Maria knew absolutely nothing about diamonds, having never owned one, but she was stunned by the size of this gem. She assumed it must be a fake, but, even so, it would still have some commercial value, as would the gold ring. She wondered who might have dropped the pouch, as, to the best of her knowledge, Gonzales had no visitors other than her and the postman. She vowed to visit her local pawnshop early the next day, before she started work. Maybe she could get a couple of hundred dollars for her lucky find.

The following morning, she headed straight to her local pawnbroker and stood outside the front door waiting for it to open. Her first house visit wasn’t due until ten thirty, so, if Señor Ortiz opened up at nine as usual, she would have time to do some business first. Since the death of her mother, she had made a number of visits to his shop, pawning a mixture of the household ornaments and costume jewellery she had inherited. But now the home cupboard was bare, so a few unexpected dollars for these two trinkets would be very welcome.

The shop had been under the same ownership for forty years, and Alexandro Ortiz knew all his regular customers by name. When he saw Maria waiting outside the shop, his heart sank as he knew she only ever brought in total crap, but things were quiet, so every customer still had to be welcomed to his premises.

“Maria, darling, how are you? What treasures are you bringing me today?”

Maria was far too preoccupied with her own anxieties to pick up on the sarcasm in his voice. She had spent the previous evening at home preparing a suitable script.

“Good morning, Señor Ortiz. I have some of my mother’s most precious jewellery that I was determined never to sell but needs must as bills have to be paid. Please be generous as they are of great sentimental value to me.”

She took out the pouch and handed it across the counter to Ortiz. The first thing that caught his eye was a small gold Cartier logo stamped on the velvet at the bottom of the pouch, a marking Maria had completely missed. He opened it up and carefully retrieved the contents. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the solitaire. He knew the gem was at least ten carats in weight, and at first glance it looked genuine. He gathered his thoughts as he peered through his eyeglass at the pure white stone.

“This is a nice replica, Maria. Your mother obviously had very good taste. What were you looking to get for the two rings?”

Maria decided to go for broke. “I’m thinking five hundred dollars.”

She held her breath.

“Maria, I think three hundred would be fairer, but, as it’s you, how about we agree at four?”