When she’d sawn off the ‘scalp’, she held it up, dangling it between her thumb and forefinger and then she popped it into her mouth and started chewing it.

The others all burst out laughing. Bailey joined in, forcing herself to laugh along, even though she could find no humour in the situation.

Was it just a joke or was there a deeper truth to be uncovered?

‘I’m not scared,’ said Bailey. ‘Just wanted to know if I need to buy any new shampoo in the shop or not. Won’t be needing quite as much as normal if I get scalped.’

Toni and the others snorted in amusement.

Any tension that might have been there now disappeared, and the conversation turned to dessert.

Bailey decided there and then to be more careful about pursuing the issue. She didn’t want to look suspicious. She’d have to be patient and bide her time. Softly, softly, catchee monkey, as the old proverb went.

She laughed and chatted with them for a while longer, then eventually made her excuses and got up to put her tray in the rack and leave the canteen.

Just as she was sliding her tray into the rack, a voice next to her said: ‘I recognise you from somewhere.’

Bailey turned around. Standing next to her was an inmate she hadn’t noticed before. She was small, with sallow rodent-like features. It took Bailey a few seconds to recognise her, but when she did her stomach dropped.

‘Yeah. I’m sure I know you,’ the inmate continued, her eyes narrowing as she tried to place Bailey. ‘Have we met before?’

Her name was Carly Potson and she had been some scrote junkie Bailey had arrested way back in her uniformed days, long before she’d started undercover work. She was surprised at the girl’s power of recall, especially considering how many drugs she’d probably ingested over the years. If Carly made the connection, Bailey would be in big trouble as she would likely blurt it out right there in the canteen.

She should have known this might happen. Having arrested as many people as she had done in her career, it was always going to be a possibility that she would encounter one of them in here. She desperately tried to think what she could do to prevent her cover getting blown.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Toni and the others standing up and walking towards her to put their trays in the rack.

Shit.

She could only pray that her appearance was sufficiently different, and that the context of the prison was sufficiently removed, that Carly wouldn’t make the connection.

‘No. You must be mistaken,’ said Bailey.

Carly shook her head slowly. ‘I swear I’ve seen you before.’

‘Must be déjà vu.’

Carly peered hard at Bailey. ‘No I don’t think so… now where on earth was it?’

Toni and the others had now arrived at the rack. They were looking on with interest, hovering next to her. Perhaps because Bailey was new to their gang, they didn’t quite trust her completely as yet and wanted to gauge who else she communicated with.