Once she’d made it past Ellie’s secretary and they’d exchanged greetings and agreed to meet for a drink in a day or two, Lindsay got straight to the point. She outlined an idea that had dawned on her as a possible answer to Helen’s problems and was gratified to hear Ellie confirm what she’d thought to be the case. Not only that, but after a couple of minutes during which Lindsay could hear the tapping of her computer keys, Ellie was able to cite cases that would give Lindsay details of how to set up her little sting. “A couple of these cases got quite extensive coverage in the press,” she added. “Not the tabloids, but the Telegraph and the Financial Times. The Economist ran something as well, I seem to remember. If you can get Internet access, you can look it all up for yourself.” She gave Lindsay the necessary details, which she scribbled down in her notebook.

“I owe you one,” Lindsay said, after she’d double-checked she’d got all the dots and slashes in the right places on the Internet addresses Ellie had provided.

“And not for the first time. Give my love to Sophie when you speak to her.”

“Will do. Oh, and Ellie? Will you be at home this evening?”

Ellie made no attempt to hide her sigh. “Exploit-a-friend not done enough for one day?”

“Sorry, but no. I might need some practical assistance if what I’m planning comes off. Just by phone . . .”

“I’ll be here till around eight, then I’m going straight home to sit on my balcony with a very sexy futures trader and an ice-cold bottle of Chardonnay. So you can take your chances,” Ellie said, sounding amused.

Armed with the information from Ellie, Lindsay headed back across the square towards Charing Cross Road, stopping at a computer supplies shop to buy a few blank floppies. She cut through side streets until she found Cyberia, the Internet café she had read about but never visited before. A few pounds bought her an hour’s access to cyberspace and an icy Diet Coke, and she settled down at one of the table-top terminals to check out the sources Ellie had suggested to her.

It didn’t take long to unravel the web that took her to the heart of the information she needed, since America was still only waking up and there wasn’t too much traffic on the Net. Her initial idea had come from a distant memory she’d dredged up of a court case she’d heard referred to on the BBC World Service. With Ellie’s guidance and a little manipulation, she could see how it might be possible to use the bare bones of the case to construct a sting that would cut the feet from under Stella and Guy far more effectively than the Obscene Publications Squad could ever have managed.