‘Got a light?’ asked Bailey.

Agata held out a pack of safety matches. Bailey smiled, took them, struck one and lit her cigarette.

She handed the matches back.

‘Thanks,’ she said.

Agata nodded in acknowledgement.

Bailey sucked in a lungful of smoke, immediately feeling dizzy from the head rush. It had been at least five years since she’d last smoked a cigarette.

‘You sure beat the shit out of that girl in the canteen the other day,’ she said. ‘That was you, wasn’t it?’

Agata threw back her head and laughed, blowing out a stream of smoke.

‘Yeah that bitch had it coming.’ Her accent was strong. Bailey guessed Polish.

‘Come to think of it I haven’t seen her around recently.’

‘She got transferred to another prison.’

That explained why Bailey hadn’t been able to find her. She took another puff on the cigarette.

‘She was accusing you of stealing her boyfriend or something like that, wasn’t she?’

‘I can’t help it if he preferred me to her.’ Agata puffed up a little, like she was bragging.

‘Fair dues. Although… surely it’s pointless to argue over someone who’s outside the prison?’

‘Who said he was outside the prison?’ Agata smiled slyly.

The implications of what she was saying sunk in. If he was inside the prison, then this boyfriend had to be a member of staff.

Bailey knew that conducting sexual relationships with inmates was highly forbidden for prison staff. The legal term was ‘misconduct in public office’. It was the kind of offence that resulted in jail time. They always dished out heavy sentences in order to deter future offenders. And like Frank had said, it wasn’t a nice experience to be a former prison officer behind bars.

Was this the knowledge that Sharon had acquired during the course of the fight? She had been sitting very close to them at the time, at a neighbouring table, and so she could have overheard something to that effect. It was exactly the kind of juicy secret she would have relished holding over somebody.

Had she been attempting to blackmail a member of staff?

Had that person murdered her?

Was that same member of staff responsible for the other murders?

Had Sharon unwittingly picked a vicious killer as the subject of her extortion attempt? Surely she would have been a bit more careful had she known the true nature of the person she was trying to blackmail.

The unanswered questions tripped over and over in Bailey’s mind.

‘So who is it?’ she said in what she hoped was a jokey conspiratorial whisper. ‘Let me in on your little secret.’

Agata laughed and shook her head. ‘I’m not going to tell you that. If everyone knew about it then it wouldn’t be fun any more.’

Bailey wanted to grab her by the lapels and shake the identity out of her but instead she smiled and shrugged like it was no big deal.

Agata crushed her cigarette underfoot, winked at Bailey and walked off.