“Thomas!” the authoritarian voice made Dean’s hackles rise. He stopped walking and smoothed a neutral expression on his face.
“Flint.” He eyed the man warily, knowing that the thug he remembered from school was barely covered by this veneer of adult sophistication.
“I don’t suppose you’re any closer to solving this?”
“We have a fair idea,” Dean bluffed. “But I can only discuss it with your brother.”
“Must be Zabini’s bint,” Marcus said. “She’s the outsider.”
“The Malfoys aren’t part of your family,” Dean replied. “What makes you think they’re so innocent? And the Davises?”
Marcus blinked, obviously shocked that someone of Dean’s ilk was daring to speak to him in this manner. “We are all pure-bloods.”
“And that stops you being thieves,” Dean said blandly. “Funny that, because there’s this guy called Mundungus Fletcher ...”
“Don’t you dare compare us with someone like him. Fletcher is nothing but a common “”
“He’s a pure-blood,” Dean interrupted. He half smiled at Marcus and stepped closer, no longer afraid. “You don’t scare me, Flint. You can’t hex the shit out of me and get your housemates to back you up anymore.” He saw Marcus flinch, his eyes flicking from Dean’s face to the wand in his hand. “Just try it. I’m a bloody sight faster than I was in my first year.”
Marcus glared at him, indecision and a small spark of fear flaring in his eyes. “You better find those diamonds,” he blustered. “And I’m telling you, that tart of Zabini’s is the culprit.” He stepped back, halting abruptly when he bumped into someone.
“You were saying?” murmured Blaise, sounding calm. Leaning against the banister, his cold eyes appraised Marcus. Not by a flicker did he acknowledge Dean’s presence, bestowing all his attention on the man directly in front of him.
Marcus was a burly man, but Blaise was taller. In addition to that, the former’s bulk was starting to creep from muscle to fat. There could be no doubt who would win in a physical fight. Dean gripped his wand firmly, wondering what to do if they came to blows.
Swallowing, Marcus turned around slowly. “I was merely reminding Thomas that everyone is a suspect,” he rasped. “Even your girlfriend, so he should be searching your room.”
“It has been searched,” Dean replied firmly.
“I will leave you to it, then,” mumbled Marcus. Turning sideways, he backed off down the hallway and sidled to the drawing room. “Would you like to join us in a game of poker later, Zab ... uh ... Blaise? Draco and I don’t play for very high stakes.”
“Perhaps,” Blaise replied. He said no more until Marcus had disappeared and then he looked at Dean. “Jonah is looking for you. He wants to know whether you’ve got anywhere.”
“How can you do that?” Dean demanded, and when Blaise merely stared at him, he continued. “You listened to that git insulting Lavender, and you didn’t do a thing.”
“And that bothers you.” Blaise didn’t move, but studied Dean, an almost amused look in his eyes
“It bothers me that you let it go,” Dean retorted. “I don’t know you very well, Zabini, but according to Parvati you love Lavender “”
“It’s not your business,” Blaise replied, and started to walk away, “but I’ll beat that shit out of a hefty heap of Galleons at cards tonight “ and I won’t take an IOU.”
“And that’s enough?” Dean demanded. “You don’t seem to care what he said about her, that he thinks Lavender stole the diamonds because she’s an outsider.”
Blaise stopped walking. He turned around slowly, but with purpose, and ran one hand down his face, stroking his beard almost unconsciously. “She is an outsider,” he murmured. “And I thank Merlin everyday for that. You really think I give a toss about their opinion on her - or yours about me?”
Dean stood for a while watching Blaise stride away, heading not towards the drawing room where Marcus was, but to the library. He knew he’d insulted Blaise, but the other man didn’t seem offended. It was as if he expected the slur and even relished it. Once again, he pondered Lavender’s choice of partner. He knew things had changed in the year he’d been away but had never quite felt the gulf as he did now.
“Where did you get to?” Seamus asked when Dean walked into Jonah’s study. “And where’s Parvati?”
Dean shook his head slightly at Seamus and sat down on one of the empty chairs. Jonah Flint sat behind a large oak desk, a stack of letters on one side waiting to be owled. Sitting at the window seat, Karis flicked through a magazine, barely looking up as Dean began his apologies.
