She heard the sound of voices outside, two people getting closer, talking to each other. Male voices. It sounded like two prison officers. She froze, her mouth dry, her heart beating hard. There was no time to move, or to hide, not that there was anywhere to hide in here anyhow. All she could do was wait and hope. She watched as their outlines passed by on the other side of the frosted glass. The conversation faded into the distance as they continued up the corridor. She breathed a sigh of relief. But she knew she needed to act fast.

She turned her attention back to the files. She didn’t have much time. Maybe a minute or so left.

She leafed through them, one by one, going through the surnames.

Lane…

Lansbury…

Laughton…

Ledoux…

Lee

There were quite a few Lees.

Abigail…

Anna…

Barbara…

Denise…

Felicia.

There it was.

She slid the manila folder out of the drawer, her hands shaking with excitement.

She opened it quickly to check.

Her attention was immediately drawn to the photo that was stapled to the top inside corner of the file. It depicted a pale-skinned girl with dark eyes and a tangle of punky-looking black hair staring vacantly back at the camera.

So that’s what the infamous Felicia Lee looked like.

For a moment, they stared into each other’s eyes. Bailey felt an odd inexplicable shudder go through her. There was something about this girl. Bailey knew instinctively that she had hit the nail on the head.

She was sorely tempted to read through the file right now, but she didn’t have time. Instead she closed it and tucked it beneath her jogging top which she then zipped up tight.

She gently pushed the drawer closed and stood up. She figured it would be a long time, if ever, before anyone noticed that the file had gone missing. After all, why would anyone want to look at it? Felicia Lee was no longer here. It was a dormant file.

Bailey stepped up to the door and once again hoped that she didn’t bump into anyone in the corridor. She opened the door a crack and peeked out.

There was no one there.

She slipped out of the filing office and walked back into Doctor Bodie’s office. Sitting down, she was conscious of the large stiff cardboard file concealed beneath her clothing. Hopefully it wasn’t too obvious.

‘Feeling better?’ said Doctor Bodie, looking pointedly at his watch.

She nodded.

‘So where were we?’ she said.

‘You were about to tell me all about your traumatic experiences.’

‘Where shall I start?’

‘Let’s try the beginning.’

‘The beginning? Sure.’ She took a deep breath. ‘It all started with this guinea pig I owned when I was a little girl. His name was Squeaky. I used to adore that little guinea pig. But then one day my father came home drunk…’

Chapter 95

Bailey waited until later that evening, until after she had been locked in her cell for the night, before taking out the file from underneath her mattress, where she had concealed it immediately after getting back from Doctor Bodie’s office.