“It is something that may bring him out of his hole—a trap! Why didn’t I think of it before? And it can be arranged easily.”
“Let’s have it, then.”
“As you know, I am to be married soon. My gift to my bride will be the same my father gave my mother—the famous Verbeck diamond necklace. That necklace is in a certain safe-deposit vault now, and I’ll not even tell you where it is.”
“But where’s the trap, Roger?”
“A moment, Riley—don’t be so impatient. That necklace is the same as the day my father clasped it on his bride’s throat. That was a good many years ago, and fashions in jewel settings change. So naturally, before I present it to my bride, I’ll have to have the stones reset.”
“Sure.”
“The stones alone are worth a quarter of a million dollars—enough to tempt any jewel thief, and especially a jewel fiend, since some of the stones have histories. Now—suppose it gets noised abroad that I am having the necklace reset for my fiancée. The newspapers, we’ll say, print the history of the necklace and tell of my intentions. It is announced that the jewelry firm of So & So is to do the work, and that the necklace has been taken from the safe deposit and now is in the vault of that firm.”
“I begin to get you, Roger.”
“I thought you would. If you were the Black Star, and read that in the papers, what would you do? If you were the Black Star and held enmity for me, and wanted to turn a big trick to show your contempt for the police, what would you do?”
“Ha! I’d pinch that necklace, thereby getting a quarter of a million in stones, and some other truck as well—and at the same time get square with Mr. Roger Verbeck.”