“Miss Patil is following up a lead,” Dean began, looking straight at Jonah. “She left the house about half an hour ago, and will be back once she has confirmed a theory.”
“And this theory will get the diamonds back will it, Thomas?” Jonah queried. “Your associate has told us that you’ve searched all the rooms and found nothing.”
“Not in the rooms, no, but that doesn’t mean they’re not in the house somewhere. The kitchen, perhaps, or ...” Dean stopped and glanced across at Seamus. A theory was forming in his mind but he needed to run it past at least one of his partners first.
“Or where?” Karis asked, her voice sounding shrill. “Surely you don’t intend to search my bedroom.”
“I was thinking of the study,” Dean replied quickly, although the Flints’ bedroom was another possibility. “Someone could easily have stolen the diamonds and hidden them in here, hoping for a chance to return.”
He knew Seamus didn’t quite believe him. They’d been friends far too long for Seamus not to recognise when Dean was being evasive. But Dean hoped the partial lie had fooled Jonah and Karis, and prayed Seamus would follow his lead despite having no clue what he was thinking.
Jonah shrugged. “You may search my study. As you said, anyone could have come in here. It isn’t locked.”
“Thank you,” Dean replied. He looked around the room, noting a lighter square on the wall opposite. “Did you have a painting there, Mr Flint?”
“Huh?” Jonah followed Dean’s gaze and for a moment looked furious. However, after exchanging looks with his wife, he licked his lips and replied, “It was a mirror “ an antique mirror. It broke. The cord was ... rotten, you see.”
“Shattered everywhere,” Karis put in. “I had to wear slippers on my feet for ages afterwards. We simply haven’t got around to replacing it yet.”
They were babbling, adding more information than was necessary, and in that moment, Dean knew they weren’t telling the truth. Whatever had hung on that wall it had not been a mirror, but why lie? What was the point?
He opened his mouth to speak, but just then, a shriek rent the air.
“Draco, you didn’t have to,” Tabitha wailed. “I would have married you, anyway.”
“What on earth ...” Karis jumped up from the window seat and ran to open the study door. “Tabitha what is going on?” She gasped. “Are they my diamonds?”
Dean and Seamus leapt up at the same time. Standing at the top of the stairs, Tabitha Flint was holding a string of large and very definitely purple diamonds.
“I found them in Draco’s wardrobe,” Tabitha sobbed. “He knew how much I wanted them, but I never thought he’d steal them for me.”
“I didn’t!” Draco retorted, but his argument was cut short by Tabitha’s increased sobs and Jonah marching up the stairs with his wand pointed straight at Draco’s chest.
Tabitha’s screeching had caused everyone to come running. Narcissa reached her son first, closely followed by Lucius. She flung her arm across Draco and pulled him out of Jonah’s way, leaving Tabitha to collapse in her brother’s arms, weeping for Draco to confess because ‘it would all be fine as long as Jonah got the diamonds back.’
“How dare you accuse my son!” Lucius bellowed and pointed his wand at her. “This is preposterous. An obvious set-up!”
“How dare you threaten my niece!” Aurelia Savage thundered. Moving with an agility that belied her years, she stood beside Tabitha and held out her hand.
With a trembling lip, Tabitha handed the necklace over. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it, Aunt Aurelia. Draco knows how unhappy I am that she’s getting the heirloom.” She cast Karis a venomous look, before dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.
Remembering Parvati’s judgement on Tabitha, Dean was quite convinced this was a performance. There was something far too hysterical about Tabitha.
“What’s going on?” he heard Seamus whisper behind him.
“Tabitha Flint’s putting on an Oscar winning performance,” Dean muttered back.
“Huh?”
Dean stifled a laugh. “Sorry, it’s a Muggle thing. She says she found the diamonds in Draco’s room.”
“But we searched his room,” Seamus replied, a vexed expression on his face. “Thoroughly!”
“Perhaps he hid them somewhere else,” Lavender whispered, as she and Blaise sidled up behind Seamus, “and moved them later. I’d like to see him wriggle his way out of this one. Karis can’t stand the Malfoys.”
“Let me speak,” Draco yelled. “Tabitha, I have no bloody idea what you’re going on about. I didn’t steal the diamonds. Someone has obviously planted them in my room.” He glared venomously at Dean and Seamus. “Those two, for instance. They’ve always hated me.”
