Sweetie's Diamonds (37 page)

“That shouldn't be a problem.
 
I know the owner.
 
However I doubt we'll be able to go past the first floor.
 
Usually the second and third floors are off limits during parties.”

“See if you can use your celebrity status, Eric,” she suggested.

“I'll do my best.
 
Come on, let's get a drink.”

W
hen Nick Belgrad presented his invitation to the guard at the gate, the man eyed him through the Lexus window.

“What's your name?”

“Nick Belgrad.”
 
He figured there was no reason to hide his real identity.
 
No one here would know him.
 

The guard scanned the list and shook his head.
 
“You're not on here.
 
How do you spell it?”

Belgrad spelled his surname and said, “I might not be on the list.
 
I was a late addition.
 
I just got my invitation today by FedEx.”

“Who sent it?”

“Betty at the main office on Highland.”

The guard nodded.
 
“Are you with a company or something…?”

Belgrad answered, “I'm an agent.
 
I handle men's magazines.”

The guard looked up and saw the long line of cars waiting to get through the gate.
 
“All right, go ahead,” he finally said.
 

Belgrad rejoiced to himself as he drove into the property and was directed toward the lawn to park.
 
He locked the Lexus and strolled toward the crowd around the mansion and realized he was overdressed.
 
He had on khaki slacks, a black short-sleeved turtleneck knit shirt, and a tweed jacket.
 

Oh well, he thought, he was always a bit off-fashion.
 
He just hoped he wouldn't have to use the Browning 9mm tucked neatly in his left armpit underneath the jacket.

“E
ric!
 
Glad you could make it!”
 

“How are you, Aaron?” Gilliam said.

Aaron Valentine held court like a mafia don, sitting in a large wicker chair with a tall rounded back.
 
With him were four gorgeous starlets—two stood at his side running their fingers through his white hair and rubbing his neck, while the other couple sat at his feet, their arms draped over his legs.
 
He wore a white Arabic cotton tunic that covered his massive body down to his feet.
 
Gold chains around his neck glistened in the colored lights that were strategically placed beneath the tent.
 
Such was his regal manner that Diane's first instinct was to bow to him.

Valentine didn't stand to shake Gilliam's hand.
 
Instead he eyed Diane and asked, “Who's your lovely friend?”

“This is Carol,” he said.
 
It was a name that he and Diane had agreed on.
 

“Nice to see you with someone closer to your age,” Valentine remarked, laughing.
 

“Now, now, Aaron.
 
Look who's talking!”

Valentine addressed her.
 
“Welcome, my dear.
 
Do you live in Los Angeles?”

“No, San Diego,” she replied.
 
“I'm just up for the weekend.”
 

“How do you know Eric?”

Gilliam answered for her.
 
“Would you believe we met at a bar?
 
I was down there doing a shoot and we all ended up at this terrific little place downtown.
 
Carol here was our waitress.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” Diane said.
 
“It's a wonderful party.”

“Thank you.
 
Go and enjoy yourselves,” Valentine said, waving his hand and dismissing them.
 

As they walked away, Diane noticed the tall man with long blonde hair and an eye patch, dressed in black.
 
He was watching them closely.

“Eric, there's a creepy guy over there looking at us,” Diane whispered to her escort.
 

Gilliam glanced at him and replied, “That's Emo Tuff.
 
He's the guy I told you about.
 
I should probably go say hello but you had best steer clear of him.
 
Why don't you go get something to drink at the bar?”

“All right.”

“Get me a vodka with ice.”

She nodded and walked away.
 
Gilliam approached Tuff and they shook hands.
 
Diane watched them out the corner of her eye as she stood in line at the bar.
 
The two men obviously knew each other and conversed like old pals.
 
At one point Tuff gestured toward her and Gilliam looked her way.
 
They spoke some more and Tuff nodded, satisfied with Gilliam's explanation of who his date was.

Diane turned away as the line drew closer to the bar and glanced at the second line running parallel to hers.
 
She blinked twice and immediately faced forward again.

The man with the long hair and beard!
 
From Chicago!
 
The one who had watched her outside of Rabinowitz's jewelry shop!
 
He was standing in the other drinks line but he was staring at her.
 

My God, who is he?
 
What's he doing here?
 
Had he followed her from Illinois?

She attempted to keep her cool until she got Gilliam's vodka and a glass of wine for herself.
 
She walked quickly back to her date, who was in conversation with a nearly naked brunette.

“Ah, here she is,” Gilliam said, taking his drink from Diane.
 
“Carol this is Tawni Pebbles, one of the biggest adult film stars on the planet.”
 
