Black River

FORTY-TWO

O’Brien made the call from the galley. Dave and Nick continued watching the world news as the thunderstorm slacked off, the heavy rain passing. When Detective Dan Grant answered, O’Brien asked, “Dan, did anyone make it to the river bluff?”

“Do you mean the place seen on the video where somebody was sighting down on Jack Jordan’s boat when he pulled the strongbox from the river?”

“Yes.”

“Hold on, Sean. I’ll check.”

O’Brien watched the lightning in the distance over the ocean. Grant returned, exhaled, and said, “Looks like that area hasn’t been examined yet. It’s scheduled for tomorrow morning. Larry Rollins is driving out there.”

“In the meantime, the evidence might be getting washed in a hard rain.”

“Hold on, Sean. First of all, we don’t know if it’s evidence. We don’t know if a crime has been committed.”

“But you know someone had sighted rifle crosshairs on Jack Jordan from that riverbank before he was killed.”

“And that’s the prime reason the investigation ramped up. We’ve interviewed every actor, extra, and crew member on the movie set. Even that pompous ass director. We do know this…Jack Jordan’s wife is the beneficiary of a half-million dollar life insurance policy. Accidental shooting or murder, she gets the payout.”

“When did coverage on that policy begin?”

“Gimme a second, I’ll pull the file.”

O’Brien watched a Bertram yacht, bone white, running lights reflecting from the dark water, enter the marina. Its big diesels purred as the captain piloted the boat toward an open slip on N dock.

Dan Grant came back on the line. “Looks like the policy was taken out about ten years ago.”

“It wasn’t long after Laura and Jack Jordan were married. So why would she kill him now? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Murder, if she did it, isn’t supposed to make sense…if you’re sane. People change, Sean. You know that. Maybe she was seeing somebody else. Hell, maybe she grew to hate the guy and waited for the right time to have him taken out.”

“That would mean one of the re-enactors was a hit man.”

“Or maybe her lover turned hit man. We checked her phone records. She made and received a lot of calls from a guy named Cory Nelson…a man she calls a family friend.”

O’Brien said nothing for a few seconds. “Were all of the re-enactors questioned?”

“Of course. For the most part, nothing even smelled like intent. All the guys shooting the rifles that day had the same story: they believed they were shooting blanks. And out there on the film set with moving troops, there’s no way to figure trajectory of a bullet. We’re either talking about one hell of a marksman, or Jack Jordan was simply in the wrong place at the wrong damn time and got in the way of a stray bullet nobody even knew was in one of those old rifles. Laura Jordan may be innocent, but a half-mil could be incentive if things were rocky at home.”

“A half-million isn’t even pocket change compared to the value of that diamond. We know this, Dan, Jack Jordan found the diamond and now it’s gone — apparently stolen. There’s your incentive. Now all you have to do is find out who was motivated to pull the trigger.”

“Stay dry, Sean. Gotta go—”

“Wait…you said for the most part nothing smelled like intent. What might you have?”

“That’s part of the investigation. Suffice to say that a witness said he saw one of the re-enactors in a heated argument with Jack Jordan, on the movie set, and it was the day before he was killed.”

“Did you question the guy who had the argument?”

“Sean, only because we go way back am I even talking with you. Of course we questioned him. Guy’s name is Silas Jackson. He’s a long time Civil War re-enactor. He said the argument was about Civil War trivia, and it was spirited only because this guy, Silas, and Jordan had running debates through years, but they never took it personal.”

“For some, the Civil War was personal. Jackson was fired from the film set.”

“How did you know that?”

“Because the painting I’m looking for was on the set. A few months before he was killed, Jack Jordan and his wife bought it from an antique dealer in DeLand. Jordan loaned the painting to the filmmakers to use as a prop for scenes they were shooting in an antebellum house called Wind ‘n Willows. Someone stole the painting. It might have been Jackson because a witness said Jackson was enamored by the image of the woman in the painting. He told a re-enactor that he thought the woman would be resurrected and found among the living.”

“Too bad his brain isn’t living. Another thing about this guy. He was busted a few years ago for dealing crystal meth. He did a nickel stretch in Raiford. Half the time he was in solitary confinement. FBI has him on their watch list. In addition to playing Civil War games, he’s a known underground militia leader with a suspected fifty or so paramilitary followers. He’s a highly skilled survivalist and a prepper. They meet and train deep in the Ocala National Forest.”

