The Mystery of the Black Diamond

As quietly as Jake had ever seen a Roman military unit move, the ten red uniformed soldiers of the detachment fanned out down the street, starting near Jake and Marcius, past the thugs doorway, and then just beyond the door. They now had the door “surrounded.” Jake, Marcius, and the lieutenant started to creep along the wall of the building until they were right outside the doorway. Marcius pulled out his dagger and then nodded his head at all his soldiers, indicating that they have their swords ready. Marcius glanced over at two of his biggest, beefiest soldiers directly across the al-ley. With a quick motion of his hand and a snap of his head, he signaled them to charge the door. The pair charged at full force and plowed into the wooden door, splintering it on its hinges and knocking it flat on the interior floor, dust flying. The pair immediately jumped up, as the rest of the soldiers poured into the room, swords drawn. Jake, Marcius, and the lieutenant followed quickly behind.
As Jake entered the murky room, the soldiers had already subdued the five members of the gang inside. The gang members all stood with the hands up and the soldiers’ sword points nuzzled against their necks.
“Good work, men” Marcius stated to his soldiers. “Be sure they are all disarmed. And then have them sit on the floor. And keep them at sword point.”
Turning to Jake, Marcius asked, “Do you see the money?”
Jake scanned around the tiny, dark grotto. In the middle of the dingy room, a small table lay on its side. Jake pulled the table aside and there lay the money sack on the floor.
“Here it is,” the detective stated, as he picked up the bulging bag. “It must have been sitting on the table and got knocked over in the scuffle. This is Exhibit A in your arrest charges.”
Marcius stepped over toward the middle of the dimly-lit small chamber. He scanned all the crooks in the room. “Who’s the boss?” he asked. “One of you has got to be the brains of this out-fit. None of you look smart enough to run this gang on your own. But one of you must be the guy.”
The thugs all looked around at each other, then at Marcius, scrunched their faces and shrugged their shoulders, as if to say, I don’t know who’s boss. Got no idea.”
“We do have ways of making you talk,” Marcius said coolly, as he juggled his dagger in his hand. “We can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way.”
The thugs started looking at each other and then their eyes slowly glided over to one man, dressed in a beige, ratty-looking tunic.
Marcius’s eyes locked on the man in the beige tunic. “Well? How ‘bout it? Are you the ring-leader?”
Defiantly the man gruffly growled, “If that’s what these stool pigeons want you to think.”
“Yeah, you’ll do,” Marcius smiled. “If you’re not the real kingpin, we’ll let you play the part today. Now, stand up and answer some questions.” Then turning to Jake, Marcius said, “ He’s all yours.”
Jake stepped up right beside Marcius and spoke to the shabby man. “You know your strategy on this deal was flawed from the beginning. You thought you could turn over a fast buck and dou-ble your money. You got greedy. That’s how you set up your own trap.”
“I ain’t got no idea what you’re talkin’ about,” the man in beige snarled, his stringy, greasy hair standing out like a porcupine. “You think you’re some kinda genius? You go around being a mind reader?”
“No, I can put two and two together and realize that your greed did you in.”
The ringleader stared at Jake. “You sound like you must be with the police. Ya don’t sound like you’re a Roman.”
Marcius spoke up. “Have you ever heard of Jake Jezreel, the private detective?” he asked the gang boss. “Well, you’re looking at him.”
The gang ringleader’s eyes grew wide in surprise. “Jake Jezreel. I’ve heard of you. You’ve got a real reputation all around this city. It’s almost an honor to be taken down by you.”
“Thank you for the compliment. And your name is what?” Jake asked.
“On the street I’m known as The Professor,” the gang boss proudly stated.
“And I must admit that I’ve heard of you, too,” Jake said almost respectfully. “You’ve got quite a reputation, too. They say you’re one of the cagiest crooks in the city.”
“Well, thank you. I do pride myself in being a highly educated crook. I’ve taken my education and applied it to perfecting the craft of being a criminal into an art form. I can come up with some pretty intricate plans for takin’ other people’s money. Ya don’t have to work so hard for the mon-ey. Occasionally, some of my boys can get a little rough. Well, maybe even a little downright mean. And if somebody crosses us…well, that would be just too bad for them.”
The Professor lowered his head and wagged it side to side. Then he looked over at the detective with his head sideways. “My plan was perfect. Foolproof. Nobody could have figured it out.”
“But I figured it out.”