The Willing Ghost Learn English through story level 3

chapter one

she opened the door of my office without

knocking and came in

she stood in front of my desk and looked

down at me

i was sitting in my chair with my feet

on the desk and reading the sports pages

of a newspaper

you’re a private detective i believe she

said

i took my feet off the desk and put down

the newspaper

that’s right

well i have a job for you

good i said

i charge 250 pounds a day plus expenses

money’s no problem

even better i said

what’s the problem during these few

seconds i was looking at her closely she

had beautiful long red hair and enormous

emerald green eyes

she reminded me of a cat i had once

the eyes not the hair i also thought i

recognized her but i couldn’t remember

where from

she was about 27 or 28 and very

beautiful

she was wearing a tight green the same

shade as her eyes sleeveless silk dress

nothing on top

no coat no cardigan

we were enjoying a very hot summer in

london that year

she was also wearing expensive jewelry

very expensive the kind many women are

prepared to kill for

a gold watch

a ring with a huge emerald surrounded by

diamonds on her left hand

a gold bracelet on her right wrist

and three loops of the best australian

pearls around her neck

i know quite a lot about jewelry

i know quite a lot about everything that

costs a lot of money

it’s a hobby of mine for the same reason

i was also receiving messages from the

perfume she was using that day

it was something like the latest perfume

but not the one along with all the other

latest of the perfume manufacturers

which flood the department stores around

christmas

this was a special made to order mix

the kind produced in small quantities

for very rich vips

i know quite a lot about perfume as well

definitely she was the kind of client

that i like to have

and also the kind of client that i

needed at that moment

well the problem mr boot is that i have

great difficulties in sleeping at the

moment shouldn’t you see a doctor not a

detective i said

no you see

there’s a reason i can’t sleep

and what is it i asked

it’s a ghost

a ghost

yes a ghost

a ghost in my house

and two or three nights a week about

midnight or one o’clock i hear strange

noises in the house

now i don’t believe in ghosts but i do

believe in rich beautiful clients

so i asked her to sit down

while she was doing this i tried to

think of intelligent questions that you

can ask about ghosts

well

first of all

when did this start

about three months ago

and

where do the noises come from

from which part of the house i mean in

your bedroom or

no not in my bedroom in fact quite a

long way from my bedroom

it’s a very big house you see

my bedroom is on the second floor

there are three floors all together

all i can be sure of is that the noises

come from below where i sleep not above

i see

and have you ever gone down to find out

what’s going on

yes two or three times but each time the

noise stops a moment or two later while

i’m going down the stairs

i’ve looked into every room on the first

floor and the ground floor and

everything has been completely normal

curious i said

tell me a little more about the house

well it’s about 350 years old it’s in

surrey in the country not far from

saturn

it was built in the second half of the

17th century

its last owner was my father

he died about a year ago

he left the house to me

he left everything else to me as well

he was very rich i presume

yes very

he was sir arthur willing

good god

you’re sir arthur willing’s daughter

yes

my name is selena willing

sir arthur willing’s daughter i couldn’t

believe it

her photograph was often in the

newspapers

without doubt she was the kind of client

that i needed at that moment

chapter 2

everybody in england knew who sir arthur

willing was

he was 63 when he died 14 months before

his beautiful daughter walked into my

office

and for the last 20 or 25 years of his

life he was one of the 10 richest people

in the united kingdom

i knew this because an english newspaper

publishes a list once a year of the

thousand richest people in that year

sometimes saratha was number one in the

list sometimes number two or three

but always in the top ten

surprisingly saratha was born into a

very poor family in a poor part of

london

he left school when he was 15 to sell

fruit and vegetables in a local street

market

but saratha was one of those rare people

who have a gift for business

and also the ambition to get to the top

by the time he was 18 he owned most of

the stalls in the market

then he opened his own import export

business when he was twenty

from that time on he became richer and

richer

he bought or founded many more companies

and extended his business interests into

construction furniture insurance

and just about everything else

sir arthur was knighted for services to

british industry when he was thirty

he married when he was thirty two and in

the following years the couple had three

children

selena was first and then two brothers

a few years later saratha’s wife died

sir arthur never remarried

saratha’s favorite child was selena

she was like her father in many ways

she was a good student and a very hard

worker

and she loved her father very much

she helped her father with all his

