‘What is it?’ asked Poppy.

‘I want you to be careful,’ said Bailey.

Poppy looked confused. ‘Why? What’s wrong?’

‘This Tuesday…’ started Bailey, but she didn’t know how she could explain it to Poppy without telling her everything.

‘What about this Tuesday?’

She started again. ‘These murders that have been happening… I want you to be careful.’

Poppy’s face broke into a smile. ‘You don’t need to worry about me.’ She patted the back of her waistband, presumably where she was carrying her shank. ‘I can handle myself just fine.’

‘I’m sure you can. But… just watch out, okay?’

Poppy placed both hands on Bailey’s shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. ‘It means a lot to me that you care though. You’re a true friend.’

Right at that moment, Bailey was hit by a powerful urge to tell Poppy the truth about everything, about who she really was and the reason she was really in here. It would take just a few words to forever remove that invisible one-way barrier that lay between them. Almost involuntarily, she felt the revelation move up to her mouth.

She took a deep breath and braced herself to speak. She would confess everything. Right now. And damn the consequences. She suddenly couldn’t bear to deceive Poppy any longer. For people she didn’t care about, she embraced the duplicity as part and parcel of the job, but when it came to someone she actually had feelings for, someone who trusted her, it pressed down on her like a heavy weight. These situations did arise every so often when working undercover, and when they did, Bailey always found them challenging to deal with.

She looked into Poppy’s eyes. She moistened her lips. She opened her mouth to speak…

Poppy slid her hands along Bailey’s shoulders and placed them gently around the back of her neck, cradling her head. She gently pulled Bailey’s head towards her and Bailey knew she was going to kiss her. She knew she didn’t want it to happen but she knew if she didn’t let it happen, then she’d spill everything to her.

Never break cover.

Never. Break. Cover.

So she let it happen.

Poppy’s lips locked onto hers, preventing Bailey from speaking, thus saving her from herself. Poppy pulled her close into a tight embrace and for a while they stood there entangled in intimacy.

Eventually the urge to reveal herself receded to a safe distance. Bailey broke off and drew away.

‘I’m sorry,’ said Poppy, looking a little guilty. ‘I couldn’t help myself.’

‘That’s okay. I’m glad you did.’

‘Business partners,’ said Poppy.

‘That’s right. Business partners.’

And it all was just business at the end of the day, thought Bailey as she left Poppy’s cell. That’s what she had to remember when it came to this game. That’s what she couldn’t afford to forget. All of it was just business. And nothing more.

Chapter 98

Monday morning came. And still Bailey had nothing that she could act on. Felicia Lee’s file had made fascinating reading, and Bailey had learnt a good deal about her messed-up background, but she couldn’t work out for the life of her how it related to the murders in the prison. If it did at all. And that was the problem. If she was correct in her assumptions, then someone in here would die tomorrow and she was powerless to prevent it from happening. And then she would be pulled out of here and she would never find out who had killed Alice.