“Do you know where she lives?”
“Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She owns a small bakery there. I’m getting more details on her now.”
“Thank you, James. Deliver the information to me tomorrow at the airport; I’m flying to Milwaukee first thing.”
James nodded once, and silently left his boss to ponder what he’d learned.
True to his word, James had put together a folder with more information on Jacqueline Bauer and was waiting when Khizar stepped out of his car at the airport. The driver carried his bags onto the private jet while Khizar received the folder, which included personal and professional details about the young woman, along with James’ analysis.
Khizar bounded up the stairs and onto the jet, which was painted with the royal-purple logo of Jamshidi & Company. The pilot greeted Khizar as the door was closed behind him.
“We’re ready for takeoff, sir.”
The Sheikh nodded. “Thank you. Let’s go.”
He settled into a deep leather chair, laying the folder on the mahogany table in front of him, and waved one hand at the hovering steward, who brought him a cup of steaming hot tea.
The plane accelerated down the runway and then glided smoothly into the air. Khizar drank his tea and read through the information James had found, impressed at the level of detail contained within.
As James had mentioned the night before, Jacqueline Bauer owned a small bakery in Milwaukee. The store was in a part of downtown that was seeing a resurgence in business, but more business in the area hadn’t seemed to help Bauer’s bakery.
The landlord had raised the rent on the building four times over the last five years, and the stores on either side of the bakery had seen high turnover. Studying the financial data, Khizar wondered if the landlord was trying to push Jacqueline out by making it more expensive for her to stay there.
Khizar pulled out his computer and opened the thin case. He typed a few search terms into the web browser and read through the results. Jacqueline’s business had received good reviews—though, in his opinion, not enough of them to make much of an impact. The bakery didn’t show up in any local newspapers or magazines; it hadn’t been written up or had any local press cover it.
He studied pictures of the bakery online. The store was tiny, but bright and cheery. The blue and yellow décor wasn’t understated, but it wasn’t garish, either. It looked like the small front space had four or five tables where patrons could eat, and a counter running across the room topped a case filled with cupcakes, small pies, pastries and cookies.
Khizar read through the menu, and wondered how Jacqueline was getting by charging those prices. No wonder her store wasn’t turning a profit.
If Jacqueline had the diamond, she might be thinking about selling it. The money would give her more than a comfortable life, and if she wanted to continue running a bakery, it would give her the freedom to move to a better store, or even buy a building of her own. She could expand and not have to worry about financing ever again. Or turning a profit, for that matter.
If the diamond was in her possession, which was a long shot, Khizar was sure he could convince her to sell it to him. But if she didn’t have it, maybe there was something in her family history that would give him a clue to where it might be.
He looked again at the file James had given him and noted that Jacqueline’s social media handles were listed. Khizar found her accounts and read through the posts. Her pictures were a combination of her business, a few that looked like a small group of friends, and several from charity events.
Khizar traced the events and organizations mentioned in the photos’ captions and confirmed that Jacqueline was active in a few local charities. She supported a local organization that placed foster kids in homes, as well as some other charities that worked to end homelessness in the city.
There were pictures from a banquet held the year before at which Jacqueline had been honored with a Volunteer of the Year award. She smiled brightly at the camera, one arm looped around the waist of an older woman, each of them with a hand holding the plaque engraved with Jacqueline’s name.
He also found a few pictures of her with the family that had adopted her, all of them at a picnic for the city’s adoption agency. Jacqueline was surrounded by kids in several of the pictures, and it was clear that she was happy and having fun.