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private  eye (gum shoe) Jake Daring and the Strange Diamonds of Ga Hello. Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Jake Daring. I'm a private eye. This was my most baffling case yet. Some guy goes breaking into a jewelry store at night, when no one's there. He smashed open a case containing fifty-one rare diamonds called the Ga Collection. One diamond alone would be worth millions. The weird thing was that, when the police got there, nothing was missing. I immediately headed out to the scene of the crime. The police told me the thief had been there about twenty minutes, which wasn't much help. "Hello, Bobby," I said. Bobby is an inspector for the police and a really good friend. "Hey Jake, how's it going?" "I've been better," I replied. "My idea of a good day is not going to the scene of a crime at six in the morning. Any suspects"? I asked. "Three, but here's the problem. One of them died three years ago, and one went to jail eighteen months ago." "And the last suspect?" "He's one of the people that owns the collection." "One of the people?" Bobby shrugged his drooping shoulders. "Yeah. This collection is owned by a series of people who all have an interest in a certain number of diamonds. If the collection stays on display, each owner gets a certain amount of money." I frowned. "Why would someone steal something they already own?" "Because if they had all of the diamonds, they get more money. But we think it was a gang tactic. I mean why would someone who knows the exact worth of every diamond have the chance to steal them and just run away? Why did they leave the diamonds behind?" I winked at him. "Good point." I needed a drink and a clue. One of them I knew where to find so I headed to Joe's Place. They have the best whiskey in the world. (just between you and me, I really go there for the buffalo wings.) I had questions and I needed answers. I wanted to talk to Nicole. She was one dame who would never shut up. But she also listened. She knew things and always had the answers I needed. (Especially when I pointed a 44 caliber automatic at her head.) She was pretty easy to find because she was my next door neighbor. I lived in a place called the Bale Apartment Complex. It wasn't much but it was home. I knocked on her door. She didn't answer but I heard her boom box playing and the whirring of her bathroom fan could be heard all the way down the hall and inside my apartment. (She turns it on to annoy me.) I tried the door knob. The door opened and I stepped in. She was standing there, in the living room, curlers in her hair. She yelled, "Get out!" She came after me and started hitting me. "Shut up, you harpy!" I mumbled beneath my breath and started to the door. I looked over at her and opened my mouth to ask her if she knew who had broken into the jewelry store. I hesitated. I caught the gleam of something on the coffee table. It was one of the diamonds. But how .... ? Then, it hit me only the way a .44 slug can. Literally. I was shot! I got up off the floor, wiping blood from my shoulder. I saw Nicole standing in the bedroom doorway, holding a gun. Her hands were shaking. In that moment, I realized that someone, possibly Nicole, had stolen the real diamonds and left cubic zirconias in their place to throw off the police until they had time to unload the real diamonds to an underground broker. In one quick movement, I jumped and landed behind Nicole's couch. To my surprise, four other goons with bushy eyebrows and burly shoulders, joined her. They each had shotguns. I decided to do the sensible thing when there are four people shooting at you. I ran in the opposite direction. I shot back at them. Three of them went down. My arm throbbed in pain from the bullet wound. I shot the fourth guy in the heart. I dodged around the corner of Nicole's bathroom. All was suddenly quiet. I could see Nicole's shadow coming down the hall, towards me. But the shadow grew. I was wrong! It was a fifth goon. I jumped out and fired three quick shots. I got him twice in the chest. But where was Nicole? I asked him as he lay dying on the brown carpet. He pointed a trembling finger just as Nicole pulled the trigger. I dodged and fired. She collapsed beside the dying man. "You stole the diamonds?" I asked them. "No," Nicole gasped in a hoarse voice. "Billy Binnz... took them." Then, she went quiet and I knew she was dead. I called the police to let them know what had happened, then I headed down to Binnz's place. He had a part ownership in the diamonds, just like Bobby said. I barged into his office without knocking. "How did you get in here?" he asked. "Your security guards were no trouble. They are all idiots. Where are the diamonds, Billy?" "Over here," he responded without hesitation. Suddenly, he bolted for the door. I shot him in the back of the leg and he stumbled out the open window. "Noooo!" I cried as I lunged to grab him. My fingers brushed his arm but I was not quick enough. I looked out the window and saw his broken body lying on the ground below, five stories down. I sighed. No doubt the police would have more questions for me. The good news is that all fifty-one of the diamonds were recovered. I got paid a sixteen thousand dollar recovery fee, which I used to pay up my back rent and bills. My shoulder is knitting nicely and I get out of the hospital tomorrow. Case Closed |
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