“Okay, miss,” the sheriff said. “Since you’ve delivered the goods so far I have to think that you know what you’re doing. I’ll send a couple of guys to fetch him.”

“And could I suggest one more thing?” I said. “Tell him that you have proof that he killed Mr. Goldman.”

“But I don’t. Only your word.”

“Please tell him you do. Tell him that Bella Brightwell came to steal the candlesticks and saw him. He won’t know about her. That will throw him off guard.”

“I suppose I could do that. . . .” He looked doubtful. “It’s not what you’d call regular, but then this guy is a foreigner. He won’t know.” He grinned then. “Okay, let’s get him.”

I have to admit that I began to have second thoughts while I waited for Juan to be brought to the library. It seemed he hadn’t put in an appearance that morning yet and the sheriff’s deputies had to go to the Hacienda to wake him. Bella and I stood outside the library beside the sheriff, shivering in the cold drafts coming through the open front door. She didn’t look at me. I didn’t look at her. Now that the first flush of excitement was over I was feeling slightly guilty that I had told the sheriff the truth about her. I wondered if she would be arrested here and then deported back to England. Then I reminded myself that she was a jewel thief. It was only right that she faced justice.

Now that I had time to think, I also began to worry that I might have made a mistake about Juan. Could he somehow have heard where the body was lying? Might Ronnie and Algie have described the scene to him when they hauled him out of bed? I didn’t think they had told him much and he appeared to be half asleep when he was dragged into the house. But was it indeed possible that he had gone to bed and then managed to sneak back into the house without being seen when we were in full view of the front door all the time? Was I going to find myself in trouble for suggesting that he was Mr. Goldman’s killer? The wait seemed an eternity. When my stomach gave a large growl I realized also that I was hungry. Belinda, as usual, was the smart one. She had gone to breakfast. I had somehow managed to involve myself in a crime yet again. When would I ever learn?

We all looked up at the sound of raised voices, the crunch of feet on the gravel outside. The two deputies appeared with an angry Juan between them.