51

Bailey had collared enough burglars in her time to pick up a few tricks of the trade, so breaking into Claudia’s apartment had proved to be relatively straightforward.

For a high-class hooker, the place was surprisingly basic – a small one-bedroom flat on the second floor of a nondescript block in Hammersmith in West London. But then Bailey wondered if Claudia didn’t make quite as much money as popular opinion made out when it came to these kinds of women.

She didn’t bother poking around. That wasn’t why she was here. Instead she sat down in an armchair in the corner of the living room with the lights switched off and waited for Claudia to return home.

Normally she’d have favoured a slightly softer, more oblique approach, with the aim of building up some kind of rapport. However, time was of the essence so she’d decided to resort to much blunter methods. She had to reach Mister Snigiss before the Molloys did and Claudia was her only lead.

It was perhaps an hour or so later that the door opened and the light clicked on. Claudia bustled in, dressed informally in jeans and a Puffa jacket, clutching a bag of shopping and humming to herself. She turned to go into the kitchen, caught sight of Bailey sitting in the armchair, emitted a small shriek and jumped back in shock, dropping her shopping on the floor with a loud clunk.

‘Who the fuck are you?!’ she gasped. Her face twisted from alarm to anger. ‘How the hell did you get in here?’

Bailey stood up. Claudia took two steps back, her eyes widening in fear.

‘I’m not going to hurt you,’ said Bailey gently, holding up both palms.

‘I’ll call the police,’ said Claudia, her voice wavering uncertainly.

‘I am the police,’ said Bailey, pulling out her warrant card and holding it up.

Claudia peered at the card and then frowned suspiciously. ‘You’re not allowed to just bust in here like this. Even I know that much.’

Bailey ignored her. ‘I need some answers.’

‘I haven’t done anything wrong,’ said Claudia defensively.

‘I need to talk to Mister Snigiss.’

At the mention of the name, Claudia’s doe eyes grew larger still and she shrank a little.

‘Who are you?’ she whispered.

‘It doesn’t matter who I am. I just need to talk to Mister Snigiss.’

‘Are you with them?’ she asked warily.

‘Who?’

‘There was someone else asking about Mister Snigiss. A man. Hassling some of the other girls.’

The Molloys, thought Bailey. It had to be. Only a few days had passed since the gangland interrogation of Marcus and already their hunt for Mister Snigiss was well under way. The sense of urgency swelled within her.

‘I’m not with them,’ said Bailey. ‘All I want to do is meet with Mister Snigiss. I need to talk to him for personal reasons. And I know you can get in contact with him.’

Claudia shook her head with a horrified expression.