Despite everything that was going on it was Alice who kept invading her thoughts. Rosa couldn’t wait to hold her in her arms again. To kiss her. To lick her. To feel her breath on her face. To taste the juice from between her thighs.

It was a craving like none she had ever experienced. And it was getting stronger. Becoming more of a distraction.

In the past she had always managed to compartmentalise her feelings and the mental anguish that had blighted her childhood. But now she was struggling with that. The barriers were down and her thoughts were out of control.

She was finding it harder to focus on the job. Harder still to keep Alice’s face out of her mind’s eye.

When Rosa had left the apartment this morning, Alice had stayed in bed.

‘I’m having lunch with my dad and then I’m going shopping,’ she’d said. ‘I might even buy you a present.’

She was probably back home by now, Rosa thought. Getting ready for this evening. They were going to spend it making plans for tomorrow’s tour of London.

Rosa wondered if Alice had seen the CCTV footage of the woman on the motorcycle. Had she heard the man with the beard describe the woman as being attractive and having a slight accent?

If it had been in Mexico the media coverage would have been more muted, the story far less sensational.

It was an added pressure, along with the ridiculously high number of street surveillance cameras, and the fact that all of those people on the kill list knew that they were potential targets. So they could take precautions, change their routines, never let their guard drop, arm themselves just as Laura Jefferson had done.

For Rosa the scenario she found herself in was challenging rather than intimidating. It meant she had to be sharp, creative, fast-thinking, patient.

And lucky.

So far her luck had held up, and when seven o’clock came she discovered that it still hadn’t deserted her.

Dead on the hour two cars entered Appleton Mews and Rosa knew instinctively that her target would be in one of them.

It had been a long wait, but at last it was over.

She leaned forward towards the window, the rifle pressed into her good shoulder, the telescopic lens tight against her right eye.

The two black unmarked cars pulled up in front of the house with the blue door.

Rosa inhaled deeply and held the breath in her lungs. She stilled her body and felt the anticipation grow as she watched two men get out of each car. They were wearing dark suits and it was obvious to Rosa that they were cops. They looked around them as though searching for signs of danger.

After a few moments the rear door of the first vehicle opened and another man got out.