Gemsicuted

Written by Julian Robov


Fifty Five


Chai was in an extremely happy mood, when he explained the 37carat ruby’s potential to Marty and Pascal at Boonchu’s office. Boonchu left his office to meet another client and promised to be back as soon as possible and they were allowed to use his office to work out the details of the peculiar looking 37carat ruby, as he recalled.

Meanwhile, Chai insisted that the $1.25 million dollars was the best deal in town, before absorbed by others in the trade. Marty couldn’t resist. The color, luster, cut, and the brilliance flashes were such he didn’t wanted to lose the piece. He remembered reading in of one the Christie’s catalogues in Geneva, and there were several quotes from potential buyers, and one such quote by a London collector rang in his ears.
“If you like the piece just buy it. There are so many ways to lose a deal if you bargain on it.”
But what Marty didn’t realize was Geneva was no Bangkok. And both, Marty and Pascal forgot to remember some of the basic rules when it came to buying big pieces.

Identification report from an independent Gem Testing Laboratory!

It was a must and they didn’t even bother asking Boonchu, after buying the rubies they liked from him. He too was waiting for them to ask, since he had the report in his custody, but waited to test their awareness. There was nothing to hide. But now it was an altogether different situation. Boonchu wasn’t available for them now. He had gone to do his business elsewhere. Now they were left alone to make their own decision with no one looking over their shoulder.

And to the contrary, while they were contemplating, Chai had no doubt that they were going to buy. He read their face and mind like a book. And he knew if he couldn’t pin them down now, then it was a lost case. A friend of his friend from Pattaya believed Bangkok as the best place to release such rubies as buyers both, experienced and novices came first to Bangkok, and then moved to other places, if they had no choice. Chai had already done his homework.

First, he wanted to sell the stone. Second, he was given a special account number in Hong Kong for the money transfer. Thirdly, he knew they had no idea about rubies other than their color and name. After some contemplation, Marty uttered the magic sentence.
“I’ll buy the ruby. Is this your last price?” he said, glancing at Chai, and then at Pascal.
“Last price is 1.25 million, no discount. Already you have a fair price. Price is good. You can sell this piece in Switzerland double the price. Sure,” Chai answered repeatedly without losing his confidence.
“Okay! How do you want the money?” Marty asked.
“Bank transfer to a Hong Kong bank. Here is the number,” Chai said, while extracting a piece of paper from his leather bag. Pascal did the electronic transfer on a laptop computer with the assistance of her financial consultant in Switzerland. Chai meanwhile called his contact in Pattaya to call Hong Kong to confirm the money transfer. He waited for the reply. After the confirmation, he gave them the ruby. Chai rushed out of town to celebrate in style after a long drought. Marty was playing with the ruby in his hand as if it was for him. Pascal on the other hand was contemplating the profit they were going to make at one of the auction places after submission to a wider audience to bid.

Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. That’s where they wanted to spend their profit from the ruby deal, an already overdue vacation. She smiled at Marty devouring the event happening. It was going to be an incredible experience. Chai had already gone to Pattaya. Marty and Pascal waited for Boonchu. Boonchu arrived hurriedly a bit disappointed, and asked about Chai and the ruby. They told what happened, but Boonchu was so tired and confused after returning from a client, he suggested that they come to see him the next day morning so that his mind would be fresh to discuss the details. They understood the situation and left his office. Marty and Pascal rushed back to their hotel in a jovial mood after acquiring several rubies.

As Chai drove to Pattaya condominium situated on Wong Amat Beach, he had no idea what was awaiting him. To his amazement the traffic was moving much faster than expected. He too had several plans after collecting the commission. In fact, he wanted to travel to Alaska, and enjoy fishing with his Polish girlfriend. For him it turned out to be the jackpot of the day meeting Marty and Pascal, and wished more of these species turned up in Bangkok from somewhere. Big money always came with big rubies. PATTAYA!

That’s where his friend’s friend had asked him to meet to discuss the final detail, the 5 percent commission. The receptionist at the condo handed him a message. Though unusual, he didn’t suspect anything wrong. He thanked the pretty girl, Thom, squeezing her big tits. She always enjoyed his treat because of the tips. After the ritual, he walked towards the beach. He heard someone calling his name. Chai turned around to address the caller. Before he could open his mouth, a bullet hit his right brain crushing him instantly to the ground. He was dumped in a black plastic bag, and transferred to a waiting speedboat.

