Page 107 - The Jazzsipper Novel

106

THE JAZZ SIPPER

authorities had named The Pink Panthers, the group has been responsible for
over 350 million dollars’ worth of robberies for over 15 years in 26 different
countries, especially all over Europe. According to the guy, one of them had
a gun that was stolen from the ships armor; no shots were fired and no one
was injured. They had escaped on foot in less than a minute with several
precious diamonds, including the 26-carat Marlborough diamond, which was
worth over $500,000. They got caught at a Hotel in Naples, Italy after a cab
driver tipped off the Italian police that he picked up and dropped off four
foreign men fitting the description that they were looking for connected with
the robbery. Wow! Vance thought he knew he had made the right move by
backing away from Dino socially; this was Dino’s first cruise overseas. But the
others had been overseas before on the ship’s previous cruise. He was
thinking about Dino and how his family would be taking the news that he was
in jail in a foreign country. The guy upstairs said that the news about what had
happen and who was involved was all over the news back in the States and
throughout Europe. Vance even thought about Uncle Frank and Aunt Jessie;
he hoped that they were not worried about him being involved. After Vance
left from talking with the guy from upstairs he had all kind of thoughts running
through his head, decisions had to be made about the shipboard business’s
he and Dino had going. Vance decided that he would give up certain
shipboard businesses like the sandwich shop, the personal laundry service
and the loan sharking business. When guys would ask him about any of those
businesses he would simply refer them to someone else on the ship that was
doing the same thing. He decided to keep the Filipino Bank Loan business
going because it was easy to do and brought in the most money. Guys all
over the ship was coming up to Vance asking him what happen with Dino and
the “Cat”, Vance would just nod his head and say he did not know what was