Welcome to Bow Street

[James Bell]

Ordinarily, John Harris had no qualms about getting involved in shady business dealings. They tended to have better profits and provide more spark to life than the more boring legally-arranged deals. That wasn't to say that Harris never snubbed clean deals, though. It was important to maintain some semblance of law-abiding respectability. Doing so helped him gain and keep higher class clients, which also guaranteed him a greater profit margin for any given cargo. If he stowed a few extra, very different, pieces of cargo or 'lost' some of his client's goods through accidents in the hold, so much the better. Harris always explained that some small measure of loss was to be expected when moving goods by sea, so his clients were quite aware of the risk they were taking. They all trusted him to safeguard their cargoes, whatever the cargoes might be, and he'd be a fool to try to skim off more than a cask or two each trip. Acceptable loss was the name of the game, after all.

He liked a good, sound business deal, shady or not, but he had been gradually growing suspicious about one client in particular. The diamond merchant Weisz had been one of Harris's regular clients for years. His business was usually profitable, both in the end result and in what Harris quietly skimmed off the cargo manifest, and he had come to know Weisz and his business agents rather well. It was, therefore, a surprise when Harris learned that the merchant had taken ill and was confined to his house. Surprised, but not wary. Illness was certainly not unknown in London. Even the well-to-do were not immune to it. What struck him as unusual was Weisz's choice of his daughter as chief business agent, but he adapted to that change as if it was no more than a shift in the wind. The instructions were similar to what he had come to expect from Weisz and thus he gave the situation little undue thought. That was until he chanced to hear an interesting rumour from another merchant ship captain about Weisz's state of health. It had intrigued Harris enough to set one of his sailors ashore to watch the Weisz house. Soon enough, the sailor reported seeing a doctor come and go. That was not unusual in itself, but the sailor's statement that the doctor seemed more harried than was proper struck Harris as interesting.

It was at that point that Harris decided to investigate. He chose one of his most trusted sailors, saw to it that the man was cleaned up and gotten a new suit of clothes, and sent him to the neighbourhood that the Weisz house was in, where the sailor would masquerade as a footman. It was a big gamble, even by Harris' standards, but he felt himself bound to discover the truth about the health of one of his chief clients. Some days passed with no report, before the sailor returned to the ship, brimming with news. Maids loved to gossip and from them, the sailor had learned that Weisz was not simply confined to his house, but rather confined to his rooms. It seemed that the man's mind was failing. Now that, Harris thought, was exceptionally interesting. A feeble-minded man could hardly run a successful business. This was good information to know. Armed with the knowledge that he had actually been dealing with a woman all this time, Harris sent a messenger to the Weisz house with his usual greetings and statement that he was back in port, and wished for another commission. Unsurprisingly, a response was not long in coming. Harris was to present himself at the diamond merchant's business office precisely at two o'clock Tuesday next. Excellent.

The captain followed the note's instructions to the letter. He'd always done his best to be prompt anyway. He was dressed in his usual attire, consisting mainly of a faded blue coat and salt-stained hat. Only his breeches seemed remotely new. It would hardly do if he attended the meeting dressed properly, which he had never done before. He had no desire to warn the Weisz girl that anything might be amiss. Harris made his usual heavy banging knock at the door and waited.

[Sabine Weisz]

A squat maid answered the door, "Come in," she said in a thick accent, "You must be Mr. 'Arris." She said, turning away and brushing gray hair out of her face. Although, not the most polite of people, she was an invaluable help around the place and she knew it. She led him to a darkly clad business room,, trailing the scent of fresh bread and coffee behind her. Decorated in golds and reds, it was well organized library, obviously meant for clients. A desk sat at the opposite end.

Sabine sat at the mohogany desk, looking at her guest with a deadpan expression, one she had adopted for conducting business. It was best for them not to know if you were displeased or delighted with what they offered. She wore a coral colored dress and the bone corset flattered her shapely form. Her dark hair was pinned up stylishly, a few curls purposely left free to accent her face.

Her escort stood by, she chose him because he was deaf and it was a perfect match for her to do business while he attended. His head was too large for his body and he was pathetically scrawny, but he served her purposes well being descreet and unable to actually hear anything that was being said.

Nodding her head, and studying her guest with neutral hazel eyes she greeted him, "Good day, I hope you are well. Please join me for some tea. My father regrets his absence again, but he is overseas talking to a new trader." She motioned to the deaf escort, "You remember Samuel Rothstien." she said and Sam, seeing that he had been introduced nodded politely.

Sabine got right to the point, "I assume you summoned this meeting to conduct our usual business, although it is sooner than expected. Have you found a new buyer?" She waved her hand in dismissal, "No matter, let's get to it. I have collected the agreements that we have made in the past just to make sure things are consistant and my father has instructed me to follow them to the letter." Sabine spread the signed documents before her, "That said, what can Weisz Diamonds do for you at this time, Mr. Harris?"

[James Bell]

OOC - My apologises for the lateness and crappiness of this post.

IC -

The usual pleasantries were offered after he was shown in, which if he was still in ignorance of her plot, he would have considered utterly normal. In light of his as yet still secret knowledge, however, John Harris decided that the words had a false, patronising tone. But he simply nodded as he would any other time and answered, "Indeed I do, ma'am. I am come in the interest of another commission. My ship and I have lately returned and, at present, are lying in woeful idleness on the Thames."

Innocent enough, being in his usual vein. Then Harris tugged lightly at the brim of his hat, which was gripped in his hands, and added, "How long has your father been abroad?"

He knew from his previous enquiries that Weisz had scarcely left his bedchamber, never mind the country. But he would not let on that he possessed such knowledge until he was more certain that revealing it would strengthen his hand.