Hopefully, it would not be an extended one this time; if someone was coming, it should not be too long.
Twice during the following hour he was forced to bestir himself a little to relieve muscle cramps in his body, but he saw no indications that Chin had felt a similar need. One thing at least was going well-the girl upstairs was entirely quiet and there was a reasonable chance that she would remain that way.
At eleven minutes after nine he caught the sounds of someone approaching the house. Very shortly after that the doorbell rang, loud and clear through the still house. For one unnerving moment Tibbs was fearful that Chin Soo would be stupid enough to answer it, then he remembered the intelligence that the houseboy had shown and the careful instructions that he had given to him. When the bell rang a second time he waited and listened: it could be an innocent caller who, having come as far as the front door, was not going to go away without ringing despite the darkness of the house.
A good minute after the second ring there was a small series of scraping noises from the front door. They lasted for only a few seconds, then despite the darkness, the door could be seen opening inward. At that moment, Virgil felt a quick sense of satisfaction; he had a clear and provable case of breaking and entering if nothing else, which solved one immediate problem. He had plenty of reliable witnesses, since the two agents on stakeout covering the front of the house would have been certain to have observed the entry.
More by sound than by anything he determined that two persons were entering the house, presumably both males. He almost prayed that they were not casual burglars, then he knew immediately that that could not be the case. Most forced entries were made from the rear, through a window or some similar means. No, these were men who had confidence in themselves and who had a definite purpose in mind.
In a few seconds the door was shut from the inside, and the darkness was close to complete once more. There was nothing but silence for almost too long a time, then a voice spoke and the pencil beam of a pocket flashlight came to life. It darted about experimentally, checking that the draperies remained tightly closed, then turned toward the back of the house. Another voice came, this one clearer, and for the second time within a two-minute interval Tibbs felt a sharp stab of satisfaction. The language was not English. It could easily have been Chinese; if so Chin would un-
derstand what was being said. Which was the reason why he had used the houseboy in preference to a trained and completely reliable officer.
The thin light began to move toward the rear of the house, accompanied by audible footsteps despite the carpeting. The next quick worry was that the intruders would check out the den; against that possibility Virgil rose silently to his feet and loosened his gun in its holster. He had no intention of firing it as of that moment, but it might have to be displayed, and with convincing speed. He intended to give himself all of the odds that he could.
A long breath flowed silently out of his lungs when the tiny beam of light picked out the door of the jade room and then shortened as the man holding the thin battery case came closer. The door was locked, but Tibbs had satisfied himself early in the afternoon that anyone who knew his business would find that no challenge. His theory in that regard proved right; while one man held the light the second, still invisible in the shadows, worked with a thin strip of plastic against the jam. It took him hardly ten seconds to have the door open.
At that point a decision was necessary; since he could not see inside the jade room from where he was, Virgil very much wanted to move to a location where he could. But the risk was considerable; a very slight noise could give him away and it followed that if he stood where he could see in, it would be possible for the traveling light to pick him out at almost any time. There was only one sensible answer: to stay where he was and to depend on his ears for evidence as to what was going on.
He heard the bottom sections of the jade cabinets being opened; when he had identified the sound beyond any question he measured once more the angle of the jade room doorway and reminded himself of the exact location of the fight switch outside. He balanced on the balls of his feet, ready, but stiU waiting until one more thing could be established.
He heard brief conversation from inside the jade room and once more concluded that the language was Chinese, but he would have to rely on Chin Soo for a translation of what he had heard.
Then came anouther sound, one which he knew well as a result of his afternoon's activities-the sliding out of the jade boxes from their hiding place. That did it; ghost-quiet in his stocking feet he moved out from behind the screen, and remaining close to the waU where he could not be seen from within the jade room, he worked his way to a position to one side of the open doorway. With the tips of his fingers he located the light switch, that accomplished he reached inside his coat and very quietly drew out his handgun. He already had a case and he had it in spades, but it was stni not enough to satisfy him. He knew what he wanted and at slight additional risk he was confident he could get it.
The sounds, which were much closer now, told him that the men inside the jade room were working smoothly and rapidly; since they were reported to be professionals, they would understand the importance of minimum exposure. An inquisitive neighbor might have seen them go in and it was barely possible that that same person could have made a call to the police. It was highly unlikely unless the house was also known to be empty, but the risk was there nonetheless and no one but a rank amateur would take any more of a chance than was absolutely necessary.
Abruptly Virgil heard and identified a new sound: someone was picking up boxes and was about to come out. There was a slight pause while his companion, who held the light, apparently took one or two himself, then the moment for action was at hand.
Once more, despite the gun in his hand, Tibbs found the light switch and rested his hand lightly against the wall. As he took a final quick look across the room he was surprised to see that Chin Soo was also pressed against the wall on the opposite side of the doorway; he had not heard the slightest sound of movement from that direction.
The first man came out of the door, the small light outlining him and the stack of boxes he was carrying. Tibbs drew a deep breath, held it and waited a second or two more: until the second man was also out of the jade room. Then he moved his Httle finger downward on the switch and, flooded the room with light.
"Freeze!" he barked, and held his gun squarely aimed at the first of the two men.
Almost instantly the other man whipped his arm around and hurled the box in his right hand directly at Tibbs' face. Virgil ducked barely in time; one sharp comer of the box still caught him on the cheek and gashed the skin. For the better part of a second and a half he was off balance and impotent.
At that same moment he saw the body of Chin Soo already in the air; he had thrown himself up and sideways, feet toward the intruder who was still moving from his
throw. From a horizontal position almost five feet in the air Chin kicked out with stunning force: the edge of his shoeless foot hit the side of the jaw so hard that the man's head was snapped around almost ninety degrees. His knees unlocked as his body became a nerveless mass of flesh and bone.
The man in front was almost as fast; he dropped the boxes he had been cariying and thrust his hand inside his coat. From his crouched position Virgil sprang forward and drove his shoulder into the man's armpit. He saw the quick sight of an emerging gun as he seized the wrist and barred the arm across his shoulder, then bent his body forward with all the power he could command. It carried his opponent up and across his back like a giant swing; the man's feet hit the ceiling as he went over, then his body crashed onto the floor with an impact that made the room shake. As soon as he hit, Virgil cocked his right leg and rammed a downward thrust kick which drove the sole of his foot into the man's abdomen, forcing the breath from his body. It was not a lethal blow, but it rendered the man helpless until he could recover enough to pump a fresh supply of air back into his lungs. Meanwhile Virgil bent down and quite calmly picked up the gun with which the intruder had been armed.