“What did the autopsy show about the caliber of the bullet — the Minié ball that killed Jordan.”

“It was a .58 caliber. Shot through a rifled bore. About half the re-enactors were using Springfield model smooth bore muskets firing .69 caliber rounds. The other half was using Springfield models .58 caliber, rifled bore.”

“Which musket did Jackson use?”

“He says he fired blanks or nothing but black powder. Regardless, he was using a rifled bore .58 caliber.”

“Is there enough left of the Minié ball to match it with a ballistics test to Jackson’ gun?”

“It’s doubtful. Bullet was pretty well torn up. We’re testing it”

“Dan, the place on the river bluff where Joe Billie and I found the Minié ball, loose change, stogie and boot print with the crack in the heel, may not have been soaked by the rain. The huge cypress tree was full of foliage and Spanish moss. Maybe the stuff is still there. And maybe it came from Jackson.”

“We’ll see.”

“I saw a wardrobe photo of Jackson. He was wearing a Confederate officer’s uniform. The image on the video of the man with the gun is low resolution, but from a distance it looked like he might have been wearing a period hat and clothes. Could be the same.”

“You hunt for that painting, Sean. We’ll look for the killer, if there is one.”

“If I find the painting, I’ll find the killer.”

Dan Grant blew out a long breath into the phone. “I hope this new PI career you’re doing doesn’t cross paths with our investigation. We’re old friends, not new partners.” He disconnected.

O’Brien stepped up from the galley back to the salon where Dave gestured to the TV screen and said, “Take a look at the ripple effect, and how a tsunami can be created from a viral video if the controversy is of global curiosity.”

The channel was on CNN and the graphic to the left of the news anchor’s head spelled: India — Old War Wound Flares Up. The reporter said, “This morning in New Delhi, the Indian government is considering a resolution that would make a formal, diplomatic request for the British Government to have the legendary diamond, known as the Koh-i-Noor, examined by an Indian gemologist for authenticity. This move is coming on the heels of renewed international interest in the whereabouts of the diamond — a precious stone that many in India, including heads of state, believe was stolen by the British government from India in 1850 and wound up as part of the Crown Jewels. In London, Indian Ambassador Samar Patel had this to say.”

The video cut to a thin, dark-skinned man in a gray suit being interviewed in front of the Indian embassy on Aldwych Street. He said, “The Koh-i-Noor has a long history with India. When it was, shall we say… removed from our country in 1850, it was done so unlawfully. The Koh-i-Noor came from Indian soil and it was part of the Indian culture for hundreds of years, all the way back to the eleventh century. The diamond, before it was pilfered, was recognized as a treasure of India, much as the Taj Mahal is today. We implore British Prime Minister, Duncan Hannes to seek permission for an independent gemologist to examine the diamond housed within the Crown Jewels. We hope that the Queen and members of the Royal Family do allow this to transpire.”

The reporter asked, “What happens if the real diamond is there in the Tower of London as assumed? Prime Minster Hannes has gone on record, in his recent visit to India, as saying the return of the Koh-i-Noor to India will not happen. So, if the real diamond is there, it would seem that nothing changes in the last 170 or so years, correct?”

“No. Regardless, India still owns the Koh-i-Noor. However, if it is not genuine, then that is a game-changer. It means the diamond seen on the video and found in a Florida river may be the authentic Koh-i-Noor, and my government will be offering a reward of sixty-million rupee for its return to India.”

The image cut back to the studio. Dave muted the sound as Nick whistled and said, “Somebody tell me what the hell sixty-million rupee is in the good ol’ U — S — of — A dollar column.”

Dave slid his glasses off the top of his head to his nose and reached for a hand-held calculator. He punched a few buttons, eyes growing wider. “It’s roughly ten-million dollars.” He leaned back on the couch, scratched Max behind her ears and said, “Sean, the mysterious woman in the photo, whom we now presume is Confederate Officer Henry Hopkins’ wife Angelina…the hunt for her portrait seems secondary, at best, to the hunt that’s going to happen if it’s confirmed that the diamond pulled from the river is the fabled Koh — i-Noor. Florida will be crawling with international bounty hunters. Gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘solider-of-fortune.’ Some very wealthy people will hire the best mercenaries to find the diamond for private collections. Whoever stole that diamond now is about to become the most hunted person on earth.”