After two more bins, Khizar was starting to doubt that the bear was actually in the attic. Jacqui studied the boxes and then snapped her fingers. She dug around in a corner, and then pushed a dusty book shelf to the side.
“Here, let’s try this one.”
Khizar helped her pull out the larger box and wrangle it open. He could see stuffed animals inside, indicating that this was the right box. He didn’t want to appear overeager, so he stood back and let Jacqui carefully unpack the box.
She finally held up a large, brown bear wearing a dapper vest.
Jacqui smiled at it and quietly said, “Hello, Alexander Bear.”
Jacqui handed the bear to Khizar, who noted how heavy it felt. Poking at the middle of the stuffed animal, he felt a solid lump.
“I think this might be something,” he said and handed the bear back to Jacqui.
“Let’s go downstairs where the light is better,” she said.
Khizar wanted to protest and tell her to tear open the bear right then and there, but held himself in check.
Jacqui closed the box and they carefully made their way out of the attic and back downstairs. She found a pair of scissors and set the stuffed animal on her dining table after flipping the bright overhead light on.
Carefully, she clipped a few threads on the bear’s back and pulled them apart. Again, Khizar wanted to ask her to hurry, but then he remembered that the bear was all that Jacqui had of her family. He recalled how she’d greeted it in the attic, and could understand her wanting to preserve it as much as possible.
Once she had a large enough hole in the bear, Jacqui cautiously reached in and pulled out some of the stuffing. It was wrapped around a large bulk of something. Jacqui set the scissors down and pulled the cotton off of whatever it was cushioning.
Left in her hand was a diamond. A large, clear diamond, cut in a beautiful shape with edges that refracted light across the dining table. Jacqui took in a long, deep breath.
“Oh, it’s beautiful. William Bauer owned a diamond mine, right? This must be one of his.”
Khizar carefully, reverently reached for the diamond. This—this—was the end of his quest. The thing he’d sought for so long was in his hands. Truly, this was a moment he wouldn’t forget.
Except that the second the diamond was in his hands, he could tell that something was wrong. Khizar turned it over and over, trying to decipher what his brain was telling him.
Jacqui must have picked up on his puzzlement, because she asked, “Khizar, what is it?”
He shook his head, stunned. “It’s not…”
He only remembered at the last second that he wasn’t supposed to know about the Bauer Diamond.
“It looks like a diamond, but it’s not a real one.”
Jacqui looked at him in confusion. “What is it, then?”
Khizar laughed bitterly, then, and set the diamond back on the table.
“It’s a fake. A very good one, but still a fake.”
He felt like he was going to break in two. All the time and effort spent looking for the Bauer Diamond, and all he had to show for it was a fake gem…and a fake engagement.
He’d gotten Jacqui to fall for him, proposed, and it was all for nothing. He had the woman, but no diamond. And the diamond was all that mattered. The feeling in his gut made that clear.
Khizar ran his hand through his hair, not caring that Jacqui was confused. This was a disaster, and he needed to think. He waved a hand when she asked again, and sat down heavily in the chair next to her.
Jacqui picked up the diamond again, turning it over as well. Her eyes narrowed as she looked more closely at one side, and Khizar wondered what she saw.
He couldn’t believe it. Khizar took the diamond back from Jacqui and held it up to the light.
“Look at that,” Khizar said and pointed out the engraving on the back. It was tiny, but with his trained eye, Khizar could see that it was a series of numbers.
“Do you have something to write on?” he asked.
Jacqui turned and grabbed a notebook and pen from the sideboard next to the table. “Here.”
Khizar took the pen and opened the notebook. He wrote down the numbers from the back of the diamond and then turned the page so that Jacqui could see.
“Any idea what these numbers mean?” he asked.