‘Darling, it was wonderful.’ Mrs Moulage beamed. ‘I can forget now all the rubbish I had to put up with. And just think about the fun I had. The day they realised I wasn’t just decoration. But an equal. An agent. A Rat. It felt like coming home. To a place where I belonged. Where I could shine.’

‘Being the very first woman, the only woman’ – I shook my head – ‘I can only imagine how tough it was.’

‘To do a job like this takes a certain type of person. Even the most Neanderthal of men eventually realise what sex, colour, religion you are is irrelevant. It may have taken a little time but soon enough I was just one of the team, one of the pack. After every successful mission, we’d let loose down here. Good music and hard liquor. We all smoked, we all drank, we all didn’t think about tomorrow. The world was just as frightening then as it is now.’ Mrs Moulage cast a glance down over my jeans and T-shirt. ‘Except everyone was better dressed.’

‘Did you not always feel you had more to prove? More to lose?’

‘Back then none of us could afford to make any mistakes. My old chief, before every mission, he’d say, “DD, you get one shot. Make it count.” ’ She shrugged. ‘And I did. I always did. I had a near perfect success rate. Just like you.’

She held up her hand before I could speak.

‘Yes, of course I’ve followed your career. I’ve felt proud watching each of you girls come through.’

I smiled. ‘And I’m proud to be here. It’s not easy but I can’t imagine doing anything else.’

‘Quite right. What we do is too important. This is our life.’ She touched my shoulder. ‘We get one shot. And we make it count.’

‘Goodbye, Mrs Moulage.’

‘Goodbye, my dear.’

I watched her walk down the corridor. The nods she got from everyone she passed. The Dior Dame, the Rat Queen.

*

It was nearing 1 a.m. by the time I finally got home. After we’d debriefed Hattie on everything we’d learned, we focused on chasing down any leads we could find with Frederick’s location. There had been another potential sighting at a small airport in Yorkshire. If he was trying to leave the country undetected, travelling north before trying to hire a plane was a clever move.

The house was quiet. I wished Gigi was home and not staying with Gillian so I could go check on her. There was no better antidote to a long, stressful day at work than tucking her in and watching her sleep.