"Ten-four," said Toby, pulling a flashlight from his bag and aiming the beam at the row of high-tech gadgets lined up underneath the enormous television. I left him to it, pulling out my own flashlight and making my way out of the door.

You never really get over the sensation of being in someone else's house without their permission. Everything is different-the smell, the atmosphere, even the air tastes strange. I guess that's something to do with the reason I'm always in another person's home. It's as if the building itself doesn't want you there, like it's just waiting for you to slip up before it sucks you into some dark room forever.

Trying to ignore my thoughts, I made my way down a small hallway toward the stairs. According to Toby's friend of a friend, the owners had stashed the week's takings in a tin inside their office, along with a bundle of cash from a charity gig they'd held at the weekend. It should be a piece of cake.

It was a fairly old house, but well taken care of and the stairs didn't creak once as I made my way up. I swung my light to and fro to see where I was going, the shadows seeming to dance in front of me like there was an army of goblins hiding in the corners and behind the furniture. I swallowed hard as I neared the top, cursing my imagination.

There were six doors on the long landing, all closed. Carefully twisting the handle of the first, I found myself staring into a pristine white bathroom. The second door opened outward, revealing an empty closet. Well, almost empty-as I was closing the door something rushed at me out of the darkness, slapping me on the forehead. I just about screamed, fighting off my attacker before realizing it was a mop. Shoving it back inside, I kicked the closet shut, no longer caring about noise, and walked past a small chest of drawers to the next door.

Third time lucky, as they say. This one opened into a large room with a desk against one wall. I made my way straight to it and couldn't believe my eyes. On its walnut surface lay a stack of ten-and twenty-pound notes plus several bags full of coins-what must have been a couple of grand in all.