business too

she learned everything that her father

was able to teach her about companies

finances the stock market and so on

on the other hand sir saratha’s

relationship with his two sons was never

very successful

they were not at all like their father

they were very bad students

very lazy

and only interested in having fun they

escaped from the house as often as they

could in the evenings

this was not difficult because their

father usually worked late and didn’t

return home until eleven or twelve

the boys went to the cinema or to

discotheques or to games parlors

both went to good universities but

failed almost all their examinations and

left without taking a degree

finally when the boys were 19 and 20

their father lost patience with them he

tore up his will which was made years

before

in this will all his money and

possessions and business interests were

left to his three children equally

then he made a new will which left

everything to selena

well

except for one little company in bangkok

in thailand which exported hand-carved

teak furniture to britain and other

countries

this company did not make a big profit

but enough for his two sons as owner

directors to earn a living

of course

when saratha died and his will became

known the sons reacted badly

they found the solicitor who agreed to

defend their interests

a long court case followed

every day there were articles about it

in all the newspapers

finally

selena won the case and stayed in

possession of all her inheritance

the boys angrily left the family house

in surrey and went to share a tiny

rented flat in a not very exclusive part

of london

chapter 3

before selena left my office that day i

told her that i needed to see her house

first

i wanted to look for clues

the next day i drove to the town of

sutton

i left the car parked and got a taxi

i had directions with me written by

selena

however i didn’t need them the taxi

driver knew where the willing mansion

was

we left the town and drove into the

country after 15 minutes we arrived at

an enormous stone wall beside the road

we followed this wall for a few minutes

until we came to a gate made of iron

bars

it was closed and behind it was a

uniformed security guard

i paid the taxi driver and told the

security guard that i had an appointment

with miss willing

while he was telephoning the house i

looked through the bars of the gate

there was a road which led from the gate

through some trees

well

many trees

a wood in fact

in the distance i could just see the

roof of a large house

all right

said the security guard

walk up the drive until you reach the

house

oh and be careful of the tigers

be careful of the tigers

he saw the panic in my eyes

he laughed

just my little joke

there are no tigers in the wood

not at this time anyway

they’re all in their cages behind the

house

not at this time anyway

in their cages behind the house

i was beginning to feel that i didn’t

want to visit this house

but the guard opened the gate and i went

in and walked quickly

very quickly up that driveway

about 75 yards from the house the trees

stopped

then there was an open space a forecourt

and then

the house

magnificent

a real english stately home

in the center was a huge wooden front

door

open

and selena was standing in the doorway

hello she said brightly

how are you today mr boot

i needed three or four seconds to catch

my breath uh fine thanks i said

surprised

and you

we went into the house and she offered

me some tea or coffee

i said that i wanted to inspect the

house

first she took me on a guided tour

first of the ground floor

a living room at least twice as big as

my flat with a large ornamental marble

fireplace in the center of one wall

a dining room with a dark polished

wooden table

about 10 yards long in the center with

chairs around it

the kitchen and the pantry

a room that selena used as an office

various other smaller rooms

afterwards we went upstairs to look at

the bedrooms and bathrooms on the first

floor we didn’t go higher because selena

was sure that the noises came from below

where she slept

on the second floor

we returned to the living room

and selena rang a bell

a pretty little maid about 18 years old

appeared

and selena asked for coffee it arrived

almost immediately

and we sat down to talk

well mr boot any clues any ideas

i confessed that there was nothing

strange or suspicious that i could see

then i asked her if i might sleep in the

house for at least one night

why not mr boot

the servants will prepare a bedroom for

you on the same floor as mine

will you come tonight

i said yes

and at the same moment i remembered the

tigers

tell me i said

was the security guard joking when he

warned me about the tigers

well yes and no

said selena

i do have five old tigers in cages just

behind the trees at the back of the

house

but we only let them out for exercise

between two and three in the mornings

you let them out

well i don’t personally but one of the

gardeners worked in a circus for many

years

he lets them out and then puts them back

in every night

how does he put them back in i wanted to

know

oh they’re well trained mr boot

they know that while they are exercising

the gardener puts their dinner in the

cages

a half a cow for each one

