Prior Rings

Chapter 7: Tobias - Gratitude

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, and/or been writing reviews for this story! You really inspire me to keep going. Thank you also to my wonderful beta reader, Rosalie!

Chapter 7: Tobias – Gratitude

The store owner, whose name we learn is David, insists that we stay with him while we're in Pittsburgh. He has a small apartment by Chicago standards, but I'm sure it's quite large for this city – with a kitchen and living room in addition to a bedroom and private bathroom. Compared with the tiny one-room apartment we saw the last time I was here, this place is enormous.

We sit in the living room, Kevin's long body taking up most of the small blue couch while David and I occupy the plush mis-matched chairs that form the other side of the conversation area. But I'm not really looking at either of them – I'm still staring at the paper that David kept for all these months. I guess I'm hoping that more information will magically appear on it if I look long enough.

The man who bought Anna's ring is young – probably in his early twenties – and average sized, with reddish-blond hair and pale skin. David said they didn't talk much, but judging by his accent, the man has probably always lived in Pittsburgh. The only thing David noted from the conversation was that the man wanted to surprise his girlfriend with the ring so they could get married before their baby came.

It's depressingly little to go on – certainly not enough to find him in this city full of people. So, we end up focusing our attention on the fact that he paid in cash – and speculating from there.

"What percent of the population would have been able to afford that price?" Kevin asks curiously, sounding like the Erudite he is.

"On a payment plan," David begins, "close to five percent of my customers could have afforded it. I priced it for that range. But to pay in cash?" He shakes his head. "That was highly unusual…."

"And I assume that tells you something about his profession?" Kevin presses.

David's face shows distaste. "Well, yes. Either he was a member of one of the prominent families, or he did something…illicit, at best." He scratches the bald spot on the top of his head before continuing. "He didn't have a bodyguard with him, so I doubt he belonged to one of the families, or that he was a pimp or in charge of a gang. And he wasn't large enough to be an enforcer for a loan shark."

A vague sense of revulsion goes through me at the possibilities that David is listing, and at the idea of Anna's ring being with someone like that. But I push it aside and keep my focus on our host.

"Overall," he says thoughtfully, "I think he was probably a thief."

It's slightly better than the other options, but I still don't like the idea. Most of the people in this country are barely surviving as it is – they can't afford to have someone steal from them.

And with that thought comes additional doubt. "How could he have made that much money by robbing such a poor population?" I ask.

"He couldn't," Kevin answers flatly. "The numbers don't add up. Besides, if he was stealing from people, why not simply steal a ring when he wanted one?" He shakes his head, dismissing the idea. But then another thought seems to occur to him.

"Unless he stole from businesses…" he says slowly. "In that case, he'd end up with whatever they had – which probably wouldn't be jewelry – and when he sold that, he'd have cash."

I have to think about that for a moment, remembering what little I know about businesses in NUSA. My mind goes to the building where we hid in Philadelphia. They were a manufacturer of some sort, but they only had one guard on duty at night – Margot's ex-boyfriend, Simon. It's easy to see how someone could have stolen from them – and could have ended up with enough money to pay for Anna's ring as a result.