When she saw the massive queue at the phones, she swore aloud. She looked at her watch. There were nine minutes of association time left before they were all locked back in their cells. She knew she would never get to the front of the queue in nine minutes’ time.

She suddenly remembered. Toni kept a mobile phone in her stash down in the basement.

Bailey hurried back down to the basement, this time making her way to the small maintenance cupboard beneath B-Wing where the stash was located.

She pulled the door shut behind her, turned the light on and knelt down among the cleaning products. She pushed the industrial rolls of cleaning tissue aside to expose the small ventilation grille set into the bottom of the wall. Levering it off with her fingernails, she placed it on the floor.

She put her hand in carefully. Very carefully, remembering the rat trap…

But there was nothing in there.

She reached in further, putting almost her whole arm in. Nothing.

Shit!

Toni must have moved the location of the stash.

Bailey pulled her arm out and looked at her watch. Six minutes left.

She had no choice but to resort to the nuclear option.

Chapter 101

‘Come in,’ said the Governor.

Shelley pushed the door open and nodded at Bailey to go in.

It was the first time Bailey had been in the Governor’s office and the decor immediately put her in mind of one of those old-fashioned private members’ clubs. The walls were lined with dark oak panelling and there was one of those fancy-looking leather sofas with buttons on it.

The Governor was sitting behind a huge wooden desk, lounging back in a large throne-like leather desk chair, his hands steepled in front of him.

‘Shelley here tells me you wanted to see me urgently,’ he said.

‘That’s right,’ said Bailey. ‘It’s very important.’

He looked up at the antique-style carriage clock on the mantelpiece. ‘Couldn’t it have waited until tomorrow? I know I said I had an open-door policy, but you’ve only got two minutes of association time left.’

‘I’ll keep it brief.’

He sighed and gestured for her to sit down.

Bailey sat down facing him across the desk. She looked up at Shelley and then at the Governor.

‘It’s private,’ she said.

He waved at Shelley to leave.

Shelley left the office and closed the door behind her. Bailey and the Governor stared at each other in silence for a few moments.

‘Well?’ said the Governor.

She took a deep breath.

‘My name isn’t actually Bailey Pike. My real name is Bailey Morgan and I’m an undercover police officer.’

The Governor’s brows slowly knitted in perplexity. ‘An undercover police officer?’

‘I was placed here in order to investigate the activities of a drugs ring which has been operating inside this prison. What I’ve uncovered is almost as shocking as it is unbelievable. But you must believe what I’m about to tell you because if we don’t act on it immediately, then lives will be lost. I would have gone through official channels, but there just isn’t time. That’s why I’ve come to talk directly to you.’