NOTE: Long chapter is long. ;) About 90% of what you learn about the 1922 Diamond Fund book is real, the main part I made up is the nature of the drawing on the front page, it has a drawing but a much simpler one than I describe.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Laying on his back Neal stared up at the ceiling above his bed. It was two in the morning and he was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. His wrist was contorted into an unnatural position that had turned painful long ago, but he was determined to just ignore it. Twenty feet away tucked into the pocket of his jacket was the handful of percocet that he had spent all day collecting. However Peter was still insisting that it wasn't safe for him to be left alone and was currently sleeping peacefully beside him.
Neal envied Peter's ability to just sleep, although he was more than a little irritated by his decision to sleep here tonight. Although when he thought about it Peter was right, he would have relapsed if he'd been left alone tonight, at least to a small degree. Trying to be grateful for Peter's help Neal attempted to fall asleep. However every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Rebecca turning her gun on him and then everything in his mind turning to blood, panic, and pain. Thinking about it made his shoulder worse, but keeping the thoughts at bay at night seemed impossible. During the day he could distract himself, at night he was left alone with his thoughts.
What disturbed Neal the most is that the memory never seemed to play exactly the same in his mind. He was losing hold of the truth of the events, and doubting himself as to whether or not he ever even had them in the first place. He had told Peter several times that Rebecca's finger had never gone near the trigger, and that she wasn't a threat. As time went by when he closed his eyes the scene could just as easily play out the way Peter had described it. For Neal it was becoming more difficult to know what was actually the truth and what he wanted to delude himself into believing. He knew memory was a delicate thing and that particularly small details were easily overwritten by desires.
He could barely stand the thought of Rebecca wanting him dead and willing to kill him herself. Kate had hid from him for reasons he'd never know. Alex pushed him away when he had started trying to walk a more straight and narrow path with Peter. Sara pulled away when she had discovered the treasure and that he hadn't left behind his criminal behavior despite his best efforts. None of the women he loved ever seemed to truly love who he was in return, they all appeared to have an idealized notion of him that he could never live up to. Rebecca may have started out as a lie but even Peter had pointed out that she had honestly fallen in love with him.
"She saw both sides of me and she didn't even flinch...but she was also psychotic."
Worrying that he was over romanticizing what had happened between them Neal turned his thoughts to the etchings he had found on the inside of the Faberge Egg. He had tried making a rubbing of them with some thin tracing paper and a pencil but the scratch marks had been too fine. The fingerprint dust hadn't worked either since it was more designed to stick to the oil left behind that formed a fingerprint. It was entirely likely that the scratches were nothing, but they tugged naggingly at Neal's curiosity. Plus there was still the mystery of how Fisher ended up with the eggs since it really didn't look like Fisher had anything to do with deceiving him into the original heist.
The book found in Fisher's stash was another matter that had caught Neal's interest. He hadn't had time to really look at it yet since he'd been so engrossed by the Faberge eggs. Trying to visualize the artwork that had adorned the front page Neal started to wonder why the page was so elaborate when the rest of the book was basically just a photo album. Turning the puzzle over in his mind began to act much in the same way that counting sheep did. As the pain in his shoulder faded and his hand began to relax he finally drifted off to sleep.
It had been a few hours but it felt like only seconds when Neal was woken by Peter getting out of the far side of the bed. Sitting up Neal looked around at the new morning a bit bleary eyed. Despite the fact that he had slept Peter didn't look particularly well rested himself. Neal knew he didn't want to be here, he wanted to be home with Elizabeth and he couldn't blame him for that. Peter looked Neal over critically.
"You didn't sleep very well, did you?" Peter stated more than asked.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Painfully so." Peter shook his head sadly.
"First night in a while without the percocet." Neal shrugged. "Just give me a little more time."
"Do you want to take the day off? I can deal with the Fisher case myself."
"No. I want a look at that book before it's gone."
"Okay. A distraction might be just what you need."
