He let the phone ring twice before picking it up, “Rob Winter’s Jewelers. We buy and sell. How may I help you?”

A feminine voice, that was different, answered mildy, “I was curious if you had any Rubies in stock.”

“Ah, let me check.” He said, flipping through his inventory book. There were three names in the Rubies section. “Just so happens that I do.”

“I’d like to buy them all.”

His eyebrows shot up, “You know how much Rubies cost nowadays?”

“I’m not stupid, sir. I had my daughter valued by an expert. She’s a Ruby too. Now, when can I pick them up?”

“Tomorrow night. At the Dock Club.” He said, looking out of the blinds of his office. The warehouse below was beautifully ordered and the inventory all catalogged. He noticed the three teenagers huddled in the enclosure marked with ruby-red fencing.

They would fetch him a small fortune. “I look forward to seeing you.”

“Until tomorrow.” The woman said, and hung up.

He couldn’t stop staring at the girls. A small fortune, indeed.