a half a cow

yes tigers eat a lot

they bring the cows down from one of my

farms in scotland but isn’t it rather

dangerous to let tigers roam around the

grounds

no not really we’re all in bed myself

and all the servants at that time

and if we aren’t we don’t go outside

anyway as i said they’re quite old now

and well fed and probably quite harmless

but why do you have these tigers

they belong to my father mr boot and

were part of my inheritance

he loved the tigers and because of that

i’ve kept them

but when they die i won’t get any more

i was glad to hear that

but have they never given you any

problems

well not really

well

yes from time to time when they were

younger

about six years ago one of them ate one

of the servants while he was smoking a

cigarette on the forecourt

it was a shame he was a nice man good

god i exclaimed

but is it legal to have tigers wandering

about in a garden in england i have no

idea mr boot she said

chapter four

i went back to the house at ten o’clock

that evening

i had a few more questions to ask selena

this time another security guard opened

the gate

selena met me at the front door again

she was dressed for bed in pajamas and a

dressing gown

i always go to bed at 10 o’clock she

explained i have to control all my

father’s business interests and i go to

bed early and get up early

that’s not much of a life for a girl of

your age i said

anyway miss

or do you prefer ms willing

miss is fine but call me selena she

interrupted with a smile fine selena i

said call me richard

i added with what i think is my most

attractive and seductive smile

first then i have

one or two questions i want to ask you

of course please come in

i followed her into the living room and

we sat down

well

firstly

do you ever see your brothers these days

do you have a good relationship with

them i asked

no is the answer to both questions i’m

afraid

we’ve never had a good relationship even

when we were children

they were always against me

they used to call me daddy’s little girl

because i loved my father and i wanted

to help him especially after my mother

died

they left here after the problem of the

inheritance was over

you know all about that i suppose

i nodded

that was about a year ago she continued

and i’ve only seen them once since by

chance

i was walking past a cafe near

knightsbridge and i saw them through the

window

they were talking to two or three other

men

foreign men i think

dark haired and fairly dark skins

from some part of asia perhaps

i see

i said

but another question

do they have keys to the gate

and to the house

selena looks surprised

do you suspect them of something she

asked

let’s say i’m trying to eliminate

possibilities well

yes

i suppose they still have keys to the

house but not to the gate

no one has a key to the gate except the

security men

there are five of them and they work

shifts

to work nights and the others during the

day

at least one of them is on duty 24 hours

a day

and another question

does anyone else live in the house

no not even the servants

there were some old stables which we

converted into apartments some years ago

close to the house on one side

all the servants live there

so i said after 11 or 12 at night

there’s no one in the house except you

that’s right she answered

all right

just one more question before you go to

bed

there isn’t a basement or seller below

this house is there no nothing

somewhere there are some old plans of

the house i’ve seen them and there’s

nothing but the three floors

right i said

no more questions for today

oh

except where do i sleep

one of the servants will show you to

your room when you’re ready to go to bed

if you want something to eat or drink

you just have to ring this little bell

thank you but i don’t want anything

i’ll go to bed soon too

i’ve brought a book to read in bed i

added

i took out of my pocket the book i was

reading at the moment a paperback copy

of henry esmond a well-known 19th

century english novel by william

thackery

you like good books richard said selena

so do i when i have time to read

i’ve read that one and everything else

by thackery i think it’s very good

i was beginning to like selena

young

very good looking and with good taste in

literature

just my kind of girl

chapter five

nothing happened that first night no

noises

nothing

i saw celina at breakfast and i asked to

stay another night

she said that i could stay as long as i

wanted to

there were noises the second night

as i was getting up i realized they were

not inside the house but outside in the

grounds

and they were not human noises but

animal noises

i looked at my watch it was 25 past two

i suppose the tigers were looking for

another servant to eat

i went back to bed

the third night

yes

noises

this time inside the house

i thought i heard footsteps

and perhaps a door opened and shut

i got up immediately put on my dressing

gown and went out of the bedroom

selena was coming out of her room at the

same time

do you hear it she asked

i can hear it

i’m going down to see what it is

i went into every room on the first

floor and then on the ground floor

nothing

nothing unusual

nothing suspicious

and selena was right

the moment i left the bedroom

the noises stopped

i went back to the second floor

