“Still . . .” Mati persisted. “Someone now in a high position, with something he may regret in his past, some indiscretion, maybe . . . or someone suddenly vulnerable?”

“It’s possible. But if an American president can get away with all the things he says and does where women are concerned, I doubt if any of my little peccadillos will give anyone much to fear. No, it’s the ones I betrayed who hate me the most. My captors. They lost money because of me.” She paused. “Anyway, I want to investigate this Phil Keane person myself. I want to find him. After all, he was with Petar Tadić in the photograph I saw, and we all know what pigs Tadić and his brother are. Keane also tried to kill Alan a few years ago.”

Petar Tadić was the brother of Goran, and the two of them had abducted Zelda in the street when she left the orphanage at seventeen, shoved her in a car, punched her in the face and spilled all her worldly possessions across a street in Chişinău. And that was only the start of a very long journey. The Tadić brothers had made their way up in the organization since then, she had heard. No longer mere transporters, they had moved into the realm of overseas exploitation and were now close to the top, giving orders rather than taking them, extending their operations from sex trafficking and drugs to money laundering.

“What will you do when you find this Keane person?” Mati asked.

“Try to get him to lead me to the people he works for, then pass on the information to Alan.”

“You would trust the police then?”

“To deal with Keane? Yes. Alan wants him. It’s personal. I’m assuming he has evidence he has no desire to hide.”

“And the people Keane works for?”

“A different proposition altogether. I have my own plans for them.”

“Isn’t this a dangerous game you’re playing?”

“It’s not a game,” said Zelda.

“But you could get hurt.”

Zelda gave a harsh laugh. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Killed, even.”

“Well, that would be something new.”

“When will it be over, this mission of yours?”

“I don’t know.” She smiled. “I’ve got a little list.”

“You and Ko-Ko.”

They laughed, and Mati let it go. That was one of the things Zelda loved about her; like Raymond, she wasn’t judgmental. But unlike Raymond, Mati knew exactly where Zelda was coming from. And she knew her Gilbert and Sullivan.

“For this revenge, you would risk everything? The life you have made for yourself with Raymond in Yorkshire? Your freedom?”

“I don’t know, Mati. All I know is that I have to try. It may be the only way to stop the nightmares, the flashbacks, the despair, the numbness I feel sometimes.”

“I wouldn’t count on it. How far have you got with your search for this man Keane?”

Zelda sighed. “Nowhere.”

“How long has it been?”

“Four months. The department has only called me in once a month so far this year, for two or three days each time. I’ve watched Hawkins closely, even followed him after work when I knew I could get away with it.”