While she was still talking, she reached into her purse, pulled out a thick stack of cash, and tossed it at the officer. His eyes lit up. He mumbled something about having other business to attend to, handed the Bloodstone Qilin over to Gladys, and walked away without a backward glance.
"Tell you what, I'll be generous." Gladys smiled down at me. "If the Farleys found out you were trying to pass off a fake as the real thing, and then it came out that you're Elliot's ex-wife? The embarrassment alone would bury you. So here's what we'll do. Get on your knees. Knock your head on the floor twice. Thank me. And I'll let you walk out of here today."
I stood where I was. Silent. Still.
My eyes were fixed on the phone lying on the floor, split clean in two.
That phone. I'd carried it for years.
My mother gave it to me as a birthday present, right before she died. She'd been frail for so long, barely able to stand, spending her days collecting bottles and scraps to save up a little money. And she'd used it to buy me a phone that cost five figures.