selena was still waiting at her bedroom

door

well

she said

well

nothing i answered your ghost is very

elusive

the next morning i sat down at my desk

in my office

i left the newspaper on the desk without

opening it

i needed to think

it was the fourth day on this case and i

didn’t have even one clue

thoughts possibilities came into my head

and went out again

nothing seemed to make any sense

i knew what i had to do

go home and drink two or three cups of

my special coffee brew

this idea i got from the 19th century

french novelist honored balzac

this enormously productive writer

he wrote and published about 90 novels

wrote mainly at night and usually for 14

or 15 hours without stopping

then he went to bed for a few hours and

tried to sleep

not very successfully i imagine because

to keep himself awake and more

importantly to keep his imagination

working on all cylinders he drank many

cups of coffee while he was working

not just any coffee but his own special

mixture of coffees in exact proportions

bought from various coffee merchants in

paris

while he was writing his first books he

experimented until he had a coffee

mixture as strong as coffee can be

then from time to time he visited his

coffee dealers in paris to renew his

supply

now

i don’t write novels but i do sometimes

have cases which are very difficult to

work out and which call for some really

imaginative thinking

and as balzac’s recipe for his special

mixture has not survived as far as i

know

several years ago i decided to

experiment with creating one for myself

i went every few days to a coffee dealer

who has a little shop in soho and who

sells only coffee

coffee from everywhere

i don’t remember how i started but it

was something like this

put two ounces of colombian then mix in

one ounce of indonesian

now three ounces of brazilian

and so on

by changing the proportions

and sometimes the source countries each

time for about a year i achieved my own

special very strong blend

one that could help me to think of

possibilities that i couldn’t reach

without help

now just as balzac did i go to my coffee

dealer every two or three months

he knows me well

two pounds of your special mr boot he

asks with a smile at home i made a pot

of my mixture

then i poured the first cupful and

while i was sipping it i did some

housework

as i live alone this is a necessity from

time to time although i’m not very good

at it

so

still sipping i made the bed for the

first time that week and washed and

dried some plates and cups and sauces

which were waiting in the sink for me

for the same length of time

then i swept the kitchen floor

and i couldn’t remember the last time i

did that

after this i sat down in my armchair and

started drinking another cup

i began to concentrate on the case

but

after the second cup

i still didn’t have any good ideas

so i poured another

cupful halfway through that cup i

decided that my special mixture wasn’t

working that day

the best thing to do was to take the

rest of the day off and relax

i decided to make some lunch and then

return to my armchair and finish reading

henry esmond

henry esmond

suddenly yes

an idea came

the events in thackery’s novel take

place in the last years of the 17th

century and the first years of the 18th

the 17th century was a very violent time

in english history

civil wars the execution of a king

and bloody battles all around england

between royalists and parliamentarians

and i remembered that once i read that

during this period secret rooms or

cupboards were installed in some big

country houses

rooms or cupboards big enough to hide

people during the wars

there is one secret cupboard

big enough for a man

in henry esmond

of course these secret places don’t show

on any plans that still exist of the

houses

the more i thought of the possibility of

a secret room in selena’s 17th century

house

the more i liked it both selena and i

were sure that the noise came from

inside the house

i decided that the next thing to do was

to search for a secret room

chapter six

i didn’t finish the third cup of coffee

i telephoned selena immediately and

asked her if i could go back to her

house that day

i told her that i had an idea and that i

needed to look at the house again

she said i could go whenever i wanted to

she also said that she had meetings to

attend in two or three of her companies

in the city

the security guards and the servants

were already instructed to let me in at

any time i went there

i thought for a moment before i left

home

i decided to take a torch with me

it might be useful

i arrived at selena’s house at about two

o’clock

i was let in and firstly i went through

all the rooms on the first floor

i couldn’t find any secret cupboards or

any possible space for a secret room

i went down to the ground floor and did

the same

with the same result

i sat down in an armchair to think

i tried to recall my conversations with

selena

perhaps there was a clue in them

suddenly i remembered that she told me

that there was no basement or cellar

she also told me that she once saw the

plans of the house and no basement was

shown

but secret spaces don’t appear in the

plans of houses

i decided to look for a way into a

possible secret room below the ground

floor