“I know I’m going to regret this,” Dean said, addressing Karis as he approached the group, “but we didn’t find anything in Malfoy’s room when we searched earlier. And, believe me, we searched everywhere.”
Karis raised her eyebrows, and looked across at Jonah. He was looking confused, obviously wondering if he should take this further. With a small nod of his head, he gestured for Dean to continue.
“Miss Flint, where did you find the diamonds?”he asked.
“In the wardrobe, wrapped up in a towel.”
“What the hell were you doing in my wardrobe?” Draco demanded, wrenching himself free from his mother.
“More importantly, why were you in a man’s room, Tabitha? That is the behaviour of a hussy!” Aurelia declared haughtily.
“Draco made me,” Tabitha wailed, wringing her hands together. “He said if I didn’t come to his room, then he’d finish with me. This was the first time, Auntie. I promise.”
“Lying cow!” Draco shouted. “Your niece has been desperate to get her kit off since I got here. I’ve been the one holding out because snogging her is about as stimulating as being in a class with Professor Binns.”
“The diamonds were found in your room, young man,” Aurelia accused. “And you will hold your tongue when you speak of my niece. Jonah, send for the Law Enforcers. A long spell in Azkaban is exactly what this impertinent wretch needs.”
“NO!” Narcissa Malfoy pulled out her wand. “You will not take my son away. It is not his fault.”
“Sweet Circe,” drawled Karis, “whose fault is it then, Narcissa? Are you going to blame the Dark Lord again? Was dear little Draco Imperiused?”
Narcissa glared at Karis, then took in the assembled pack around her. Obviously realising there was no escape, she lowered her wand. “It is my fault,” she said at last as she stood up straight. “I stole the diamonds, and hid them in Draco’s wardrobe before that ridiculous man,” she glowered at Seamus, “ searched my room.”
“Narcissa, what are you saying?” hissed Lucius. He turned to Jonah. “She is lying. I trust that you don’t believe a word of this. All my wife wishes to do is to protect our son.”
“Either way, it’s one of them,” Jonah replied coldly. “Tell me why I shouldn’t call the Law Enforcers.”
“Are you buying this?” Seamus whispered as Dean stepped back towards him and Lavender. “Only ... it seems a bit ... um ... convenient, don’t you think?”
“Esther said Narcissa was acting suspiciously,” Dean replied.
“Yeah, but wouldn’t she have hidden them in the kitchen? Ma Malfoy isn’t going to want to incriminate her son, is she?” Seamus chewed the side of his mouth. “Where’s Parvati?”
In a low voice, Dean filled Seamus in on Parvati’s sudden departure, all the while keeping an eye on the row ensuing between the Lucius and Jonah. However, when Jonah pulled out his wand with the intention of calling the Ministry, both Dean and Seamus saw the danger.
“Protego!” they shouted, and the force of their combined shield sent both Lucius and Jonah bounding off opposite walls.
“What the hell!” Jonah yelled at Dean and Seamus. “Where do you get off hexing me?”
“It was a Shield Charm, darling. Narcissa was about to Stun you,” Karis said. She bent over Jonah, helped him to his feet and then smiled across at Dean.
Jonah eyed Dean and Seamus suspiciously but nodded his thanks. “I will see you’re paid for your time,” he muttered. “But you’re not needed now. The Law Enforcers can take over.”
“No,” Draco shouted. “I want them here. My mother is taking the blame because she thinks I did it.”
“Draco, be silent,” Narcissa ordered, but she sounded far less confident now.
“Mother,” he said gently. “I know you didn’t put the diamonds in my room.”
“How do you know that, Malfoy?” Seamus asked.
Draco swallowed, took a breath, and stepped slowly down the stairs towards them. He turned towards Karis and Jonah. “I took your baubles. I’m up to my eyeballs in debt and it was far too tempting. So, when you invited us here, and Jonah boasted about the Cordalis Diamonds, I snuck into his study and made a copy with Geminio.”
“He’s lying,” Blaise muttered, speaking for the first time.
“How do you know?” Lavender asked.
“He’s opening his mouth for one thing,” Dean whispered back, and catching Blaise’s eye, he started to laugh. “And then there’s the fact that if he’d cast Geminio, then the diamonds would be the right colour.”
