Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) by Kellie Merriman Page A

been done for the sake of money , my dear. ’
    I thought he said he ’ d get straight to the point?
    ‘ Listen to me carefully. I ’ m guilty ,’ he said and stared hard at Grace. ‘ What do you think of that? ’
    There ’ s nothing like getting to the point. ‘ I ’ m thinking , why are you telling me and not your lawyer? How do I know it ’ s true and if it is what would you like me to do with this information? ’
    ‘ I ’ m sure you already have in mind what you ’ d like to do with it. ’
    ‘ I try not to get ahead of myself , Mr de – Antonio. I will need a lot more information before I write this story. ’
    ‘ Ask your questions. ’
    ‘ Let ’ s start with your lawyer. ’
    ‘ Yes , he knows. ’
    ‘ Well , if you ’ re guilty – ’
    ‘ There ’ s no if about it. I know what I did. ’
    ‘ What was the reason the judge adjourned the trial? ’
    ‘ I ’ m not allowed to discuss it until things are resumed , my dear. ’
    What ’ s with the ‘ my dear ’ ?
    He waved his hand off dismissively as he poured another full glass of liquor. He laughed like a man possessed until it induced a coughing fit.
    ‘ Is there something I can get you , Mr de Silva? Some water? ’
    ‘ Antonio , please. No , no. I ’ m fine. Where was I? ’
    He is drunk. ‘ Antonio , we can do this some other time if you ’ re feeling unwell. I can come back later? ’
    ‘ No. There ’ s no time. It has to be now. I ’ m not drunk , I ’ m , I ’ m , well , I ’ m good , Grace. ’ He suddenly became more sober and calm. ‘ This is worse than anyone even knows. There ’ s a man I liaise with , although , I don ’ t know who he is , as in , I don ’ t know his name. Not his real name anyway. ’ He sighed , leaned on his left elbow and rubbed his temple. With his right hand he refilled his glass , slopping it on the small table near his chair , and then he took another swig. ‘ He ’ s tall. I think he ’ s the fall guy. I can ’ t figure it out. He says he ’ s working for someone who ’ s the head honcho. Anyway , he ’ s blackmailing me. He ’ s the one who organised for me to smuggle those diamonds into the country in the shampoo bottles. Pure profit , you see. ’
    ‘ Why is he blackmailing you? ’
    ‘ It ’ s irrelevant. I did it. ’
    ‘ Why are you telling me this? As I said before , the trial has been adjourned so there ’ s no verdict yet. ’
    Mr de Silva sighed. ‘ I had to tell someone. Apparently politicians at the highest level are involved in this embezzling racket. Your job is to find out who he is and why he ’ s doing it. You must uncover it , Grace. ’ Then he mumbled to himself , ‘ I ’ m so stupid. ’
    ‘ You alright? ’ she leaned forward on her chair. She was unsure how to offer help yet available if he needed it.
    ‘ I ’ m fine. ’
    ‘ Why did you pick me to talk to? ’ She continued to take notes.
    ‘ The cops are glad I ’ m out on bail. They need me on the outside to help them with a sting. I haven ’ t looked into whether entrapment is legal here. Besides , I don ’ t have to help them. My lawyer said I shouldn ’ t talk to anyone. Perhaps it ’ s a job for you? ’
    His words didn ’ t make sense.
    ‘ What job? ’ Grace asked.
    ‘ You must find out who ’ s behind it? ’
    ‘ Behind what? ’
    ‘ You need to do some investigating and find out who the man is that forced me to embezzle the diamonds. He ’ s the one you have to find. ’
    ‘ Where would I even start? ’
    ‘ You ’ re smart , you can do it. ’
    ‘ Antonio , it doesn ’ t explain why you picked me. ’
    ‘ I don ’ t like the media much , Grace. However , you wrote a story on me years ago after we did an interview together. Do you remember? ’
    ‘ I do. It was about the diamond industry in Australia and how you were implementing standards for buyers and sellers to adhere to before they could be involved in the industry. ’
    ‘ You quoted me correctly and you