i went into all the rooms on the ground

floor again

nothing

i had to start thinking again

then i remembered that in films secret

hiding places are usually opened and

closed by levers

i went through all the rooms on the

ground floor again

i was looking for a lever or somewhere

to conceal

a lever

again

nothing

i sat back down in the armchair

i was feeling frustrated

my eyes were still moving around the

living room

hopefully

they went back to the fireplace

of course

what better place to hide a lever

i put my hand inside and began to grope

from the bottom to the top of the left

hand side

nothing but cold marble

i tried the right hand side

the same

then i moved my hand along inside the

top part

halfway along my hand touched a piece of

metal

a lever

i was feeling excited now

i tried to move the piece of metal to

the right and to the left

but it didn’t move

i tried going up

nothing

i placed my hand above the metal and

began to push down

the piece of metal moved easily three or

four inches downwards

at the same time a large panel on the

wall next to the fireplace slid behind

the panel on its other side to leave a

space about the size of a doorway

it was pitch black inside

i took my torch from one of the arms of

the armchair and shone it into this new

space

i saw three or four steps

i went down them

then there was a turn to the right and

three or four steps more

when i arrived at the bottom of these i

saw that i was in a small room

i shone the torch all around that room

in the center was a long table

on top of this table there were three

oil lamps

in one corner of the room there was a

pile of large colorful cushions the kind

you see around the living room on chairs

and sofas

beside these there was a smaller pile of

the same cushions but with the top

surfaces cut open

i went to look at them

i put my hand inside one of the cuts

nothing but feathers

suddenly i saw in another corner six or

seven brown paper bags with the tops

folded

i unfolded one of them

it contained what looked at first sight

to be a lot of little pieces of dirty

colored glass

i reached in and took out a handful

when i looked again

i knew immediately what i was looking at

not pieces of glass

but precious stones

dirty

uncut

unpolished

and straight from the mines

rubies and sapphires mainly but some

pearls as well

it was now obvious what was happening

gems were being smuggled into the

country inside the cushions

these then somehow made their way to

this little basement

then the cushions were cut open and the

stones were extracted ready to be sold i

supposed to dealers who didn’t ask

questions about where the stones came

from

they would then be cut and polished and

used in the making of rings necklaces

earrings bracelets

and so on

i went upstairs back to the living room

as i was leaving through the doorway i

saw another small lever at the top of

the stairs

i took a risk and turned it upwards the

panel shut behind me

i didn’t like the feeling of being

locked inside that secret basement with

only my torch for company

i quickly pushed the lever downwards

the panel sprang open again

thank god i thought

i went to the fireplace and pushed the

lever upwards

the panel closed

how clever i thought a secret room with

a lever outside to open and close it

and one inside as well

chapter

7

i knew what i had to do first

back in my office i telephoned chief

inspector snout at scotland yard

ronald snout was the head of a

department which dealt with contraband

goods

i knew him well because he was a great

friend of my father’s

also snout and i once collaborated on

another case of mine which involved the

smuggling of human organs for

transplants

snout himself answered the telephone

richard

how nice to hear from you

we chatted for a while and then i told

him that i had something for him

i asked if we could meet later that day

at dirty dicks cafe

only a few yards from scotland yard

dirty dicks is open 24 hours a day and

is well known for its enormous english

breakfasts eggs bacon sausages tomatoes

and anything else you ask for which they

will serve you at any moment of the day

or night

it is much used by policemen who are

going on or off duty around the clock

we agreed to meet there at six

then i lay on the sofa in my office to

go over things in my mind

some people are good lateral thinkers

i personally am a horizontal thinker at

least when i’m not drinking my special

coffee mixture i think better when i’m

lying down

i wanted to put things together because

i wanted to tell snout as much as

possible

i started to revise everything i knew

from the newspaper reports about the

inheritance case a year before to my

conversations with selena and my visits

to her house

the boys inheritance a furniture company

in bangkok

and a lot of the precious stones which

are smuggled into europe come from asia

and africa

the boys were talking to foreign men in

a pub possibly asians selena said

the boys probably still had keys to the

house

the fact that they didn’t have keys to

the front gate worried me a little

were the security men members of the

gang

i arrived at dirty dicks a little early

i sat down at a table and ordered a pot

of tea

ten minutes later ronald snout arrived

he looked just the same as he always did