Neal felt like a distraction was exactly what he needed and he found himself very eager to get a closer look at the 1922 Diamond Fund. He was even looking forward to meeting the 'expert' that the USGS was flying out to authenticate it. Once they were ready to head to the office Neal grabbed his own recreation copy of the 1925 book to compare it to. The 1925 book was officially titled 'Russia's Treasure of Diamonds and Precious Stones', and was considered the most complete inventory to the collection of Royal Jewels of Russia known as the 'Diamond Fund'. The original book only had a handful of copies ever made and the Russian government had quickly pulled the publication and many of the books were destroyed for unknown reasons.
Once at the office Neal was able to talk Peter into taking the book out of evidence and bringing it into his office. Neal knew that Peter wouldn't want to just stand in the evidence room watching him study the book for very long. Peter had spent a good ten minutes going over the rules on 'chain of custody', but he had agreed to bring the book out of evidence.
Unable to have the book out of Peter's sight Neal had to set up on the edge of Peter's desk while he leafed through it. Peter was busy going through the files that had been found on Fisher's computer as he searched for evidence of the ponzi scheme. Neal spent an hour carefully studying the art work on the front page of the album. There were some obvious Russian icons on the page, but it was also littered with some more obscure references and imagery that didn't quite seem to fit.
Looking over the page Neal found references that could easily be connected to the eggs that they had in evidence. There was a trellis of roses that climbed the side of the title that reminded him of the Rosebud egg. Midway across the page was a tiny drawing of a swan with its wings held open. The blue serpent wasn't as prominent, and it was difficult to tell if the blue line work was a snake or possibly just decorative scroll work.
Neal wanted to make a connection between the two finds, but the more he looked at the complicated painting the more he realized that the page was so cluttered that it wasn't any small wonder that he could find references to the eggs. The upper right corner also had a double headed eagle wearing a crown, a group of Saluki dogs ran across the bottom of the page, all in all over a dozen different themes and there were embellishments and scroll work everywhere.
Turning his attention more to the contents of the book Neal opened his own copy to compare it. Many of the pictures were exactly the same and the originals in the 1922 had clearly been used as plates for the mass produced 1925. Some of the pictures were slightly different but both books held photos of the same object in each. However as he continued to study it Neal realized that there were four pieces in the 1922 edition that were missing in the 1925 book. Among the stunning jewels were a sapphire and diamond bracelet, an emerald necklace, a sapphire and diamond broach in the shape of a bow with a sizable center stone, and a breathtaking sapphire and diamond tiara.
It was the tiara that really caught Neal's attention. It held nine large sapphires along with numerous brilliant diamonds. The platinum work that held the stones had graceful interconnecting curves that had drop diamonds hanging from their tips. Going back to the 1925 publication Neal flipped to a page that held a photo of all of the jewels spread out on a table. Using the magnifying glass he was able to spot the diamond tiara in the group photo as well as the other three pieces that were almost lost in the sea of gold and gems. Neal started to think that perhaps it was this group shot that had lead to the Russians trying to destroy the 1925 publication to hide the fact that the missing pieces existed.
"It's nice to see you so engrossed in something again." Peter noted as he took a break from the computer.
"Peter, this is amazing. There are four pieces from the Russian Royal Jewels in the 1922 book that don't appear again in the 1925 publication."
"The Russian revolution was chaotic and bloody, I'm sure there are plenty of treasures missing from the Romanov collection."
"Yes, but here is photographic evidence of four spectacular pieces. If they could be found..."
"No, no more treasure hunting." Peter said firmly. "You have gotten into more than enough trouble chasing after treasure for one lifetime."
"You're no fun anymore, Peter." Neal teased. "Some of our greatest adventures have been because of treasure."
"Right along with some of our darkest hours."
Neal fell silent having been sharply reminded of Elizabeth's kidnapping over the Nazi treasure horde. Although Peter had also been including the fact that Neal had been shot over treasure in his statement.
"I'm sorry, Neal." Peter sighed.
"No, you're right." Neal closed the book. "So what have you found on the financial side?"
