JAKE AND CAMERON were waiting for me outside Bill’s.

‘What’s the update?’

Jake motioned inside the restaurant. ‘Peppa and the playground woman are right at the back. We can’t get close to them without being noticed. We still have no ID on the woman. Time’s running out. I suggest you just walk in and talk.’

Jake was right. Peng was leaving this afternoon. Risking blowing my cover was worth it if it could fast-track us answers.

I walked into Bill’s. It was still early and, apart from Peppa’s table at the very back, there were only two other occupied tables at the front. Peppa and the woman were deep in conversation. I walked straight towards them.

‘Suze? Suze! Is that you?’ Peppa jolted at the sound of her name and turned towards me, her face frozen. All her body language was shouting that she’d been caught. Caught doing something she shouldn’t.

But then her face relaxed at the sight of me.

‘Alexis! Hello.’ She stood up. ‘What are you doing here?’

‘Just meeting a friend for breakfast. How about you?’ I leaned towards the woman with her, holding out my hand. ‘Hi there, I’m Alexis.’

The woman took it – ‘Sasha. Nice to meet you.’ – and she shook it. She had an Australian accent.

‘How come you’re all the way back here? It’s such a nice morning.’

Peppa smiled. ‘We’re hiding.’

‘Hiding? From who?’

‘Other mothers from nursery.’ Peppa cast a glance over my shoulder. ‘I’m trying to steal Sasha off one of them and they’re all almighty gossips.’

Sasha giggled. ‘It’s all rather funny, isn’t it? This trying to avoid being seen.’

I looked from one to the other. ‘So, Sasha, you’re a nanny who works for another mum at the nursery?’

She nodded.

Peppa spoke quickly. ‘I know there’s an etiquette and all but Dionne is leaving and Sasha is great and, well, I’m happy to pay more to show her how valued she’d be if she moved over to us.’

For. Fuck’s. Sake.

No stealing secrets. Just stealing a nanny.

A few hacks of the nursery and their parent contact list and Geraint could easily verify all this, but looking between the two of them I knew it was the truth.

I needed to get into the Platform and start proving I was right about Frederick. He was the Snake. There were no Pigs left and no other explanation.

*

‘Is Peng safe?’ Hattie and Geraint were seated in the meeting room when Jake, Cameron and I arrived.

Hattie answered. ‘She’s at the Embassy all morning with back-to-back meetings, followed by a lunch there, before they leave for Christie’s. Pixie is in a van outside. If she leaves unexpectedly she’ll call it in. But we can presume as long as she’s there she’s safe.’