“He must know that!” Seamus said and grimaced. “Much as I hate the ferret, he isn’t an idiot. This is him pulling a stunt. It’s a double bluff. He knows we know about Geminio.”
Lavender giggled. “I hope Parvati appreciates your poetic way with words, Seamus.”
Seamus smiled sheepishly at Lavender. “She doesn’t complain.”
“Er, can we stop talking about your ‘blarney’ and get on with this case?” Dean snapped. “I want to interview Malfoy. He might talk to us if Jonah isn’t threatening him.”
Draco had reached the bottom step. With a sigh, he handed his wand to Seamus, and acquiesced at the suggestion that they interview him in the study. He shivered when Jonah insisted he would be present, possibly already regretting his confession, but when Blaise offered to come along, he nodded gratefully.
“Don’t come along, Mother,” he called over his shoulder. “Zabini will ensure things are fair.”
As Dean opened the study door and let them all go through before him, he caught sight of Narcissa weeping in her husband’s arms. In stark contrast to Tabitha, whose crying had ceased remarkably quickly, Narcissa was desolate.
“You stole the diamonds, then?” Dean started. He sat on the corner of Jonah’s desk and examined his fingernails, casually accusing Draco.
“Of course not,” Draco began. He was calmer now, even though Jonah looked as if he’d cheerfully consign him to a vat of Bobutuber pus. “My mother thinks I did, though, and I don’t want her taking the blame.”
“So how come the diamonds were in your room?” Dean asked. “In your wardrobe.”
Draco shrugged. He looked nonchalant, but Dean remembered that look from school. Draco was as adept at hiding his feelings as most Slytherins. There was something going on, something behind his apparent confession and then retraction. Looking across at Seamus, who was standing by the window, Dean cocked one eyebrow. Seamus took his cue.
“Are you saying someone planted them, Malfoy?”
“Seems a natural conclusion,” Draco replied, relaxing slightly. “Or that they were never there in the first place.”
“Are you accusing my sister now?” Jonah demanded, hammering his fist on the desk.
Draco smirked and swivelled around to Blaise. “Tabitha wants to get married, doesn’t she? She doesn’t want to get a job and thinks marriage is the best way forward. She made a play for you last year. In fact, she thought she still had a chance, which was why she gave Brown that hideous dress to wear. You, Blaise, were supposed to realise what a slut you were with and dump Brown for the far classier Tabitha.” He smirked. “Tab doesn’t understand that a girl showing off her tits in a dress that tight is always going to be attractive, no matter the blood status.” He leant back in the chair and looked directly at Jonah. “I was the back up, I suppose. Although, I should tell you, I would rather be in Azkaban than married to your sister.”
“You bloody little shit!” Jonah spat.
“Well you don’t have any money, do you, Jonah. Not even your rich wife can keep up with your spending habits.” Draco smiled nastily at Jonah, and then turned back to Seamus. “I’ve seen you drop a few Sickles on a horse, Finnigan. It’s not the big league, but you appreciate the thrill, don’t you?”
“I understand the addiction,” Seamus replied. “But I’ve never let it get a hold of me.”
“Lucky you,” Draco murmured. He stared out of the window watching as the clouds scurried by in the sky, perhaps wondering how soon he could get to the next race. Then, with a sigh, he continued. “I’m broke. Marrying Tabitha was supposed to get me out of debt because my inheritance comes in as soon as I get a wife. I also thought the Flints had money. But I was wrong about that. The lovely Karis has money “ or had “ but that’s all getting pissed away by this arse and his leech of a brother. I don’t know how your mother puts up with it, Zabini. Jonah must be a bloody good shag.”
“I should probably hex you for that,” Blaise remarked, “but I’ve wondered the same thing.”
Jonah flushed an angry shade of puce and started to splutter some ill-formed words of rage, but Dean forestalled him. A final piece of the puzzle had clicked into place. “Mr Flint, will you get everyone assembled in your drawing room? I would like to talk through all the aspects of this case. I think we know who, how, and when this crime was committed.”
If Seamus was astounded by Dean’s statement, he gave no sign of it, save for a small jerk of the head. The pair of them watched as Zabini, Malfoy and Flint left them in the study, and then began to confer.
“It’s Jonah, isn’t it?” Seamus said, excitement quickening his voice. “That bastard stole his own diamonds for the money and has been trying to blame everyone else. Merlin, I’d hate to be in his shoes when Karis finds out.”