"Fisher has been amazingly careful and clever in hiding this scam. It's a bit of a catch 22, if we had waited a month or two the ponzi would have fallen apart and it would be obvious."
"But then the investors would loose everything and Fisher would be long gone."
"Exactly, and looking at his investor list there are few bad apples in here but for the most part they are law abiding business men. With the kind of lawyers that Fisher can afford we might not actually be able to nail him for the ponzi scheme, but we've got more than enough with art crimes to lock him up for a long time."
"He's going to end up some place like Club Fed isn't he?" Neal huffed.
"Club Fed." Peter chuckled. "I had forgotten about that place, they closed it down a few years back. Eglin Federal Prison Camp in Florida that place really was pretty cushy as far as prison life is concerned. As I recall you tried to make a request for placement at Eglin at your sentencing."
"Which for completely unfair reasons I did not qualify for."
"Unfair? No judge was going to grant you minimum security placement."
"I had to try, after all that's where most white collar criminals end up."
"Neal your flight risk assessment score was the highest any of us had ever seen."
"I was kind of proud of that." Neal chuckled.
"I know you were." Peter rolled his eyes.
When Neal's stomach growled at him he glanced up at the clock on the wall and was surprised to find that it was nearly two in the afternoon. He'd been so focused on the book that he hadn't noticed that most of the day had slipped by. Feeling better than he had since he'd been shot Neal was about to suggest that they head out for lunch when there was a knock at the glass door to Peter's office. The door was open, but the guest had knocked on it anyway and was standing at the threshold, not about to enter without an invitation.
Neal looked over the tall African American man standing outside Peter's office with a visitor's tag on his lapel. He was wearing an ill fitting suit that had the feel of being his 'only suit' that had probably been purchased years prior for the rare occasions when he needed one. He stood with the same kind of attention that Jones tended to stand at giving Neal the impression that the man had a least some military background. He wore a set of heavy framed glasses that had a bit of a 1950's look to them but he pulled it off. He was looking at Peter, but when his glance shifted to Neal there was something out of place. It took him looking back to Peter for Neal to realize that only one of his eyes had move, the other was probably glass. Having noticed the motionless eye Neal could make out some faint scaring on the side of the man's face.
"Can I help you?" Peter asked politely.
"I certainly hope so, Agent Burke." He smiled brightly. "I'm Dr. Devon Frost, from the USGS."
"Of course, please come in."
Like a vampire that had just been given permission to enter Frost stepped over the threshold into Peter's office. He walked with a distinct limp as he approached. Peter got to his feet and came around the desk to greet his visitor. Neal got to his feet as well as Peter and Devon shook hands.
"It's good of you to fly all the way out here to authenticate the book." Peter said before turning to introduce Neal. "This is..."
"Neal Caffrey." Frost finished for Peter with a touch of excitement in his voice as he held his hand out for Neal.
"That's right." Neal shook Frost's hand somewhat hesitantly. "I'm sorry, have we met before?"
"No, nothing like that. I'm sorry, I'm just a bit of a fan of yours."
"A fan?" Neal asked confused.
"No, please don't do that," Peter complained "I have enough trouble with his ego as it is."
"I'm making a fool of myself, aren't I?" Frost flushed. "I'm sorry, you know us librarians, we don't get out much. I have the added social disadvantage of being a doctor of gemology so...well, let's just say that I'm better with books and rocks than I am with people."
"You know me because of the sister diamond to the Hope Diamond find." Neal pieced together.
"Yes." Frost nodded. "In fact I was on the team that authenticated the stone."
"So you got to hold the diamond?" Neal smiled.
"I did."
"Magnificent wasn't it?" Neal asked knowingly.
"Best day of my life." Frost said wistfully.
Peter just shook his head sadly at the pair. The stone had been amazing, but it certainly hadn't left the same impression on him as it had Neal and Frost. Frost's already bright demeanor lit up even more as he spied the battered leather book sitting on Peter's desk. He stepped past Neal and Peter as if they weren't even there to pick up the book. He reverently opened it and looked at the front page before he closed it again.
