The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-08-06
CHAPTER xv

natIy, Tsiske was smiling,
 Its true" he said, "but the statement can stand lot Of quail lying, Your father let Dillon be- come his partner to break up one Of the biggest jewel smuggling aBd theft rings that eyer operated tla this or sny other country,
 You see" he continued, "it all started several months sgo, A criminal syndicate dealjpg in both smuggling sEd stealing Iewelry on . Tremendous scale decided to nlodernize, Hitherto they had dis posed of their hot gems through Fences, taking 60 or 70 per cent toss on the sctHal value due D the risk, so they figured that If they could gain control of several reputable retail jeweIry houses they could eliminate this loss,
 "fhe reputation of the firm. of course, would be their greatest asset, so they couldn't buy, They had to force their way Tn under cover, coefce the owner Through his honest name they could dis pose of their illegal jewelfy st actual retai1 prices.
 "S0 several months sgo two men went to your father, They had credentials which represented them as being the agents of s new diamond house in Amsterdam. They carried letters, which we later found N be forged, from the most reputable of diamond mer- ehapts in Holland, They knew diamonds shd their stock wss good. Peter Jerome made pur- ehases from them then, and agsin on two later occasions.
 Then one day Dillon apd sn- other member of the syndicate visited your father. They proved to him that the gems he bsd puf- chased and retailed-Wefe stolen. They threatened 10 expose him aHd to present witnesses who would swear he hsd been setting ss c fence if he Gid not let the syndicate place Dillon into the firm as silent partner. The syn Gicate's plsn, of course, was even taaiiy to force your fst1er out entirely, retaining his name and the reputation he had built up for years.
 But the syndicate didn't count or Peter Jerome's nerve. He gave tn to them, with seeming Teiuc- tance, and went immediately be- fore the Jewellers Association and jaid the whole matter in ffopt of them. Representatives of the po- ltes and big insurance agencies | were called in sHd after several | conferences il was decided O give | Dillon s free hand Dillon, ot | eotHee, wss just one of the syndi- eats, not even the leader By gjY- ing Dillon enough rope we hoped to hang the whole gang - snd we have"
 Mtkd broke in.
 ~Eut Wnat Wss Dillon doing running | sway with $I00,00Q under sn sssunl- cd nane?" she asked.
 I'll get to that" said Fiske. T 1 didn't know that wss the amount. | alti2ough ] knew he wss carrying | s considerable sum. IL would be only astural that he should be.
 Dillon was too close to the inner operations N the store snd to Peter Jerome. He grew sus- pieious, Things were going his | way too smoothly snd Dillon had ] been s crook long enough N have a sixth sense that wsfned him. He hsd also been crook long enough not N worry about his
 He wasn't sure. lie just sus- pected, So ne gathered sA the ayailsble cash lie could iay hsncs on, msde sn excuse to the syndi- cate sad decided oo disappear for q few weeks. SsftD hsd been working with him snG Dillon took Esfto along for lear tbat he might tip of the gang. His intention Bss to lsy low. 1T nothing hsp- pened he could eo Dscs. But t the lid blew oft he would hSYe $ head start and his loot.
 '-Tbat is where fate - of coinct- dehce M whatever you wish t1 csii it stepped in. Tour tsthef saw Dillon take tAe same train you and Steve took. He !n9neci~ ately became strsld that Dillon might know you py sight snc upst you might Go something unWlt- tingiy to send him into farther flight before we coglc get on his tFsiI. Se Ae seat you tbe note on the usin"
 "I don't believe he knew me" said Nlkki. "i pfots2iy wouldn't have met him T it hacHt been for the money" She told tisse, Rance, snG tef open -HloutleG uncle about the dressing ease full 0f bills, silG then sDput the con versa ton she sLG Steve nsG oYer- heard st the coifsI
 T think you would have met him." ssid Steve. He ciGEt come to the Lszy Il v2 rice Apfsepscs" Fisks hooded
 "D'ilon evidently had two iss sons tcr coming by ule ranch" he said. First Ae Wss jHfstgste6, H you will, with Mss Jerome Anc secondly, ne must hsye wanted n keep sa eye pn hei spout tAe money"
 "Eut where Go you come hi" asked Steve.
 "f Wss put oA ule case ln.ule 6iatkIy sftey the train pulled out" Fisks explsiEeC. T iHteHGeG Dg fly to the cosst sJo ge ulese yes1y to watch Dillon snd ssst1 WLen they arrived Then ] lesyped nom tFsia officials that Dillon lad changed his plsns sEG Uss gong 1 -