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LOS PERROS

right. Sometimes these officials get greedy and want more money at the last minute. I knew I had a bit of extra time before take-off, because of the delay, but it wouldn't be much. I pulled out all my remaining cash and put it on his desk. I told him he could take the lot; I just needed two hundred pounds to pay for my hotel and taxi when I got to Europe. The colonel took all the money and put it in his drawer, then nodded to his men to proceed with the search.

When I saw the way his men were searching for the merchandise, I knew for certain that there were no dogs. They clearly didn't know which piece of luggage the drugs were hidden in. They began by opening my briefcase and the three suitcases. When the policemen discovered women's clothing in two of them, they looked at each other in complete confusion. They held up some bras and underwear to show the colonel.

'Are these your suitcases, Señor McFadden?' he asked me, trying not to let on that he might have made a mistake.

I shook my head and pointed to the case with my clothes in it. 'Only that one.'

The colonel frowned and inspected my plane ticket again. I had removed two of the luggage stickers, only leaving the one that matched the suitcase containing my clothes. When we'd made our agreement the previous day, I hadn't told him how many suitcases I would bring, but he had obviously been expecting there would only be one. He was also confused by the hair dryer and steamer.

I knew it wouldn't take too much effort for the colonel to confirm how many pieces of luggage I'd checked in, but in the meantime he told his men to start searching the suitcase with my clothing in it. They began by placing my clothes in a pile and inspecting the pockets and lining of each item. Next they took apart the hair dryer and steamer with a screwdriver. Although there was still confusion about whether the two suitcases with women's clothing were mine, they eventually searched through them as well. Once more, they found nothing. Then they started tapping the bottoms of all three suitcases, trying to find secret compartments.

There was no longer any doubt that Colonel Lanza was behind the whole thing. I still didn't get angry. There might still be time. I promised to send him more money when I got to Europe. I could send him any amount he wanted. I could give him half the profits.