She told him about Dave.

‘I’ll send one of my boys to wait with him, just in case he finds himself outnumbered by masked idiots all hankering after his police radio.’

‘Don’t mention that you’ve got Doyle, Archie. Just tell him we’re alone, talking.’

‘Naturally.’ He smiled at her. ‘I reckon you have about fifteen minutes before your colleagues ride by this part of the estate again, so …’ he pointed to a door, ‘… she’s all yours, Nikki. But if you change your mind, I’ll be outside, and the offer still stands.’

The room was a grubby storeroom. Shelves packed with cheap own-brand ketchup and even cheaper teabags lined one wall.

Frankie Doyle sat unmoving on the only chair. She didn’t move because she was tied tightly to the back and the legs of the chair, and had a wide band of duct tape across her mouth. Her eyes were wide with fear and the parts of her complexion that were visible around the tape were a sickly grey. Nikki found it hard to recognize her as the woman who had so recently, and so casually, stabbed Joseph.

The room was poorly lit. One greasy fifteen-watt bulb hung from an even greasier light fitting, and it swung backwards and forwards in the draft from an old air-conditioning unit, causing freaky shadows to move around the walls.

Perfect! Nikki closed the door.

For so long she had dreamed of this moment, played out a thousand different scenarios of what she would do if she ever got Frankie Doyle alone in a small room. Not surprisingly, they had all been violent in some way or another, and most involved considerable blood loss. Her heart should have been pumping adrenaline at an alarming pace, and her face should be contorted in righteous anger, but it wasn’t.

A strange calm descended over her as she leaned back against the door and stared unblinkingly at the other woman. There was no hurry now. No one was going anywhere for a while.

Doyle tried to stare back, but blinked rapidly, and Nikki could see her throat constrict several times as she swallowed. For once in her miserable life, Frankie Doyle was not in charge and she was bricking it!

Taking her time, Nikki approached the woman, then pulled the tape from her mouth. Doyle gave a muffled scream and tears involuntarily filled her eyes as the strong adhesive tore at her skin.

‘Mm, you seem to be more comfortable dishing it out, don’t you?’

‘Where’s Leonard?’ Her voice fell to a scared whisper. ‘Where’s Archie Leonard?’

‘Not here. It’s just you and me for a while, Frankie. And frankly I’d be more scared of me right now than of Archie.’

Nikki stood closer to her, close enough to smell stale perfume and sweat. ‘Why did you hate me so much that you wanted to kill my daughter?’