A costly craft
Donnie Pendergast gave his pitch to the captain the morning after the third diamond heist of the month.
"Cap, you got a minute?"
Captain Jake looked up from the mound of papers on his desk behind which he had a plate of jelly donuts.
"What is it, Pendergast? I'm drowning here. The lineup was a bust this morning. None of the witnesses had a clue. Worse still, to a person they felt the need to balk. They each claimed to have made an error and apparently the thief they saw wasn't tall and blonde but rather was short and dark haired. And, oh, by the way, there were three robbers, not four. C'mon!" He took a bite of a donut. "So, what is it, kid?"
"Cap, before they strike again, I know where we can catch them in the act."
"I'm all ears, kid. The mayor and the commisioner feel the need to batter someone on this and that someone is me." He offered him the plate. Donnie shook his head. The captain picked up another donut. " Whatcha got?"
"Well, you see, it's like this..."
"Don’t slump, kid, sit up straight."
Donnie sat up. "You see, Cap, I'm positive they're gonna try to score the biggest job yet this Saturday."
"Why Saturday? There's been no pattern, aside from one a week."
"This Saturday is the Center City Historical Society's annual ball."
"And?"
"And the items for auction include a miniature native American dugout designed by that eccentric millionaire carpenter who made the life-sized windup cuckoo clock for last year's ball."
"John Boise? Nutcase. So what?"
"He lined the bottom of the dugout with 25 one carat diamonds."
The captain stood and grabbed his jacket. "I think it's time we pay the Society and Mr. Boise a visit, kid."
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