Jimmy returned home, put away his purchases, and then went out for dinner. After a day of shopping and playing squash in the evening, he was quite tired. After dinner, he threw himself onto the couch to watch TV.
Without realizing it, Jimmy fell asleep on the couch. Suddenly, the phone rang, and Jimmy opened his eyes and sat up. He picked up the spare phone from the table. Why was Justin calling at this time?
Jimmy: "What's up?"
Justin: "How far away is your place from Long Island? Can you leave now?"
Jimmy: "I'm in Manhattan. It takes a while to get to Long Island, mainly depending on traffic, but I've never timed it exactly. What's happened?"
Justin: "Someone needs a private detective to help investigate a disappearance case. I recommended you. You're a pro at this kind of work, no problem, right?"
Jimmy: "What kind of case?"
Justin: "A rich man has lost an emerald necklace. It's not highly priced, but it's very important to him since it's a family heirloom. The necklace is normally locked in his safe, but when he opened it yesterday, he found the necklace was gone.
Due to some issues with his identity, he can't go to the police with a high-profile investigation, so he has to rely on a private detective instead."
Jimmy: "Is his identity secure? You know I'm with the FBI. If something goes wrong because of my involvement, it might become troublesome later."
Justin: "It's safe, don't worry."
Jimmy: "OK, give me the address. I'll go check it out. We can discuss my fee after I've seen the situation."
Jimmy changed into a suit, arranged his weapons and ammunition, and grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone before heading out.
Jimmy regretted not buying a car. Now, late at night, his only option was to hail a taxi, which was not convenient at all. Besides, there was no parking space at his apartment. Even if he bought a car, he would have to park it somewhere else, which would be a hassle. In short, it was very annoying.
He took a taxi straight to Long Island. Fortunately, despite the distance, the taxi driver was willing to make the trip. It helped that Long Island was known for its wealthier residents, ensuring a certain level of safety.
Jerry arrived in a taxi at the waterfront villa community in East Islip on Long Island. He got out in front of a seaside villa, and the driver immediately turned around and left.
The villas here weren't fenced in, so Jimmy walked straight up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A woman came out to open the door.
Woman: "May I ask whom you're looking for?"
Without showing any ID, Jimmy simply replied, "I'm looking for Mr. Roman Zhukovski. Justin sent me."
Woman: "Please wait a moment."
After a while, Jimmy, with his Heart Eye, saw two people coming from inside the house. The front man opened the door and shook hands with Jimmy. "Hello, I'm Roman Zhukovski. Please come in."
Jimmy followed Roman into the villa, which seemed to have some history. The furniture inside was mostly antique solid wood with a preference for dark varnishes, appearing quite old.
Roman led Jimmy to the living room sofa. "Please, have a seat. Coffee? Or would you prefer tea?"
Jimmy: "Coffee, thank you."
The woman beside them turned and left.
Roman: "How should I address you?"
Jimmy: "Jerry. Justin told me you have a case of missing property here. Could you tell me more about it?"
Roman: "Just a moment."
Roman got up and walked into another room. Jimmy could see him taking out a phone and making a call. After a while, Roman hung up the phone and brought over a photograph from the table, handing it to Jimmy.
Roman: "This is a picture of my grandmother. The necklace around her neck is what's gone missing."
Jimmy carefully looked at the photograph. He had come empty-handed, with no equipment, as he was just here for preliminary investigation and there was no rush to find the necklace that night.
Jimmy: "Do you have a magnifying glass? Or a clearer photo of the necklace?"
Roman thought for a moment, got up, and fetched a box from a nearby cabinet. Upon opening it, there was a pair of old glasses and a magnifying glass. "These belonged to my grandfather. It's probably the only magnifying glass we have in the house."
Jimmy didn't immediately grab the magnifying glass but instead took out a pair of disposable gloves from his pocket. As an FBI agent, he always carried gloves to avoid contaminating evidence with his fingerprints during investigations – a standard practice also followed by police officers.
After donning the gloves, Jimmy carefully examined the necklace with the magnifying glass. It was a necklace intertwined green and white, with three emeralds set in it, the centerpiece being larger than the two on the sides. Though the photograph was black and white, the design looked very simple.
What the body of the necklace was made of couldn't be discerned from this old photograph. As for why Jimmy knew it was emeralds, it was because Justin had mentioned it was an emerald necklace when he informed him about the loss.
The woman from before came with two cups of coffee. Jimmy set down the photograph and magnifying glass and took a small sip from the cup, "The coffee is really good. Roman, can I see the crime scene?"
Roman pressed down with his hand, "Jerry, you just got here. Rest for a bit. At least finish your coffee."
Jimmy nodded, leaning back on the sofa. His Heart Eye was already active. At the front door, his main concern was to ascertain how many people were inside, to prevent any unknown dangers. It was the same now because the villa was quite large, and Heart Eye's range didn't cover the entire property from the entrance.
For the time being, aside from himself, there were Roman and the maid. Two people stood behind the door in the room next to them, looking ready to burst in at any moment.
Suddenly, Jimmy straightened up: "Roman, how many people are usually here? And how many were here when the necklace went missing?"
Roman: "Normally, there's just one maid. There's also a security guard who doesn't stay on the premises; he usually doesn't enter the house, just patrols outside. When I come home, I'm accompanied by two bodyguards, who are resting in the next room now."
Jimmy made a mental count of the people to ensure there were no problems. He picked up his coffee and drank it in one go, "It's getting late; let's get started."
Roman also put down his coffee cup, got up, and took Jimmy upstairs to a study. Once in the study, Roman walked straight to the bookshelf and pushed it to the side, revealing a hidden safe embedded in the wall.
Roman: "The necklace is usually kept in this safe." As he spoke, Roman stepped in front of the safe and began to open it. It was an old model, with only a dial and a lever, and judging by the rust around it, it seemed to have been embedded in the wall for quite some time.
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