The next day, as expected Boonchu, was waiting for Marty and Pascal. They refused to turn up. That alarmed him. Instead, he called the Holiday Inn to check their whereabouts. In fact, he wanted to give them the identification and origin report regarding the rubies he had sold earlier. The reply surprised him. They had already left the hotel that very same night for Switzerland. He tried to call Chai on his mobile. There was no reply. He called his friends and asked if they knew about Chai’s plans. They too declined. He really wanted to know the whereabouts of the 37carat ruby. Somehow his instincts alerted him that there was something wrong with the stone, either the identity or price. He was a bit too busy with his other commitments. But he knew if something went wrong with the ruby, they were going to call him or visit his office personally given the amount of money involved. He was patient and got busy preparing rubies for his next Chantaburi trip.

As he was grading his rubies, one by one brokers interrupted asking about Chai, because he had their rubies, and since he frequented Boonchu’s office, they believed he knew Chai’s itinerary. He shrugged them off and continued with his grading. Now phone calls began to disturb him wanting to know more about Chai. This was very unusual. Even if these guys decided to take a vacation, someone always knew about their programs ahead so that there was no misunderstanding when it came to sales.

But this time he had not told anyone his plans except that his close friends knew he had a 37carat ruby, which belonged to someone in Pattaya. Boonchu couldn’t help them in any way, because Chai hadn’t told him anything in advance before he disappeared after the 37carat ruby sale. The only source remained Marty and Pascal, and they too had left the country without even giving him a call. He was a patient dealer so he waited for the truth to reveal itself in due course.

It was a Thursday evening, and Boonchu got ready for his trip to Chantaburi. He took inventory of his stock, sealed and packed them in his leather bag for the Friday early morning trip. Then came the call. It was from Switzerland. It didn’t sound pleasant at all by the way they were talking.
“SYNTHETIC! It can’t be. Wait a minute! What are you going to do?” Boonchu asked Marty, as he was shouting and crying at the same time. He was talking about the
37carat ruby! After the call, Boonchu slumped in his chair in despair. The only person who could answer the question was Chai, and he was not in the gem market. There was something wrong. He couldn’t concentrate.

Incidents like this never happened to him, because he always wanted his customers to return for repeat business. This event was extremely abnormal and disturbing. He waited till Friday morning or perhaps late evening to see if others had any news regarding Chai and his whereabouts. But the most alarming fact was that it was a bloody 37carat synthetic ruby. He couldn’t understand who on earth had the intention to release the stone to destroy the reputation of the Bangkok gem market. He wished Marty and Pascal were in Bangkok. He was helpless, as the ruby didn’t belong to him. It was deliberate and well organized, and it didn’t take him much time to theorize someone else was behind the ruby, and Chai happened to be the right guy for the wrong transaction, and the expensive victims? Poor Marty and Pascal! He really wondered what they were thinking at this moment. Probably cursing the ruby, the ruby dealers, and finally everyone in Bangkok.

Even after getting back home, he couldn’t cope with the thought that they had bought a synthetic ruby. His wife, Wan, and his three sons’ numerous queries regarding this and that helped distract his attention to some extent, but it kept coming back punctually. Wan knew that he had to leave for Chantaburi the next day morning so she put the kids to sleep early wanting to know more about Marty and Pascal. In fact, she wanted to invite them for dinner if they were still in Bangkok. After hearing from Boonchu the true story, she sat wondering about their next move. It was a horrible and disturbing thought that it had happened in his office during his absence. But the biting problem was the bloody timing. In a split-second everything changed for good or bad in this business. And this one happened to be a bad one. A really bad one! They had no idea of the repercussions once the news was leaked to the gem market. Bonchu’s name and reputation were on the ropes given the speed at which bad news traveled without even scanning the truth. That was the nature of most brokers and dealers of the Bangkok gem market. He had a hard time sleeping well.

Boonchu thought of all the contacts. Knowing the gravity of the situation, Wan sifted through all the name cards and friends he frequented at every possible entertainment facility. Like a stroke of luck, Wan got Chai’s girlfriend’s address. Moo, his trusted girlfriend, who worked at Bangkok Bank as a teller, mia noi (mistress) for sometime, knew more about Chai than the countless girlfriends he had in Bangkok.

Wan called her. The line was busy. She tried again. This time she got through, and the reply really surprised her. She said he was in Bangkok with some customers from a foreign country. Who else should know other than her? Wan didn’t want her to know the real reason behind the call. Boonchu too felt disappointed. He wished either Marty or Pascal would arrive at his office so that they could explain everything they knew about Chai and the ruby. There was nothing to say other than a sorry. He had neither clue nor history of the ruby other than its availability. Usually, he never put any rubies that quick for sale unless and until he had confirmed its identification and enhancement, if any. But this one event was so peculiar, and before he could really help them, the sale was already done with a quick money transfer. With that sunken feeling, he went to the bedroom with Wan, hoping for better ideas when traveling to Chantaburi.