Contents (94)
- Villain
- Caro Savage
- Contents
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- 57
- 58
- 59
- 60
- 61
- 62
- 63
- 64
- 65
- 66
- 67
- 68
- 69
- 70
- 71
- 72
- 73
- 74
- 75
- 76
- 77
- 78
- 79
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- 86
- 87
- Acknowledgments
- More from Caro Savage
- About the Author
- About Boldwood Books
‘Well, I bet you there aren’t that many vets who specialise in deadly poisonous snakes like cobras. I bet your run-of-the-mill vet doesn’t.’
He nodded, a smile spreading across his face. Now he was beginning to get it.
Nancy continued, ‘And I bet you there aren’t that many people who are licensed to keep cobras. Because you definitely do need a licence for dangerous creatures like those.’
‘I think I see where you’re going here,’ said Stephen. ‘But how do you know Mister Snigiss doesn’t just keep them illegally? I mean, he sounds like the kind of person who does what he pleases.’
Nancy nodded. ‘A good point. But it’s my contention that this Mister Snigiss wants to appear as normal as possible on the surface. Totally legitimate. Just like we do. After all, to the wider world, we are just successful businesspeople who run a string of very profitable enterprises. And I reckon Mister Snigiss operates in exactly the same way if he aspires to be a major-league villain.’
‘It takes one to know one,’ smiled Stephen.
Nancy grinned. ‘Exactly. To all intents and purposes, Mister Snigiss will resemble a model citizen, if he’s as clever as you’re making out. Of course, he won’t be going under the name of Mister Snigiss. That’s just his gangland moniker, something to obfuscate his proper identity. In reality, he’ll have some regular boring name and a seemingly regular boring existence. But that’s exactly how we can get to him.’
‘Through his snakes,’ murmured Stephen.
‘He wouldn’t risk getting in trouble with the authorities on account of his exotic pets because that might draw attention to his illicit business activities. No, he’ll be all above board. We just need to get our hands on the patient records of vets who specialise in cobras. We could also get hold of the lists held by local councils of people who are licensed to keep cobras. Do that and we might just have ourselves a list of possible contenders for Mister Snigiss. I’m sure a little bit of cash to oil the wheels should do the trick, and if that fails, a bit of “creative” questioning, if you know what I mean. Take Archie with you if that’s what’s required.’
Stephen smiled and cracked his knuckles. ‘It’ll be my pleasure. Leave it with me.’
53
Bailey sat at the folding table in the temporary HQ looking at the whiteboard that Frank had set up in the corner of the sparsely furnished room. It was covered in a scrawl of notes and arrows relating to the next and final phase of her undercover operation. She, Frank and Dale had been putting together a plan, trying to work out if there were any angles she’d missed and determining what resources she’d need in order to complete the transaction. It was Monday the twenty-fifth of February and strike day was scheduled to take place in just under two weeks’ time. Very soon, the Molloys would be going down.
‘Something on your mind, Bailey?’ asked Frank, who was standing next to the whiteboard holding a marker pen.