in his late fifties but tall and slim

with an athletic build a luxuriant but

well trimmed moustache

and very well dressed

he looked more like a company director

than a policeman

we greeted each other and he ordered tea

and two scones

once he was seated and after chatting

for a couple of minutes i told him the

whole story i started from the moment

that selena came into my office

he listened without comment

a good policeman must be a good listener

ronald was very interested of course in

what i had to say

he knew all about the willing family but

he had no idea what the boys were doing

we talked about the best way to deal

with this case

one possibility was to arrest the

brothers immediately and interrogate

them

but we agreed that this wasn’t the best

way to do it

they might not say who their accomplices

were and anyway

these might leave the country the moment

they found out that the boys were in the

hands of the police

finally we decided to try to catch them

the boys and their accomplices in

flagrante de litto

that is

when they were in the basement cutting

open the cushions

we decided that i should stay at

selena’s house again that night and for

more nights if necessary

ronald asked me if i thought the gang

were armed

i said i had no idea

in case they were ronald decided to have

a group of armed policemen near the

house during the night prepared to force

the security men to open the gate

if i heard noises i had to telephone

ronald immediately on my mobile

telephone

his men intended to move quickly up to

the house

by that time i had to be downstairs with

the front door open and my hand on the

lever in the fireplace

we said goodbye outside the cafe and i

went back to my office

i telephoned selena to tell her i wanted

to stay at least another night in her

house

then i told her that something might

happen that night and that i wanted to

stay in her bedroom until i went to call

her

she agreed

as a precaution i asked her to instruct

the gardener not to let the tigers out

that night

but to give them each their half a cow

and leave them in their cages

she agreed to that as well

she wanted to know what was going on of

course but i told her i would tell her

later

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 telephones

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 open 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 sometime 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

chapter nine

snout telephoned me about two o’clock

that afternoon

he told me that during their

interrogation the brothers confessed

everything

snout said that they were like two

frightened little boys they were first

offenders so they had no experience of

being questioned by police authorities

the asians were more difficult obviously

hardened criminals but they were caught

red-handed and the police had all the

evidence they needed to prosecute them

snout also told me that the two night

security men were also in custody

they were paid by the rest of the gang

to open the gate and help to carry the

cushions up the driveway to the house

the other three security men were clean

they knew nothing about it

then because there were some things i

didn’t have clear i asked snout some

questions

for example

how did the boys know about the secret

room

they found it when they were only kids

while they were playing in the living

room

they decided to keep it a secret their

private place that no one else knew

about

one night a few months ago while miss

willing was in the united states on

business they carried the table down

there

they needed a surface to cut open the

cushions

and how did this operation start i

wanted to know

well said snout two or three months

after they received their inheritance

the brothers went to bangkok they wanted

to see the factory

they were there about two weeks

somehow they got involved with a group

of local people

you have met three of them

one is burmese by the way and the other

two thais

these people are in fact experienced

jewel smugglers but the brothers didn’t

know that at the time

and the idea for this operation came

from them not from the brothers

now the brothers are pretty simple

minded frankly they were taken out to

dinner several times to good restaurants

by these nice people

always invited always paid for after

that i think that it was easy to

persuade them to take part in the scheme

now the company makes furniture from

teak and the accompanying cushions

so the plan was that the brothers

returned to london with the three asians

which they did

after that a small group of local people

in the pay of the smugglers began to

enter the factory late at night two or

three nights a week

their job was to make the cushions and

into every third one before they lined

it they put a bag of precious stones

they marked these cushions with a tiny x

on the bottom surface

then together with other furniture which

the company made they were exported to

england to be stored in the company

warehouse in west kensington

so when each consignment arrived the

brothers and the three other men visited

the warehouse at night and filled the

van with all the cushions marked with an

x

they then drove to miss willing’s house

in surrey

they arrived between 11 and 12.

