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Chapter eight

I arrived at Selena’s house at about eleven. The security guard let me in without any questions. From one or two jokey comments he made, I understood that he thought that I was Selena’s boyfriend. The pretty little maid let me into the house.

Selena was already in bed. I was hungry and I asked the maid to bring me a sandwich and a coke. I sat in the living room and looked at the fireplace. I was looking forward to a little action. At about 11:30, I went upstairs to bed. Before I went to sleep, I telephoned Snout to make sure that everything was ready. He told me not to worry. He and his men were ready and waiting, hidden in a side road only 200 yards from the house.

I fell asleep immediately without taking my clothes off, just my shoes. At one o’clock I was woken up by the same noises as the night before. I put my shoes back on and telephoned Snout. Then I left the bedroom, and the noises stopped. I went downstairs and opened the front door. I waited in the living room. After a few minutes, I heard cars on the drive. A few seconds later, Snout and six policemen armed with pistols and torches came into the living room. Snout looked at me and nodded. I pushed the lever in the fireplace downwards. The six policemen rushed into the opened doorway and down the stairs. Snout and I followed. Before I reached the bottom stair, I heard two shots. When I arrived in the room, it was brightly lit by the oil lamps. I saw that one of the policemen was wounded in the arm. One of the five other men in the room, one of the Asians, was lying on the floor with a bullet in his leg and a pistol beside him. The two brothers were there, unarmed, astonished and very frightened. The two other men, both obviously Asians also, had pistols in their hands. But with five armed policemen with their weapons pointed at them, they didn’t seem very sure what to do with them. ‘Drop the guns!’ ordered Snout. The pistols fell to the floor.

All that was left to do was to handcuff the members of the gang and take them to the cars which were waiting on the forecourt and then to take possession of the gems. The uncut cushions were also carried to the cars and loaded into the boots. Two ambulances were called for the wounded men. Snout and I spoke for a minute or two before they all left. He told me that they would interrogate the men some time later. He promised to telephone me after that.

I went upstairs and knocked on Selena’s door. She was awake, of course, and I told her everything. ‘No ghost,’ I said. ‘Just some villains making a dishonest living.’ She seemed relieved, but a bit disappointed. I think she quite liked having a ghost in the house. I told her I would ring her later, after I talked to Snout.