“How much?” asked Driscoll.
“One million per carat. It’s over a hundred carats,” de Jersey said, tight-lipped. He took out his notebook.
Driscoll’s jaw dropped.
“He wants the Koh-i-noor for starters, but selling him the other gems will be no problem.”
“But who is this guy?” Driscoll asked.
“He’s a contact of Dulay,” said de Jersey defensively.
Wilcox looked at Driscoll. “But how can we trust Dulay? How do we know he’s not going to just disappear? And now you tell us this buyer knows about the diamond already. Jesus Christ! We’re leaving ourselves wide open. What if this fucking Jap raps to someone?”
Now it was back to Driscoll. “He’s right, Eddy. And, thinking about it, I have big worries. If the worst comes to the worst, I can sell my properties and go back to work full-time. At least I’d still have something. I’m getting too old to take such risks. I’m really sorry to sound off at you this way, but-”
“You want out?” de Jersey asked coldly.
“The way things are right now, yes, cos I just don’t think we can do it. It all depends on people trusting one another, and with so many parties involved we could get screwed from any angle. Right, Jimmy?”
Wilcox nodded.
“I’ve never let you down before.” De Jersey sounded bitter.
Wilcox gave an impatient sigh. “We both know that. But the plan isn’t right yet, and all this farting around today wasn’t good enough. We’ve not got that much time to get it together.”
De Jersey flicked the ash from his cigar. “Fine. Walk away. I won’t hold you to anything. I never did before and I won’t now. That’s not to say I’m not disappointed. Of course I am, because I’m down a lot of cash already. You two don’t want to come in and help me out, fine. But I’ve always made sure that whoever worked alongside me got a fair share and I’m not about to change that. The fair share is the reason we can trust the people I’ve brought in. It is that element of the deal that binds us all together. It worked for us in the past and it will work for us this time.”
“Come on, Eddy, we know that,” Driscoll said. “And don’t think I’m not grateful for our past deals, but they were a long time ago. We were younger then, more prepared for the risks.”
Wilcox nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got six kids.”
“And a habit to feed,” de Jersey snapped.
“I’m clean,” Wilcox said defensively.
“So you say.” De Jersey knew that he had to steer them back on course and, worse, that without them he could never pull it off. He pointed to Driscoll. “You think you and Wilcox here are the best I could get for this? I brought you in on this to ease my guilt for the bad investment advice I gave you. I’m not prepared to lose what I’ve spent the best part of my life building up. Neither do I want to lose my wife or my daughters by spending the rest of my life banged up in prison. I will ensure there’s as little risk as possible for all of us. I’ve taken on board what you’ve said, but when in the past did you ever know all the details and every member of the team? Never! You trusted my judgment. If you no longer trust me, then get the hell out.”
Driscoll put his hands up. “Come on now, no need for this. You said it yourself, Eddy. You said if it didn’t look kosher you’d call it quits and there’d be no hard feelings.”
“What do you say, James?” de Jersey asked.
“I am not doing drugs! I’ve worked my arse off getting these two cars and the bikes ready. I just think the plan’s not up to your usual standard, that’s all. Maybe if we thrash out the details a bit more, know exactly what you’ve planned, we’ll feel happier.”
“Come on, we’ve all done a good share,” Driscoll said, angrily.
“Yeah, us three have, but the computer geek is getting a grand a week and a big cut!” Wilcox was still in a rage.
De Jersey stood up, his military bearing intimidating. “You two are getting greedy. Raymond Marsh is not going to betray us. He’s already in too deep. He’s hacked into the private Royal diaries, intercepted Scotland Yard calls, and made sure there won’t be any links between him and me when this is all over.”
Wilcox sucked in his breath. “Leaving yourself out in the open, aren’t you? You may be using Philip Simmons as a cover, but something this big will have every cop in the U.K. after you.”
“It’s more than a cover,” de Jersey interjected brusquely. “In cyberspace, Philip Simmons is almost as good as flesh and blood. As soon as this is over, he disappears into thin air and all the leads and clues disappear with him. There is no connection back to me because Philip Simmons organized the whole thing.”
Neither man understood what he was talking about, but his confidence in the alias was a bonus. After all, de Jersey himself was a direct link to both of them.
He continued, “Marsh is worth every cent we pay him because we couldn’t pull this off without him. He’s a genius.”
Wilcox and Driscoll fell silent. Then de Jersey’s bravado slipped. He gave a long sigh. “All I can say is this, I’m not just protecting myself. I have to look out for all of you. I’ve been working on how all of us move out when the scream goes up, just as I always did in the past. It takes time and planning down to the last second. If there are loopholes then we have to rethink, or I do. So, ask me what you need to know.” He picked up the black marker pen and crossed to the board. “List every loophole. We’ll go through them one at a time.”
Driscoll rested his head in his hands. Wilcox slumped into the old chair. “I can’t fucking think straight now.”
De Jersey looked from one to the other. He tossed aside the marker pen. “Sleep on it, then, but I need to know what the two of you decide by tomorrow.”
He picked up his briefcase, took out the CD, and opened his laptop. “Take a look at this. When you’re through close it down and remove the CD. Don’t let it out of your sight. This is for our eyes only.” He snapped his briefcase shut and collected his coat. “Good night.” A moment later they heard the side door slam shut.
Both men remained silent for quite a while. Eventually Wilcox stood up. “Did you tell him I had a drug problem?”
“No way!”
“Did you understand any of that stuff about the alias?”
“Nope, but he seemed to, and that’s what counts.”
Wilcox got up to look at de Jersey’s laptop. Driscoll followed him and pushed in the CD.
“Fuck me!” he exclaimed. “Look, Jimmy.” He pointed to the interactive floor plan of the D’Ancona safe house.
They sat close to the small screen, taking the virtual tour. When it ended Driscoll pressed eject and took out the CD. “Jesus Christ, do you know what we just watched?” They looked at each other and knew without saying it that they were back on board.
“Let’s go for it! All or nothing!” Wilcox said.
“Yeah, give it our best shot. If we go down at least we’ll be famous. This is gonna be the biggest robbery in history, right?” Driscoll was now determined to see the positive side.
Wilcox laughed. “Just one thing. You don’t have any sort of moral issue over this, do you? I mean, they are the Crown Jewels, and breaking them up is sort of-”
“Unpatriotic?” Driscoll laughed. “Fuck ’em! The Royals have had ’em long enough.” He clapped Wilcox on the shoulder, and the two of them packed up and left.
In the darkness, inside the main part of the barn, de Jersey moved silently from behind the screens. Neither man had seen or heard him return to listen to their conversation. He sat down in the armchair and went through the meeting, listing every gripe that had been raised. Each was valid; they were still a long way off. Could he trust Marsh? So much depended on him. He sighed. Bottom line, he could trust no one involved completely, but that was the risk in this game. He must check out the Japanese buyer for himself and contact Sylvia Hewitt to make sure she was behaving. It irritated him that he had promised to pay her off, but it would be worth his while to keep her silent.