The inspector held up his hand. "Presently. Aren't you enjoying the suspense?"
"It's killing us," Scotty wailed.
"Ah, the impatience of the young!" Ismail ben Adhem obviously was having a good time. "Well, the pieces are nearly tied up."
"Good," Rick applauded.
Ben chuckled. "On the same day that Kerama invited you to come, I had a call from the Interpol clearinghouse in Paris, a relay from the San Francisco police. A wealthy collector of early Egyptian objects in San Francisco had been bragging that he had just purchased a genuine necklace that had belonged to one of the early Pharaohs. We requested the Americans to investigate."
That explained the Californian who talked too much, Rick thought. He had known the purchase was illegal, but, like many collectors, could not resist letting a few friends in on his secret—and the secret had leaked to the police.
"This collector had paid for the necklace with a certified check, which was cashed by an American accomplice." Ben paused for effect. "The amount was two hundred thousand dollars cash."
He got his effect. All four of his listeners gasped in amazement.
"Even Moustafa didn't know the exact amount," Rick thought.
"The money was in thousand-dollar bills. I have the serial numbers."