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this if he hadn’t been forced to. I just hope he gave the man the combination and let him get on with it.’
    â€˜Another camera?’
    I managed to smile at her. ‘Spot on. Stills, this one. If you don’t tell it not to, simply opening the door activates it.’ I picked up some of the boxes which lay on the floor, spilling their expensive contents. ‘He wasn’t your normal thief if he didn’t want pearls or diamonds, was he? They’re not our usual line, which is Victorian china, but occasionally things come our way, and we keep them for a rainy day.’
    â€˜Like when the price of gold rockets?’
    â€˜Exactly. The trouble is, in our line, to get full value out of the gold, you have to melt it down. Destroy it completely, just so some bloated fat cat can stow another ingot into his safe deposit.’
    â€˜But this guy turned his nose up at your nest egg. Weird. You’d have thought he’d take a few free samples just on the off-chance.’
    â€˜Perhaps that was when Griff hit him.’
    â€˜No. The blood spatters show that definitely happened in the living room. Perhaps he was after one particular thing. Any idea what it might be?’
    â€˜Perhaps he gave up when Griff managed to activate the alarm,’ I suggested.
    â€˜You’re probably right.’
    â€˜As you can see, this lot would be safer if it was back in the safe. Can I put it back and lock it up? Then I’ll give you the photos, if any. And the CCTV footage.’
    â€˜OK. I’d better let the DCI what’d been happening.’ So although Mandy might be a very bright woman, she didn’t seem to have noticed I’d dodged her question about what the intruder might have wanted.
    The moment the last box was back in place and the combination reset, I pointed upwards. ‘Shall I check that everything’s OK up there? I need the loo, actually.’
    I didn’t, but I needed time to check that Griff hadn’t had to betray the hiding place of an item I thought might have been the real target.
    The snuffbox nestled cosily right at the back of the hidden safe.
    â€˜All seems fine,’ I reported truthfully on my return. ‘Now for the mugshot.’ The release mechanism for the hidden camera was miniaturized too, and dead fiddly, but I managed it. ‘Mind if I have a look, see if I recognize the bastard?’ Not a word that Griff would have permitted that early in the day, but I needed to vent a little anger at least.
    â€˜Go ahead.’
    I pressed Review and peered. ‘Too small an image even for me, I’m afraid. But maybe when it’s blown up a bit?’
    â€˜No problem. What about your security footage?’
    â€˜Easy-peasy.’ I demonstrated.
    â€˜Very good images,’ she said, pointing at Griff, cornered, reaching for the vase and then smashing it on the intruder’s head.
    â€˜Hell – I hope your lot don’t think they ought to prosecute him for assault or something!’
    â€˜I think the CPS take a more relaxed view of the Englishman trying to defend his castle these days,’ she said. ‘Was the vase valuable?’
    â€˜Valuable but ugly. Probably his subconscious made him choose it.’ I watched a little longer. ‘That guy – he looks really weird, doesn’t he? His body language keeps changing. Actually, his body, more like. When he comes in, he looks ancient. But – here – he’s lost his stoop and he looks quite strong and strapping. And his face no longer matches his body, does it?’
    â€˜Let’s see what our geeks make of it, shall we?’
    I handed over the DVD – but made sure I inserted a new one. Just in case. And put a new memory card in the safe camera.
    Robin was still waiting patiently in the street when I emerged. ‘Lina, I know I should stay with you, but I’ve got a funeral over at Kenninge in an hour.’
    â€˜I’m fine.