As they walked along together, she started wondering about Matt’s mother. Didn’t she miss him? Sasha couldn’t understand a mother giving up her child unless forced to by painful circumstances, yet Nathan had implied that Matt’s mother was like Tyler, hating the responsibilities of parenthood.
The hurt must have gone very deep when Nathan realised he’d made a mistake in his choice of wife. Clearly he did not want to subject himself to that kind of hurt again. But Sasha was sure it was a worse mistake to give up on love altogether. A marriage of convenience was not the answer.
On entering the main hall at the exhibition centre, Sasha very quickly realised diamonds were not the dominant feature on show. There were huge displays on all the mining ventures: models and maps and diagrams and videos of gold mining at Kalgoorlie; iron mining at Pilbura; copper mining at Mount Isa; silver-lead-zinc mining at Broken Hill; coal mining from the Newcastle region; opal mining at Cooper Pedy; and, of course, diamond mining in the Kimberleys, as well as many others.
School groups were being led around by teachers who were intent on broadening the education of their pupils. There were crowds of other people, as well, satisfying their interest in the natural resources of a country that was rich with minerals and precious stones.
‘If you don’t want a geology lesson, we’ll go straight to the showroom,’ Nathan said, refocusing Sasha’s attention on why he had brought her here.
‘Lead the way,’ she replied, realising they didn’t have unlimited time. Matt would have to be picked up from his playschool at some reasonable hour.
Two security guards stood on either side of the doorway into the showroom. Sasha was amazed there weren’t more in evidence when she saw what was displayed with such little protection. There were signs saying no touching was allowed, and people were not to stray in any way beyond the roped off areas, but the nuggets and precious stones were not in locked glass cases. They were arrayed on velvet-covered stands, their full glory undiminished by any barriers to the naked eye.
The coloured diamonds were the centrepiece in the room. They were fabulous. Sasha had only seen white diamonds before. She was fascinated by the range and brilliance of the colours. They were worth a king’s ransom. The most outstanding was a pink.
‘Gorgeous, isn’t it?’ Nathan murmured.
‘Magnificent,’ she agreed.
‘It really doesn’t catch the light to best advantage on that velvet,’ he suggested.
‘The notice said no touching,’ she warned, catching the drift of his intent.
‘You’re right,’ he agreed. ‘Let’s take the diamond home and study it there.’
With a nonchalant air, he placed one leg across the roped off area. Nothing happened. Then, to Sasha’s dazed disbelief, he reached out and palmed the diamond from its stand.
Her shocked eyes followed the movement.
Just as swiftly, the diamond was secreted inside Bonnie’s pilchers, hidden in the folds of her nappy. Maintaining every appearance of total innocence, Nathan Parnell calmly stepped back into the visitors’ area and turned to view the opals on the other side of the diamond display.
All hell broke loose.
Alarms soared up a scale of decibels. Klaxons whooped. Bonnie started wailing. The two security guards filled the doorway, ordering those in the showroom to stay precisely where they were. Excited yelling was accompanied by a stampede of running feet from the hall outside.
Sasha froze. Nathan Parnell was a jewel thief? He was using her baby as an accomplice in a diamond heist? Could he possibly think she would let him get away with it? Did he possibly think he could get away with it?
No wonder he had disagreements with judges about what constituted justice! He had handed her a lot of surprises but this was beyond the pale. No way would she involve herself with a thief!
The guards parted to allow more men into the room. The sirens stopped. The klaxons stopped. After all the noise the silence was startling. The first man pointed an accusing finger straight at Nathan. ‘I’ve got you,’ he said with absolute conviction. ‘You put the diamond in the baby’s nappy.’
Sasha felt a surge of relief. At least she didn’t have to accuse him herself. But was she incriminated by being with him? Would anyone believe she wasn’t an accessory in these circumstances?
‘You made the baby cry,’ Nathan admonished, making a great show of trying to soothe Bonnie.
Sasha was dumbfounded by his calm and cool demeanour. How could he remain so unaffected in the face of being caught red-handed?
An older man pushed forward. He glared long and hard at Nathan Parnell through his gold-rimmed spectacles, brushed a hand over his receding hairline, then with an air of dull resignation he said, ‘All right, Mr Parnell. You’ve proved your point.’
‘Did you get a good shot of me on video, Daniel?’ Nathan drawled, tilting his chin this way and that in mock posturing. ‘Did I show up well from every angle? Which profile gave the best result?’
Sasha shook her head in bewilderment. He sounded like a horribly vain movie star wanting his ego stroked.
Daniel’s gloom appeared to deepen substantially. ‘Mr Parnell, you photograph brilliantly from any angle. I really prefer not to choose a specific shot. But I ask you...I beg you...is it possible for you to visit the display and not set off the alarms, and not have your photograph taken?’
‘Daniel, if I recollect perfectly...’ his voice dripped with silky reasonableness ‘...harsh words were spoken...’
‘Mr Parnell, no man regrets, genuinely regrets, as much as I do that I called you crazy.’ Daniel’s voice gathered a passionate momentum as he continued. ‘No man can more sincerely believe that I made a great error of judgement when I said this protection system could not work. No man could have been more wrong when I said, if this system could work, you were the last person in the world capable of making it happen. No person could be more sincerely, genuinely regretful of past mistakes, and I beg you, I beseech you, I pray that you will take this admission as an act of contrition, a true humbling of self.’