We were coming to the end of the Christmas vacation and were thoroughly partied out. When TM, SC and I returned to our hotel at 06:40 after another heavy night, we wondered how on earth we would cope with getting out of bed at the same time when we returned to work two days later.

I had spent so much of the vacation at this hotel in the company of Pavros that the staff now assumed that we were romantically connected. They’d even attached a special nameplate in our honour to my hotel bedroom door. I didn’t mind, so long as TPR never saw it. Pavros and I were, obviously, not an item – short and stocky, he simply wasn’t my type – although I did enjoy his company. Anyway, he had just spent most of the evening with a slim, dark-haired, 17 year-old, Greek girl, and it looked like he would be bringing her back to our room for what was left of the night.

We let ourselves in and prepared for bed. Just as I was about to turn in for the “night” four uniformed men stepped quietly through the bedroom door. They mouthed that I should remain quiet, then indicated their quarry through the clever us of hand signals. It appeared that I had been harbouring an international criminal for the past fortnight, and this squad from Interpol had come to apprehend him. My role for now was to ensure that Pavros came quietly.