"That's it. That's all I can do."
Sophie looked at the money. Six-hundred bucks. When she had been modeling, she had paid five, six times that much for the jewelry. She wished she had some of that money now. Where had it all gone? She must have pissed it all away, shopping gigs in Paris and Rome. What did she have to show for it?
"I'll take it."
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more. I did as much as I could, knowing what the money was for."
Sophie sincerely doubted that Sid was sorry or that he couldn't do more. He was younger than she had thought from talking to him on the phone. He was polite; he'd offered her tea when she came in; well-dressed, very cute with short blond hair, deep blue eyes, and broad shoulders. And his store was upscale trendy. If he weren't so obviously gay, and such a total greedy prick, she might have been interested in him.
"You got anything else?"
"Nothing you would be interested in."
"What's that?" Sid nodded at the old chain showing on Sophie's neck.
"Oh, it's an old family heirloom. It's not very valuable. It's kind of ugly in fact."
"May I see it? You never know. Those old ugly family heirlooms can sometimes bring in quite a bit of money. Maybe enough to help you out on your project."
Sophie would not have termed saving people's lives a project. "It's something that has been in my family through generations. I've had it since I was a girl and it has sort of been entrusted to me. I can't sell it. It's really not mine."
Sophie pulled it out of her shirt, but did not take it off. She promised her mother that she would never take it off. It was warm from her skin. It felt strange, sort of personal, to have Sid holding it in his and when it has just been touching her chest. He seemed very interested in it. He went and got a magnifying glass and bent back down to examine it closer.
"Cannot sell this, eh? That is too bad. I can easily get you twenty-five thousand for it."
"Twenty-five thousand! Dollars?"
"Do you know anything about it?"
Sophie shook her head.
"The characters are, um, a sort of ancient Chinese. But the provenance is Korean. I think it's ancient Silla, or pre-Silla. There was a Chinese colony there. It's not the sort of thing that is well known or which usually commands a lot of money. I just happen to have a private client who specializes in artifacts of this type. It is more of an academic interest. Of course, the precious stones do drive up the value. Maybe up to thirty-five thousand."
Sophie sagged. She was wearing the salvation of over forty people on her neck, maybe more. And that salvation would last a long time. "I can't. I... I really so wish I could, believe me. But I can't. It's a Korean sort of thing. I would be betraying my ancestors, my family. It does not really belong to me. It belongs to future generations, that kind of thing. My Mom gave it to me when I was seven. And someday I'll have to give it to someone in my family to carry it on."
"I understand, really I do." Sid smiled. He handed her a card. "I am not positive, but I am fairly confident that I can get you maybe forty-five thousand for it, maybe fifty, fifty-five. That card has my cell phone line if you change your mind. You can call me anytime, night or day. And that would be sixty thousand, cash. No need to pay taxes. My client would not report it, and neither would I."
Sophie was close to tears. "I have to go."
Sid Meyer watched the young woman get in her car. She was driving an old honda convertible, nicely maintained but not worth much. He dialed a number.
"Mister Ionescu, interesting news. You would never guess what was in my store just a moment ago."
story by Solanio