it was the brothers idea to store the

stones in their secret room

and then when they got to selena’s house

well said snot they couldn’t drive the

van up the drive too much noise

so the guard on duty opened the gate and

the six men carried the cushions up the

drive to the front door

then before they opened the door the

guard returned to the gate one of the

brothers then opened the front door and

went quickly and quietly to open the

secret door

a second later the other men went into

the house as quickly and as quietly as

possible with the cushions and they all

disappeared through the doorway beside

the fireplace

they closed the door using the lever

inside

the whole operation from opening the

front door to closing the door of the

secret room took only a few seconds

you and miss willing probably heard

noises when the men were going in with

the cushions

but by the time you got up and started

to go down the stairs everything was all

over

the boy said that it is impossible to

hear any noise from inside the secret

room in any other part of the house

and they stayed there until about one in

the morning while they were taking the

stones out of the cushions

then they left quietly

all very impressive i said

but why didn’t selena and i hear the men

when they were going up the drive

well firstly because they were trying to

be as quiet as possible and secondly

because miss willing’s bedroom is at the

back of the house it overlooks the back

of the garden

where did you sleep richard

the same yes

my bedroom overlooked the back too

i didn’t think of that

but just one more question ronald

where did the stones come from

well from burma actually

there are several gemstone mines in

burma and they don’t seem to be very

well controlled

they mine various precious stones but

rubies and sapphires are the most

valuable

now burma and thailand are separated by

a natural border the maui river

along this river on the burmese side are

little border towns and a great number

of the stones which are mined are stolen

and smuggled to these towns

the two known border towns are my sot

and my sigh

then the stones are road across the

river sometimes people swim across the

river carrying bags of stones into

thailand and the eager hands of the

international smugglers

the smugglers pay the burmese relatively

little compared to what they earn by

selling the stones in europe

oh and yes the burmese also have a pearl

farming industry at mergui in the

archipelago of the gulf of martiban to

the south of the burmese mainland

many of the pearls from there also end

up in the border towns

chapter 10

i telephone selena next i said i wanted

to see her

she told me to go to the house when i

wanted to that day as she was working at

home

i arrived a couple of hours later about

four o’clock

we sat in the living room and had tea

i told her all i knew after talking to

snout

she seemed a little sad

what’s wrong i asked

well she began

i’m a bit sorry for my brothers

i know we don’t get on well but i told

her that there was nothing i could do

about that

but i cheered her up a little by saying

that her brothers might learn a lesson

by having to spend a little time in

prison

and

anyway their sentences were sure to be

much smaller than those of the three

asian ring leaders

her brothers didn’t have police records

and i told her that it was clear to the

police that they were used and

manipulated by the other gang members

i suppose i should pay you richard she

then said

that’s a good idea i replied

she went to a chest of drawers

opened a drawer

and took out a checkbook

is a check all right she asked

fine i said

but i didn’t go to selena’s house just

to tell her what snout told me

nor to be paid

i had something else on my mind

selena i was wondering

well

i mean the fact is

when i finish a case i like to go out

and celebrate

there’s a little french restaurant in

soho

very good food excellent fish and

well

i was wondering if you would like to

have dinner there with me tonight

finally i said it

her eyes brightened and she gave me a

beautiful smile

i’d love to richard

so we made the arrangements and i left

the house i wanted to dance down the

driveway

the case was solved i had some money in

my pocket and i had a beautiful girl to

take out to dinner that night

life was treating me well the last line

of one of everyone’s favorite old films

came to my mind

as i tried to sound like humphrey bogart

in casablanca

i repeated it to myself

yes i said

this could be the start of a beautiful

friendship

you