Diane thought it was an apt description, given the size of the woman's breasts.
 
“Tawni, this is my friend Carol.”

The actress shook hands with Diane and said, “Pleased to meet you.”
 
She immediately turned her attention back to Gilliam.
 
“So when are we going to make that movie together, Eric?”

Gilliam laughed.
 
“Come on, Tawni, you know I'm too old to be in feature films.
 
They'd rather pair you up with one of the new young bucks.”

“Honey, we should all look as good as you at your age,” Tawni said, batting her eyes.
 
“I think you'd be surprised if you talked to Felix about it.”
 

Gilliam turned to Diane and explained, “Felix is her producer.
 
One of Aaron's rivals.”
 
Back to Tawni.
 
“Is he here?”

“Somewhere.
 
I saw him earlier.
 
Well, nice talking to you both.
 
Call Felix, Eric, all right?”

“I'll think about it.”

“Bye, have fun!”
 
She slinked away, leaving Gilliam alone with Diane.
 

“So are you having fun yet?” he asked her.

“Eric, there's this guy over by the bar who's watching us.
 
Look, he's the one in the jacket with long hair and a beard.
 
See him?”

Gilliam looked up surreptitiously and nodded.
 
“Yeah.”

“I saw him in Chicago the day before I left town.
 
He was… well, it's a long story but I saw him at a jewelry store where I usually sold a diamond or two every now and then.
 
The old man who ran the shop was murdered and this guy was there with the police.
 
Now he's here.
 
What do you think it means?”

“I don't know,” Gilliam said.
 
“Is he a cop?”

“He doesn't look like one.”

“And the way he's dressed indicates that he's new to these parties.
 
Now that you point him out, he sticks out like a sore thumb.”

“You see how he keeps looking at us?”

“Yeah.
 
Well, try to relax and we'll keep an eye on him.”

“Shit, he's coming this way!”

Sure enough, Belgrad had decided to throw caution to the wind.
 
He walked over to the couple and addressed them both.

“Don't be alarmed, I'm on your side,” he said.
 
He looked at her and said, “Hello, Diane.
 
I saw you outside of A-1 Jewelry in Chicago.
 
Remember?”

“Who the hell are you?” she asked.

He held out his hand, which they each shook hesitantly.
 
“My name is Nick Belgrad.
 
I'm working for the Rabinowitz family.
 
Well, actually I'm working for Moses and Hiram.
 
The rest of the family doesn't know me.”

“But the Rabinowitzes are dead,” Diane said.

Belgrad nodded.
 
“Moses called me in New York the day of his brother's funeral.
 
I promised him that I'd solve Hiram's murder.
 
After Moses was killed I was more resolved in fulfilling that obligation.”

“Are you some kind of cop?” Gilliam asked.

“Not really,” Belgrad replied.
 
“You could say I'm sort of a private investigator, but I'm not a PI.
 
Call me a mercenary-for-hire.
 
I'm a troubleshooter, a fixer.
 
I do dirty work for people who don't want to mess up their clean hands.”

“Pardon me, but you look like a rabbi,” Gilliam said.

Belgrad smiled and said, “I'll take that as a compliment.
 
I mostly work for clients in the Jewish community.
 
When I was much younger I worked in Israel for many years as a special operative for Israeli intelligence.
 
Now I mostly work in New York.”

“How do you know the Rabinowitzes?” Diane asked.

“Ah, that's a story,” Belgrad said.
 
“They knew my father in Berlin, back in the days of the Nazis.
 
They were children together.
 
The two brothers saved my father's life in a concentration camp.
 
They became lifelong friends after that and my father always told me that should one of them ever ask me for a favor, I should perform it with no questions asked.
 
In their later years, my father did a lot of business with the Rabinowitz brothers, mostly selling black market gems in Israel.
 
He died a few years ago.”

“I'm sorry,” Diane said.
 

Belgrad shrugged and said, “Thank you.
 
He lived a full life.”
 
He looked around to make sure no one was watching them.
 
“Now that you know who I am, I just want to say I'm here to help you.
 
My main objective is to find Moses and Hiram's killer and I'm pretty sure it has to do with you, Diane.
 
I've been following your case in Chicago and I believe you didn't kill your ex-husband.”

“I didn't.”

“I said I believe you.
 
And personally I don't care if you made porno films or not.
 
Now where's your son?”

“I think he's here somewhere,” she said.
 
“He was kidnapped.
 
Valentine thinks I'm Dana Barnett and he had David abducted in order to bring me out here.
 
So far no one knows I'm here yet.
 
I'm still trying to figure out what to do.
 
I'd like to find David before I present myself to Valentine.”