Herrera barked out orders. “Antonio, you stay here with Señor Gonzales. Carlos, come with me.”

By the time they reached the shed, Thiago was ripping open the last of the cloth bags and the floor was covered with an assortment of cash, jewellery and government bonds. It truly was a cave of wonders.

Luciano pulled out his iPhone and took a couple of photos, which he texted to his boss. A few seconds later, Paz was on the line.

“Boss, we’ve hit pay dirt. We’ve found the boxes.”

“Great work, Luci. Now, remember what we are searching for – a black leather case containing two 8-millimetre film cans, an old tobacco tin and three Manila files. As soon as you have them, call me back. And, Luci, however tempting it is, don’t touch anything else.”

Two hours later, after carefully sifting through literally millions of dollars’ worth of goods, Luciano was forced to acknowledge the items he was looking for were simply not present inside the shed.

He reluctantly called Paz back. “Boss, they are not here. I promise you we’ve been through everything really carefully. I don’t understand it.”

Paz had total trust in his assistant and thought for a moment. “Okay, Luci. Let’s think for a moment. We know they broke into almost a hundred boxes. Does it look to you like the bags held that much?”

Luciano scanned the floor of the shed, which now had a number of piles containing different items neatly stacked, including ten cloth bags which were in one of the corners. “No, boss, it really doesn’t. I’d say this is less than half of the haul.”

“Think about it, Luci. We know from our friend at the police department there were three of them in the gang that pulled this off. The chances are this is just a third of what they got.”

“Yes, boss, that makes sense. We need to find out who stashed the bags here, as it certainly wasn’t Gonzales. The old man doesn’t look like he could go anywhere without his wheelchair.”

It took two of Luciano’s men to carry the old man down to the bottom of the garden. He was a dead weight who offered little resistance but also no help. When they dumped him on the floor, he looked totally stunned. He found himself sitting in the middle of a treasure trove that had suddenly manifested inside his garden shed. It was insane. Luciano could see the genuine look of bewilderment on the face of the old man and so he chose his next words carefully.

“Señor Gonzales, I have no doubt at all that you are just as surprised as me at seeing all this. Thiago, here, had to break open the lock to gain entrance, so let me ask you a question. Who else has a key to your garden shed?”