"I've only got two hands, friend." Jeff waited ten seconds, then moved inside the ropes and walked up to the pedestal Hendrik signaled to the armed guard, and the guard nodded and fixed his eyes on Jeff.
Jeff was working in back of the pedestal. The frustrated guide turned to the group. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, as I was saying, over here we have a selection of fine diamonds at bargain prices. We accept credit cards, traveler's checks"--he gave a little chuckle--"and even cash."
Tracy was standing in front of the counter. "Do you buy diamonds?" she asked in a loud voice.
The guide stared at her. "What?"
"My husband is a prospector. He just returned from South Africa, and he wants me to sell these."
As she spoke, she opened the briefcase she carried, but she was holding it upside down, and a torrent of flashing diamonds cascaded down and danced all over the floor.
"My diamonds!" Tracy cried. "Help me!"
There was one frozen moment of silence, and then all hell broke loose. The polite crowd became a mob. They scrambled for the diamonds on their hands and knees, knocking one another out of the way.
"I've got some..."
"Grab a handful, John..."
"Let go of that, it's mine..."
The guide and the guard were beyond speech. They were hurled aside in a sea of scrambling, greedy human beings, filling their pockets and purses with the diamonds.
The guard screamed, "Stand back! Stop that!" and was knocked to the floor.
A busload of Italian tourists entered, and when they saw what was happening, they joined in the frantic scramble.
The guard tried to get to his feet to sound the alarm, but the human tide made it impossible. They were trampling over him. The world had suddenly gone mad. It was a nightmare that seemed to have no end.
When the dazed guard finally managed to stagger to his feet, he pushed his way through the bedlam, reached the pedestal, and stood there, staring in disbelief.
The Lucullan diamond had disappeared.
So had the pregnant lady and the electrician.
Tracy removed her disguise in a stall in the public washroom in Oosterpark, blocks away from the factory. Carrying the package wrapped in brown paper, she headed for a park bench. Everything was moving perfectly. She thought about the mob of people scrambling for the worthless zircons and laughed aloud. She saw Jeff approaching, wearing a dark gray suit; the beard and mustache had vanished. Tracy leapt to her feet. Jeff walked up to her and grinned. "I love you," he said. He slipped the Lucullan diamond out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Tracy. "Feed this to your friend, darling. See you later."
Tracy watched him as he strolled away. Her eyes were shining. They belonged to each other. They would take separate planes and meet in Brazil, and after that, they would be together for the rest of their lives.
Tracy looked around to make sure no one was observing, then she unwrapped the package she held. Inside was a small cage holding a slate-gray pigeon. When it had arrived at the American Express office three days earlier, Tracy had taken it to her suite and released the other pigeon out the window and watched it clumsily flutter away. Now, Tracy took a small chamois sack from her purse and placed the diamond in it. She removed the pigeon from its cage and held it while she care fully tied the sack to the bird's leg.
"Good girl, Margo. Take it home."
A uniformed policeman appeared from nowhere. "Hold it! What do you think you're doing?"
Tracy's heart skipped a beat. "What's--what's the trouble, officer?"
His eyes were on the cage, and he was angry. "You know what the trouble is. It's one thing to feed these pigeons, but it's against the law to trap them and put them in cages. Now, you just let it go before I place you under arrest."
Tracy swallowed and took a deep breath. "If you say so, Officer." She lifted her arms and tossed the pigeon into the air. A lovely smile lit her face as she watched the pigeon soar, higher and higher. It circled once, then headed in the direction of London, 230 miles to the west A homing pigeon averaged forty miles an hour, Gunther had told her, so Margo would reach him within six hours.
"Don't ever try that again," the officer warned Tracy.
"I won't," Tracy promised solemnly. "Never again."
Late that afternoon, Tracy was at Schiphol Airport, moving toward the gate from which she would board a plane bound for Brazil. Daniel Cooper stood off in a corner, watching her, his eyes bitter. Tracy Whitney had stolen the Lucullan diamond. Cooper had known it the moment he heard the report. It was her style, daring and imaginative. Yet, there was nothing that could be done about it. Inspector van Duren had shown photographs of Tracy and Jeff to the museum guard. "Nee. Never seen either of them. The thief had a beard and a mustache and his cheeks and nose were much fatter, and the lady with the diamonds was dark-haired and pregnant."
