespoke piece, either produced to order by Rolex itself – presumably at significant expense – or tailored after purchase by an expert watchmaker.
‘Just a moment,’ she said.
Rostkhenkovskaya opened a drawer and took out a jeweller’s loupe. She examined each of the diamonds through the lens. They appeared to be flawless and of exceptional clarity and colour. She took another careful look at the watch itself, which seemed to be in mint condition. She doubted that it had ever been worn.
As she studied the piece, Rostkhenkovskaya ran through the numbers in her head. A standard gold and platinum Daytona that looked as if it had just come out of its box – thirty thousand dollars. With the diamonds: double that for the value of the jewels alone, and possibly double it again for the uniqueness of the piece. With an interesting provenance, you could double it once more.
‘This is yours?’ she asked, putting the watch down at last.
Sheremetev nodded.
‘You bought it?’
‘It was a gift.’
‘Who from?’
‘An uncle.’
‘Does he have a receipt, your uncle?’
‘He’s no longer– he’s senile.’
‘I’m sorry. And this is a gift, you say?’
Sheremetev nodded.
‘A very generous man, your uncle.’
Sheremetev didn’t reply.
The young woman was silent for a moment. ‘The diamonds are interesting. There wouldn’t be many Daytonas like this.’ She paused. ‘Rolex probably knows exactly who bought each one.’
‘Are they diamonds?’ asked Sheremetev, missing the young woman’s insinuation.
‘What did you think they were?’
Sheremetev shrugged.
Rostkhenkovskaya folded her arms. ‘Okay, so what are we saying, Nikolai Ilyich? You want to sell this watch, yes?’
‘That’s why I’m here.’
‘Despite the fact that your doting uncle gave it to you?’
‘I need the money. If my uncle still had his senses, he’d be the first to tell me to sell it.’
‘So not a very sentimental man?’
‘Not really.’
‘Would I know him?’
‘No.’
‘You know, it doesn’t look like the watch was ever used.’
‘He has a lot of watches. People used to give them to him.’
‘Give them to him? Watches like this one?’
Instinctively, Sheremetev’s hand went to his mouth. He had said too much. He had worked out the uncle story on the train in to the city, but who had an uncle who was given watches like this?
Rostkhenkovskaya noticed the reaction. She wondered how much of the story she could believe. Maybe the watch was stolen, but the man in front of her was an unlikely thief. Could be a fence, though. But what kind of a fence would turn up like this, with a face that looked as if he had just danced a tango with a chainsaw? Who would ever forget it?
‘Okay,’ she said eventually. ‘The problem, Nikolai Ilyich, is that with a watch like this – such a unique watch – someone might recognise it. To be honest, I’ve seen plenty of Daytonas, but never one with diamond insets. It’s one of a kind.’
‘Would that make a difference to what it’s worth?’ asked Sheremetev.
‘At this level, the watch world is quite a small world. Such a unique watch… If someone recognises it, and the way you got it isn’t one hundred percent above board…’ She shrugged. ‘Do you understand?’
Sheremetev frowned.
‘So let me ask you again – forgive me – but you have no documentation for this piece, is that correct?’
‘My uncle gave it to me.’
‘And do you have a certificate of gift?’
‘What’s that?’
‘It’s a certificate that says he gave it to you as a gift.’
Sheremetev shook his head.
Rostkhenkovskaya had a dealer in mind who would jump at this watch. But was it stolen? The small man who had walked into the shop with it didn’t have the manner of a criminal. It didn’t look as if he had done any research on the piece before trying to offload it. If she had to guess, he had no idea what it was worth.
The dealer she was thinking of would sell this on, she estimated, at a minimum of one hundred thousand dollars. If that was what he thought he could get for it, he would pay her around seventy-five thousand for the piece. Her father’s rule of thumb was to offer the seller two-thirds of the price he would receive, which in this case would amount to fifty thousand dollars. But if there was a question of the piece being stolen, the calculation changed. If a theft came to light, the insurance company would normally pay something to get it back – twenty percent of the value was the norm. That would make the insurance payment for this watch twenty thousand, perhaps more. Her father’s rule had been to offer half the likely insurance payment, which still left a healthy profit if it turned out that the piece was identified as having been stolen, and an even healthier one if no one ever found out. For this watch: ten thousand.