Frank shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Bailey. You’ll have to desist in any kind of investigation of this matter. That’s an order. Or we’ll pull you off the job altogether, which would be a shame, as you seem to be making good progress with the guns.’

She stared defiantly at Frank, her jaw set. Unyielding, he stared back at her with his watery blue eyes. A tense silence settled upon the room. Dale glanced awkwardly between the two of them.

‘I can’t believe you’re just going to fold like this, Frank,’ she said. ‘I’m really disappointed in you.’

He eyed her with concern. ‘As your line manager, I’m worried about your mental health, Bailey. This obsession with a missing person’s case that’s over twenty years old. This elusive abductor who was also your sister’s invisible friend. You should listen to yourself.’

It occurred to her suddenly, with some sense of irony, that he was addressing her in much the same manner as she’d talked to her father up until not so long ago.

‘I assure you I’m perfectly sane,’ she replied. ‘I know you set a high bar for evidence and proof, Frank. That’s why I respect you. But you have to understand what this means to me, and I genuinely think we’re onto something.’

‘Look,’ said Frank gently. ‘Dale told me about your father’s medical situation. I understand that it’s probably placed you under added psychological pressure. Maybe you should pencil in an appointment with the psychologist.’

Bailey sat back in her chair with a huff of frustration and crossed her arms. She looked away from them to stare moodily out of the window. Frank and Dale both sat there watching her apprehensively. After a long few moments, she turned back to them.

‘Okay,’ she said with a big sigh. ‘I’ll let it go and I’ll just focus on the guns. After all, that’s the reason you brought me in.’

Both men breathed audible sighs of relief.

She was, of course, lying through her teeth just to placate them. There was no way she was going to give up on this.

49

The glittering panoramic vista of the night-time city stretched out beyond the windows. But Bailey wasn’t looking at the view. For the past few hours she’d been sitting at the table hunched over her laptop trawling the internet for any mention of a high-class escort service going by the name of Ophidia. So far she’d found absolutely nothing. But then, given the shady nature of Ophidia’s activities, was it any surprise they liked to stay out of the limelight?

She sat back in her chair with a frustrated sigh. Time was ticking down. The Molloys were no doubt cracking on with their search for Mister Snigiss whilst she seemed to be getting nowhere.

After a minute or two of heavy contemplation, an idea occurred to her. Closing down the internet browser, she navigated to the folder on her computer which contained the MPEG4 file of the sex tape that she’d copied from the memory stick.