Dean grinned. “Well, let’s go and see what happens. Shame Parvati isn’t here, she’d enjoy this.”
“Perhaps we should wait for her to come back?” Seamus sounded wistful, and Dean knew why. This was their first big case and they’d cracked it together. She should be here, sharing the triumph.
“I’d send an owl, but I don’t think Jonah’s going to lend us his. Look at that stack of letters waiting to be sent.” He flipped idly through them, noting the addresses were all to outfitters, or furnishers. “I think he’s settling debts, or asking for more time to pay, perhaps.”
One thing Jonah Flint was good at was assuming an air of authority. All his guests were in the drawing room when Dean and Seamus appeared, and Esther stood by a side table, pouring cups of tea and serving delicate sandwiches from a large silver platter that looked goblin-made. Seamus wondered if it was solid silver, or whether it was a steel replica covered with a faint shimmer of silver leaf. Like so much in the Flint household, nothing was as it seemed.
Dean cleared his throat, and cast Seamus a quick look. In return, Seamus smiled encouragingly. It was better that Dean gave ‘the speech’. He had more gravitas than Seamus on occasions like this.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet Seamus and me in here,” Dean began. He nodded to Jonah. “And thank you very much, Mr Flint, for assembling everyone so promptly. My partners and I have solved the mystery surrounding the Cordalis Diamonds. What you decide to do with the information is up to you. Our agency is not allied to the Ministry, and if you decide not to prosecute, then we will not press the issue.”
“Why would we not prosecute?” Aurelia demanded. “The Malfoy boy is clearly the thief. I fail to understand why he isn’t halfway to Azkaban by now.”
“Because Draco Malfoy did not steal the diamonds,” Dean murmured. He sat down in an armchair, and spread his hands out on the coffee table in front of him. To his right, on the sofa, Lavender was holding hands with Blaise. She smiled at Dean, waiting for him to continue.
“From the start, the one thing that bothered us was the colour of the fake diamonds. Why go to the trouble of having the copy made, if you’re going to mess up the colour? My other associate, Miss Patil, was most insistent that no one would have got that wrong “ not even if they were in the depths of the Amazon, and the only picture they had was a rather bad one from The Quibbler.” He stared at Lavender and swallowed. “I’m sorry, but for a while I thought you’d done it. It was only when I remembered that you were far more than just a pretty girl who liked nice things that I began to see how wrong I was.”
“That’s okay,” she muttered. “We haven’t had much to do with each other for a long time.”
He smiled gratefully at her before continuing. “So, the colour change bothered us all. Everyone knows that the stones are purple. A copy made by casting Geminio wouldn’t affect the colour. That copy wouldn’t last very long “ a month or two at the most “ but that would be plenty of time for the thief to make his or her escape with the real necklace.
“So, why make such a basic error? An error that would be discovered within seconds. There is only one possible explanation.”
“Spit it out then,” Jonah grumbled. “I can’t wait for this.”
Slightly disconcerted by Jonah’s impatience, Dean glanced at Seamus. He, too, was looking puzzled. Clearing his throat again, Dean decided to plough on. In all likelihood, it was probable that Jonah had no idea they’d got to the truth.
“You stole the diamonds, Mr Flint. Draco has told us you need money and you’ve nearly run out of paintings. But not only did you steal them, but you left a very obvious copy so you could notify the insurance company straight away.”
“What utter rot!” Jonah roared. “They are a family heirloom and my wife desired them. I would not steal them.”
“Is this true, Jonah?” Karis voice cut across his bluster. To Seamus, she’d never looked quite so shattered, not even when she’d been sitting in the corridor outside their office worried about her son. It was Jonah’s lies, Seamus realised, that were breaking her.
“NO!” Jonah declared, crossing the room to his wife and taking her hand. “It is not at all true. Karis, darling, you’re my wife and I love you. There are no secrets between us.” He jerked his head around to Dean. “My wife knows about my debts. She suggested selling the paintings. The diamonds were her recompense and I would not cheat her out of them.”
Dean closed his eyes. He was quite sure Jonah was telling the truth now. His theory was wrong. They had nothing “ they hadn’t even found the diamonds -- so Jonah was quite within his rights not to pay them.
Where the hell do we go from here?