Nor was there any trace of the diamond. Jeff's and Tracy's persons and baggage had been thoroughly searched.
"The diamond is still in Amsterdam," Inspector van Duren swore to Cooper. "We'll find it."
No, you won't, Cooper thought angrily. She had switched pigeons. The diamond had been carried out of the country by a homing pigeon.
Cooper watched helplessly as Tracy Whitney made her way across the concourse. She was the first person who had ever defeated him. He would go to hell because of her.
As Tracy reached the boarding gate, she hesitated a moment, then turned and looked straight into Cooper's eyes. She had been aware that he had been following her all over Europe, like some kind of nemesis. There was something bizarre about him, frightening and at the same time pathetic. Inexplicably, Tracy felt sorry for him. She gave him a small farewell wave, then turned and boarded her plane.
Daniel Cooper touched the letter of resignation in his pocket.
It was a luxurious Pan American 747, and Tracy was seated in Seat 4B on the aisle in first class. She was excited. In a few hours she would be with Jeff. They would be married in Brazil. No more capers, Tracy thought, but I won't miss them. I know I won't. Life will be thrilling enough just being Mrs. Jeff Stevens.
"Excuse me."
Tracy looked up. A puffy, dissipated-looking middle-aged man was standing over her. He indicated the window seat. "That's my seat, honey."
Tracy twisted aside so he could get past her. As her skirt slid up, he eyed her legs appreciatively.
"Great day for a flight, huh?" There was a leer in his voice.
Tracy turned away. She had no interest in getting into a conversation with a fellow passenger. She had too much to think about. A whole new life. They would settle down somewhere and be model citizens. The ultrarespectable Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Stevens.
Her companion nudged her. "Since we're gonna be seat mates on this flight, little lady, why don't you and I get acquainted? My name is Maximilian Pierpont."
About the Author
The Incomparable Sidney Sheldon Best known today for his exciting blockbuster novels, Sidney Sheldon is the author of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Sky is Falling, Tell Me Your Dreams, The Best Laid Plans, Morning, Noon & Night, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Stars Shine Down, The Doomsday Conspiracy, Memories of Midnight, The Sands of Time, Windmills of the Gods, If Tomorrow Comes, Master of the Game, Rage of Angels, Bloodline, A Stranger in the Mirror, and The Other Side of Midnight. All have been international bestsellers. His first book, The Naked Face, was acclaimed by the New York Times as "the best first mystery of the year" and received an Edgar nomination. Most of his novels have become major feature films or TV miniseries, and there are more than 300 million copies of his books in print throughout the world.
Before he became a novelist, Sidney Sheldon had already won a Tony Award for Broadway's Redhead and an Academy Award for The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer. He has won several Box Office Awards and has written the screenplays for twenty-five motion pictures, including Easter Parade (with Judy Garland) and Annie Get Your Gun, both of which won him Screen Writers Guild Awards. In addition, he penned si
x other Broadway hits and created three long-running television series, The Patty Duke Show, I Dream of Jeannie, which he also produced and for which he received an Emmy nomination, and Hart to Hart. A writer who has delighted millions with his award-winning plays, movies, novels, and television shows, Sidney Sheldon reigns as the master storyteller.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
IF TOMORROW COMES
Leaves the Press Breathless!
"A thrilling page-turner...compelling...Sheldon's fans will stay awake to discover If Tomorrow Comes for Tracy Whitney."
--Detroit Free Press
"Smooth-flowing and exciting."
--Associated Press
"Won't disappoint his fans. If Tomorrow Comes is sexy and alluring, seducing readers through the guise of a beautiful heroine who lives on the cutting edge of danger...Sheldon has a habit of both charming and shocking his readers. He does both with aplomb in If Tomorrow Comes."
--United Press International
"Tracy Whitney is the latest and perhaps the ultimate Sheldon heroine."
--Denver Post
"Romance, suspense and evil. If Tomorrow Comes has all that and more. This is good reading that will leave you with a tingle of excitement and a smile of admiration."
--Richmond Times
"An engrossing read."
--Indianapolis Star
"If you want an adventure novel you simply cannot put down, go to Sheldon."
--New York Daily News
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright (c) 1985 by The Sidney Sheldon Family Limited Partnership
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition (c) APRIL 2010 ISBN: 978-0-062-00781-0
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First Paperback Printing: January 1986 Reissued: June 2005
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Sidney Sheldon, If Tomorrow Comes
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