The Clown was a notorious Spanish assassin. The only photos of him on file were in full make-up and costume. No one had any idea of his real name or what he really looked like. In the days leading up to a kill he would never not be in character, hiding out in the open. People may always remember a clown but what did it matter if you couldn’t ever find them? Or describe them? And it meant anywhere he went while tracking his target his real face was never seen. If he were here now in London, prepping for a hit, arranging a meet, that would mean he would be in costume. And there were only so many places a clown could hang out during the day without drawing undue attention.

‘Are there any circuses currently in town?’

‘Checkin’ now,’ said Pixie. There was a flurry of key tapping and then, ‘No circuses. Closest we have is a funfair that’s on at Ravenscourt Park.’

‘A funfair is a good place for a clown assassin to arrange a meet with someone,’ I said. ‘He’ll be wanting to pick up the intel face to face. The noise, the chaos will mean they don’t worry about anyone listening.’

‘Lex, you’ve met him before. Head down there and try and find him. Talk to him peer-to-peer. If it’s not him he might know who did book the job.’

‘The funfair doesn’t open until lunchtime,’ said Pixie. ‘So an afternoon meet there fits.’

‘I can go after I’ve picked up Gigi from school.’

‘Take Frederick with you. If the Clown is the Coyote then Frederick might recognise whoever he’s meeting. If the Snake isn’t going in person they could send someone in their circle.’

The whiteboard screen now showed a black slide with just a quote in white cursive script on it.

‘What you seek is seeking you – Rumi.’

Whereas our previous unit leader would end briefings with vicious swear words and a graphic description of the violence we could be subjected to if we screwed up, Hattie liked to finish on an inspirational quote. Yes, it doubled as a warning, but in a much more tactful way.

‘You all know what you need to do. Let’s get on with catching ourselves a Snake and a Coyote.’

I checked my watch. It was time to depart for a WAF meeting at George Pig’s house. A coffee morning followed by picking up Gigi from nursery and taking her to a funfair.

It was great getting to do normal mum things.

Just with the small ulterior motive of trying to locate a traitor who was compromising the existence of the Security Services.

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

INTERROGATIONS USUALLY TAKE PLACE in a box-like room. Food and water are withheld. Questions are fired at the target until they relent.