The National Crime Agency, or NCA, were responsible for tackling organised crime on a variety of fronts, but they only dealt with really large and significant cases, underlining to Bailey that this operation could potentially lead into a major investigation.

‘And Alice?’

‘I want to make it clear right now, Bailey, that your priority is uncovering the drugs ring. Alice’s murder is being investigated by the police separately. Do you understand?’ He fixed her with a stern look and a raised eyebrow.

‘Sure,’ she said. ‘The drugs ring is the priority. But I do also intend to find out who killed Alice.’

‘Well, as I was saying before in the pub, I think her murder was probably connected to her investigation of the drugs ring, so unlocking the identity of her killer is likely to be a key element in cracking this case and securing some serious convictions, and finding out who did it will probably form an integral part of your investigation anyhow.’

‘I figured as much. She must have been onto something serious.’

‘In case you’re not already aware, all murders in custody have to be investigated by the police, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman, the employer and the coroner. But, like I mentioned before, not a great deal of progress has been made in terms of finding out who killed her. But that’s where you, in your undercover role, might be able to shed some light on matters. However, the murder investigation team who are currently investigating her death will not be made aware that you are a police officer and you will not make direct contact with them in any way. Everything goes through me. Do you understand?’

‘That suits me just fine. So when do I start?’

‘The budget’s been signed off so you can start right away. We can get you in there almost immediately. I’ve already obtained the authorisation from your CID detective sergeant to get you released.’ He paused. ‘How’s this Thursday? ’

‘The sixteenth of May?’

‘Can you be ready by then?’

It was only three days away. Quite often in the past, undercover jobs would come up at short notice and Bailey had become used to rapidly dropping everything in order to accommodate them. Working undercover wasn’t a permanent job and it never had been. Whenever she’d gone on an undercover operation her regular casework had merely been put on hold until she had finished or had been redistributed to others to do.

A thought suddenly crossed her mind. ‘When’s Alice’s funeral?’

‘I don’t know at the moment. They’ve done the autopsy, but her body hasn’t been released to the funeral home yet. There’s got to be an inquest at some point and that always holds things up.’

She sighed. ‘Okay, well I guess this Thursday’s fine then,’ she said. ‘No point in delaying things.’

‘That’s what I like to hear,’ he said. ‘You know you’ll probably make a decent bit of overtime from this job.’

‘I’m not doing it for the money.’