Borrowed Face

Whitcombe Jewellers, MayfairMayfair Upmarket district of central London, known for luxury shops, hotels and galleries., London, Thursday, 4:40 pm. Two men in suits stepped out of a taxi, walked through the double doors like clients with an appointment and pulled two pistols in the showroom.

Within minutes, a saleswoman emptied the display cases at gunpoint: 43 pieces, nearly 40 million pounds. They dragged her out to the pavement, fired a shot in the air and vanished in a blue saloon car.

The camera filmed everything, but it is useless: the faces were latex, with wigs, made by professional hands. The robbers knew the time, the name in the diary and the door that would open for them.

Three people helped, knowingly or not, to make those doors open. One of them cleared the way from the inside.

The showroom of a luxury London jeweler: empty cases, open latches and overturned trays.