ERNIE COOPER'S PAWNSHOP is wedged between a Chinese fast-food restaurant and a smoke shop on Valencia, at the heart of the Mission. Casey Dowling's high-ticket jewelry was out of Ernie Cooper's league, but Cooper was retired from the SFPD and had offered help anytime we needed him.

Today, the hulking ex-cop's frame was filling up a faded art deco fan chair on the sidewalk outside his shop. His gray hair was braided down his back, iPod cords dangled from his ears, an open racing form was on his lap, and there was the bulge of a handgun under his aloha shirt.

Cooper grinned when he saw us and stood up to shake Conklin's hand and mine.

"We're working a burglary that turned into a murder," I told him.

"Movie star's wife? I read about that," he said. "Have a seat."

I pulled up a toy trunk, and Conklin balanced his rump on a bamboo bar stool. Cooper said, "Fill me in."

I handed him the folder of insurance photos, and he flipped through them, stopping often to take in the sapphires in platinum settings, the chains of diamonds, and then the real showstopper-the yellow diamond ring looking like a pasha's cushion set in a throne of pav diamonds.

"Man alive," Cooper said. He flipped the photo over and read the specs of the piece. "Appraised at a million. And I'm betting it's worth every penny."

"It's one of a kind, right?" Conklin asked him.

"Oh, sure," Cooper said. "A twenty-karat diamond of any kind is rare. But a canary diamond? The setting alone says it's an original. I wonder why it's not signed."

"So what would you do if you stole this?" I asked.

"Well, I wouldn't shop it here, that's for sure. I'd hand it off to a flying fence, take my ten percent, and be done."

"Flying fence" was a new term for me. I asked Ernie to explain.

"A flying fence is like the regular kind, except he takes possession of the goods immediately, catches a flight to LA or New York or another jewelry-laundering hub, and is in the air within an hour or so of the robbery."

"And then what?"

"The route fans out to anywhere. In the case of this ring, maybe it's been sold as is, but not in this country. Probably on the finger of a young lady in Dubai as we speak."

Cooper drummed his fingers on the folder. I thought I could see a lightbulb going on over his head.

"You know, there was a flying fence who took a bullet in New York a couple of months ago. Yeah, Maury Green. He specialized in high-priced gems. Normally he'd be the guy you'd go to with a hot rock like this."

"He was killed?"

"Yep, on the spot. Green was taking possession of a haul, and the cops tagged the guy who was making the drop. Can't remember his name, but he was wanted for armed robbery. So anyway, the mope pulled a gun, and Maury Green got caught in the cross fire. That put a break in the supply chain.

"You know," Cooper said, "if your Hello Kitty was using Green to fence his goods, he may be stuck with this million-dollar chunk of yellow ice for a while. Could be your cat's up a tree, doesn't know how to get down."

Chapter 31

YUKI HUGGED THE tanned, graceful woman who opened the door.

"God, it's been what, six years? You look the same!" Sue Emdin said to Yuki, the whole time looking at her like Gee, I haven't heard from you since graduation, so what's this about?

As they walked through the house, Yuki and Sue chatted about their days at Boalt Law, and once they were comfortably seated outside on the wraparound porch with iced tea and cookies, Yuki brought up Casey Dowling and how she'd died.

"You want to talk about Casey officially? " Sue asked.

"Uh-huh. But what's the difference, Sue? Casey is dead, and we owe it to her to help catch her killer."

"Understand, both Marc and Casey are my friends," Sue said. "I don't want to say anything behind Marc's back."

"I do understand, and right now, this is between us," Yuki said. "If you know something, you have to tell me, and you have to let me use my judgment. You'd expect the same from me."

"All right, all right. But try to keep me out of it, okay? When was the last time I asked you for a favor?"

Yuki laughed, and Sue joined her, saying, "Never, right?"

"This is the first time."

"Between you and me, Casey told me she thought Marcus was having an affair. There. I said it."

"Did she have any proof? Did she suspect someone in particular? Did she confront Marcus?"

"Slow down. One question at a time," Sue said.

"Sorry. Backing up, now. Did Casey have any proof that Marcus was screwing around?"

"No, but she was suspicious. Marc's always been a letch. He put his hand on my butt once or twice. Hell, he's a movie star. But Casey said, and I quote, 'He's gone off me.' Meaning he didn't have the hots for her anymore. That's all the proof she had-none-and at the same time, she was alarmed."

"Did she confront him?"

"Yuki, you're not thinking Marc shot Casey?"

"Not at all. He's clean. But it helps to know if there was trouble in the marriage."