Page 107 - double revenge 3.

SANTA POLA del ESTE
COSTA BLANCA. SPAIN

TH
SATURDAY APRIL 25 1998
I paid the taxi driver and waited at the gate until he had disappeared from view. Even from there I
could tell the house was unoccupied. The gate was padlocked so I shinned over the wall. The

dangling bougainvillea was better than a ladder and I circled the house and checked every door and
window, there was no easy admittance.

The garage was a better prospect and in the darkness I found a small wind up car jack but
unfortunately with no lever, I would have to use my fingers.

Most of the houses in Spain have a metal grill over the windows to deter burglars but very few
insurance companies would offer a discount on insurance premiums for such safeguards. They are

meant to be set into the concrete surrounding the windows but mostly they are just set into the
cement rendering.

I inserted the jack between grill and window surround and even though I had to wind the jack
manually, the grill and cement soon parted company.

The inside of the villa was as I remembered except the wall posters had gone. I checked the
drawers and cupboards and found nothing but household utensils.

Back outside I could see the pool needed cleaning and the garden was starting to look overgrown.

I had to exit via the wall and for the first time noticed the sign, Se Alquiler, for hire. The rental agent
was in Santa Pola town, about a two-mile walk, which seemed daunting in the searing heat. I had

no gun or holster here in Spain and so I removed my jacket and made my way to the main square.

The rental agency office had large premises on the corner of the square; I presumed they dealt with
the largest and most expensive properties in the area. I was right, there was nothing in the usual
holiday budget bracket. There at the top of the window was Gabriela’s villa. There were many
noughts in the price but I didn’t bother to convert to sterling, it was expensive, that was all I needed
to know.

Unfortunately it was siesta time so I made my way to the opposite corner of the square and
ordered a cerveza in a very cool shaded bar and waited for the agency to open.

Eventually the fluorescent lights flickered on in the office and I made my way over.

I started to enquire about the villa but the young girl stopped me. ‘Lo siento, pero yo no hablo

Inglés’

She beckoned me to wait and called out to someone in the back office. Another young lady
appeared.