“I told you,” I said. “The stuff came out of Red China. It’s all good jade, and you can see what the local jewelry store thinks of it. Maybe somebody stole it from Red China, but no one did any stealing after that. I bought it in Hong Kong and brought it here. I’m offering it for sale.”
“When can I see the jade itself?”
“If you’re interested, and we can agree, you can see it tomorrow. We’ll go together with the jade to the store, and you can verify everything. I presume you know the store?”
He smiled. “I ought to. It’s owned by my brother-in-law.”
“Then you got no worries.”
“Maybe. You brought it here from Hong Kong?”
“I said so.”
“Through customs?”
“I said I brought it here. I didn’t say how or in what way.”
His smile got more wolfish. “You mean you didn’t pay customs duties on i