"There you are." Frost purred directly to the book. "I thought I'd never see you again."
Peter exchanged a glance with Neal that held the unspoken question: 'He's a little crazy, isn't he?'. Neal smiled and nodded slightly. Although the librarian/gemologist was certainly a little off socially Neal respected his apparent passion for the book. He didn't often meet people with the same kind of interest in art and history that he had and Frost seemed to exude enthusiasm if nothing else. Still holding the 1922 book Frost reached out and turned the cover of the other book around so that he could read it.
"Ah, the 1925 edition. You know I own one of the original copies of this."
"You do?"
"Technically it belongs to the USGS. Have you been comparing the two?"
"I have." Neal nodded. "Four unique pieces, very interesting."
"All of which remain lost to this day."
"Odd that there is no mention of them as being stolen." Neal added. "I can understand pieces getting lost or taken back in 1917, but there should have been better security around the jewels between 1922 and 25."
"That has often been my thought exactly." Frost nodded. "The jewels have a fascinating history."
"Most do."
"Can I take the both of you out for dinner tonight?" Frost asked suddenly. "I would love to discuss the book, my co-workers are sick of hearing about it. This book was my pet project until it was stolen a few years back. I don't know New York at all so you'll have to pick the place."
"I'd love to, but...uh..." Neal looked to Peter.
"Oh, right, I'm sorry." Frost looked embarrassed. "You have some sort of restrictions on your movements. I forgot. Sorry, I...uh...I've never really met any ex-cons before, at least none that I know about. I don't know the rules."
"Well technically I'm not an ex-con."
"What?"
"I'm still serving my sentence so I'm just a plain 'convict' at the moment." Neal smiled.
"Amazingly enough that doesn't make this any less awkward." Frost shifted his weight uncomfortably.
"Dinner has nothing to do with his convict status." Peter clarified. "Neal just assumes that the last thing that I would want to do is sit at a restaurant and listen to a Russian history lesson on diamonds."
"Am I wrong?" Neal asked defensively.
"No." Peter admitted.
"I suppose Mr. Caffrey and I could go alone, assuming that's okay, and...uh...safe?"
"It's fine, he doesn't bite." Peter assured.
"Excellent."
"But you should probably keep a close eye on your wallet." Peter warned.
Frost gave Neal an apprehensive look.
"He's kidding." Neal assured.
"I'm really not." Peter corrected.
Frost didn't seem to know how to respond. Neal made a suggestion for a near by restaurant to meet at later and Frost agreed. After shaking hands with both of them again Frost turned to leave.
"Dr. Frost?" Peter called.
"Yes?"
"The book needs to stay with me for now."
"Oh," Frost smiled sheepishly "right, sorry."
Frost turned back and hesitantly offered the book to Peter. Looking like a parent who was leaving his child with a babysitter for the first time Frost flashed Neal one last smile before leaving. Neal watched Frost leave and decided that if his limp was an act it was a really good one, his heel struck the with the same weakness with each step. Peter and Neal had planed together how to act when Frost arrived and they had agreed that the best approach was to pretend as though they didn't recognize him or suspect him of anything. In truth they had spend a good hour researching him on line after they'd been told he was coming. With everything that had happened lately they were highly suspicious of a stranger inviting himself into their case.
To his credit Dr. Devon Frost had a spot on the USGS employee page, along with several published works under his name. However after being fooled several times recently neither Peter nor Neal were ready to accept anything at face value. Learning that he had a prosthetic eye was a bit of a surprise, but it didn't really change anything. Neal continued to watch Frost as he waited for the elevator, he kept tugging on his suit as though he wasn't used to wearing it.
"So, what do you think?" Neal asked Peter.
"I don't know, he's almost a little too friendly."
"Well," Neal smiled brightly "he is a 'fan'."
"You don't need fans, the last thing you need is more encouragement."
"In any case, even if he is exactly who he says he is I'm still not ready to trust him."
"My thoughts exactly." Peter agreed.
"So what's the play?"
"You go to dinner...I'll watch your back."
"Sounds like a plan."
