Pearl Cove Read Free Page A

a necklace was
     like lining up a thousand redheads to match nineteen. Once you got past the superficial
     similarity, the differences came screaming through.
    It could be a ring, Teddy said after a moment.
    It could, but not many people would spend thousands of dollars on a ring whose
     irreplaceable centerpiece could be ruined by a careless motion of a womans hand. Or a mans.
    The Hawaiian grumbled. Your pearl is big, Archer continued, but not nearly big enough to
     interest high-end collectors or
    museums. They already have black pearls twice that size. Round black pearls. But the
     luster, Teddy protested. And have you ever seen a pearl with half the color? Its like a
    black opal!
    Archer had seen one pearl that put Teddys in the shade, but all he said was, Yes, the
     orient is lovely. To someone who collects unusual pearls
    Like you, Teddy cut in. this one would be worth perhaps three thousand American. Three?
     Try twenty! You try it. I wouldnt pay more than five. Bad joke. Its worth at least fifteen
     and you know it. Archer looked at his watch. He had a few hours before he had to help his
     sister Faith close her little
    shop in Pioneer Square. Though it didnt look like much from the outside, his sisters store
     carried a multimillion-dollar inventory of international gems and one-of-a-kind jewelry.
     Normally one of the guards from Donovan International escorted Faith and her stock to and
     from the Donovan vaults. Today it was Archers job. In the past her useless live-in
     boyfriend, Tony, had guarded her, but to the great relief of the Donovans, Faith recently
     had rubbed the fairy dust out of her eyes and dumped him.
    What else do you have to show me? Archer asked.
    Teddy looked at the tall American, measured the steely green of his eyes, and put the
     pearl back into its small velvet box with a sigh. I keep hoping for a free lunch.
    Archer smiled. Its part of your charm, Teddy. That and your relative honesty. Relative! he
     yelped. Relative to what? If I knew the answer, you would be, in effect, completely honest.
    The short, thickset man frowned. It wasnt the first time he hadnt been able to follow the
     other mans baroque mental twists.
    Hungry? Archer asked.
    Teddy smacked his stomach with a broad palm. Though hefty, his belly was more muscle than
     flab. I m always hungry.
    Bring your case to the kitchen. Ill scrape up a sandwich for you. While you eat, Ill look
     over the rest of the goods.
    Thanks.
    No problem. Ill take lunch off the price of whatever I buy. If I buy.
    Laughing, Teddy followed Archer through the living room into the condos large,
     lemon-yellow kitchen. A view of Seattles muscular waterfront filled the corner windows of
     the room. Out in Elliot Bay, huge container ships from all over the Pacific Rim waited at
     anchor for their turn to be unloaded by cranes that crouched like immense orange insects
     along the docks. Ferries churned among the mammoth commercial ships, leaving white wakes.
     Herded by a brisk southeast wind, low clouds trailed veils of rain over the dark gray
     water.
    Nice view, Teddy said. But dont you get tired of the rain?
    Think of it as a moat protecting the city.
    Teddy blinked, opened his mouth, and closed it again. Then he shook his head and laughed.
    Archer waited until Teddy was wedged into the breakfast alcove with a beer in one hand and
     a thick cheese sandwich in the other before he angled the conversation back to the pearl
     dealers recent travels.
    Because somewhere along the way, Teddy had found one of Lens black beauties.
    Did Sam Chang have any special pearls to sell? Archer asked.
    Teddy made a muffled sound, swallowed, and said, That son of a bitch. Owns two thirds of
     the Tahitian pearl farms and acts like hes selling off his first son at every harvest.
     Prices the goods like it,
    too.
    Golden Rule, Archer said, popping the cap off one of the local microbrews. He has the
     gold, he makes the rules.
    Japan is going to