Green In the Emerald City. Juli Bunting
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million dollars.
Sam was used to handling cases that involved stolen paintings, as did the last major claim she worked in Florida, but the collection in Seattle also included a couple of sculptures, some Dale Chihuly glass art and—and this is what Sam found truly fascinating—a collection of rare books. It was the second case in just over a month in Seattle involving a rare book collection. The last theft was staged by a woman who ended up killing her husband for insurance money. Sam suspected the woman after the husband turned up dead in the middle of the investigation. The book theft was a subterfuge to distract the cops and when Sam, with the help of a fine art theft expert with the Seattle Police Department, discovered the stolen books in a warehouse owned by a man who had ties to the dead man’s spouse, the woman became the prime suspect. Tony, an executive at Heartland Global and Samantha’s boss knew the two Seattle cases were not connected, even though they both involved rare books. But there was a possibility this case was related to a theft she investigated in Orlando last year. Both burglarized homes were wired for sound by the same company. Sam wasn’t quite sure what to think. She didn’t really want to think about the case in Orlando. It had ended badly and she had had to take some time off work to recover.
“Would you like another glass of wine?” Sam looked up at the flight attendant who was holding a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc wrapped in a white linen napkin.
“Yes, please. I would love another glass.” The flight attendant poured the wine. “Thank you.” Samantha watched the flight attendant walk back to the galley and looked at her iPad2. The Seattle case file was up and she began reading it again, trying to commit the basic facts to memory.
The file meticulously detailed the case of James Wu, an incredibly wealthy high-tech wizard who was forced to return early from a vacation in China because his Mercer Island mansion had been burglarized. Four paintings, a half dozen Chihulys, three sculptures, some jewelry and some of the priciest rare books in the world, most of which he obtained at auctions in New York and London, were missing. The rare book list was very impressive—the most valuable dating back to the fifteenth century, was valued at over three million dollars. The title, roughly translated to The Rising of the Empire, was written by an author named Vanja Radic. There were no other details in the file about this particular book, which caught Sam’s eye because of the author’s name and the high value of the book. Obviously, it was written by a person of Eastern European descent which meant Unk may have heard of it. She planned to call him and ask him about it when she was settled at her hotel. Scrolling down through the file Sam couldn’t find any mention of where Mr. Wu had acquired the book. All the others had notations about the date and place of purchase. She typed a reminder in her notes to ask him about the acquisition and continued to peruse the case file.
Unlike the Florida case, there was a rather messy crime scene on Mercer Island, a bedroom community of Seattle that was home to many wealthy residents. Mr. Wu’s entire residence had been ransacked and vandalized. That’s part of why the insurance claim was so large. There was damage to many interior touches like rare Italian marble, Brazilian cherry hardwoods, walls and floors. The before and after pictures of the home were evidence of the incredible destruction visited upon this less than humble abode. Sam noticed one of the photos was all blurry. It looked like the vandals had spray-painted something on the walls. The photo was labeled “Master Bedroom.” There was a notation in the file that the mansion on Mercer Island, which was estimated to be worth in excess of four million dollars, had been wired for sound by Residence Resonance. Just seeing the name of the company again made Samantha angry. “I swear if you slime balls are involved in this crap, you will not get away with it this time.” She was still fuming over the Orlando case being shut down after two idiotic small time thugs confessed to the theft and the murder of a detective she worked with on the case. She knew there was much, much more to that case than the official report indicated.
“Ladies and gentleman, we have begun our descent into Seattle Tacoma International airport.…” As the flight attendant told her to get ready to land, Sam powered down her iPad2, took the last few sips of her wine and prepared to land.
The Seattle airport was very familiar as Sam made her way past the massage chairs, bars and eateries to the down escalator leading to baggage claim, just as she had done a month ago. At the bottom, there was a driver holding a “Ms. Green” placard. She made her way through the crowd to identify herself.
“I’m Ms. Green.” Sam smiled at the driver. He was not the same driver provided for her last visit.
“Hello, Ms. Green. My name is Tom and I’ll be taking you to your hotel. Shall we get your bags?” Tom led the way over to the luggage carousel and Samantha pointed out her two bags as they came down the chute. Tom put her bags on a luggage cart and pointed Sam to the door. Drivers hired by Heartland Global were always instructed to introduce themselves as “Tom.”
“I’ll pull up outside in a few minutes.” And with that, he was off to retrieve the limousine while Sam pulled her computer case to the curb. He drove up a few minutes later, got out and opened the door and Samantha slid onto the creamy leather seats.
“I understand I’m taking you to the Four Seasons hotel on the waterfront?” Tom looked at Sam in the rearview mirror.
“That’s right.” Sam was anxious to get to the hotel and change into some comfortable clothes so she could do some shopping at Pike Place Market before hitting the case files again. Looking at Tom in the rearview mirror, Sam smiled. “I thought maybe I would smell marijuana as we landed.”
“Oh, well, not quite. We legalized it here but the law doesn’t actually take effect for a couple of weeks yet.” Tom looked at her again. “But after that, I pretty much figure you’ll be able to smell it from thirty-thousand feet.” He smiled as Sam laughed.
They rode the rest of the way in silence and Sam could see the city skyline out the windshield straight ahead. The Highway Department still had a detour in place as they continued to construct a tunnel to replace the old Alaskan Way Viaduct. Sam had read enough to know the tunnel was hugely controversial in this city that prided itself on its spectacular views. Apparently the drive over the viaduct had been pretty amazing. She figured the friendly residents of Seattle would be glad when the construction was finished and the controversy long forgotten.
The driver pulled up to the front door of the hotel and Sam waited while he took her bags out of the trunk and helped the bellman load them onto the bell cart. She looked at him and reached into her Ferragamo bag to pull out a five dollar bill, but he shook his head.
“That’s been taken care of and I was told not to accept that, Ms. Green. You should have the number if you need a car.” And with that, Tom got back into the driver’s seat and pulled away.
“Right this way, ma’am.” The doorman was holding the door open for her and as she walked into the lobby of the new Four Seasons hotel, the bellman handling her luggage gave her a look that had “I didn’t get the memo about no tipping” written all over his face. The lobby of the fairly new hotel was sort of an uber-modern, uber-swanky version of a Pacific Northwest hunting lodge with a sleek fireplace and wood everywhere. Sam thought it was glorious despite its critics. She checked in and was escorted up to the Governor’s Suite where she would be staying for two weeks. After that, if the case was still open, she would likely move to more modest accommodations. But for now, this was her home.
“Wow. This is fan-tastic.” Sam walked over to the windows which exposed amazing views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains. Remembering her manners, she took a five out of her wallet and walked over to the bellman who was putting her last bag near the closet. “Thank you, Ma’am. Enjoy your stay.” Sam closed the door behind him and returned to observe the stunning view. She picked up her cell phone, dialed the familiar number, and waited to hear her uncle’s voice.
“Samantha! I guess you made it to Seattle okay?” Dr. Samuel Carson was relieved to finally hear from his niece. He had been waiting for about thirty minutes for her call.
“Yeah, Unk, I made it just fine. Guess what? It’s not raining.”
“Well that’s a surprise. It’s winter, for heaven’s sake. How’s the