She suddenly felt worried for her sister, seized by the fearful certainty that the Molloys would eventually succeed in finding and killing her. Much as she was repulsed by what Jennifer had become, Bailey still possessed a strong filial urge to protect her. And she knew that if strike day went down as planned, then the Molloy family would be seriously crippled and thus present much less of a threat to Jennifer. The best Bailey could do right now to protect her sister was to make sure that she pulled off the operation to the best of her ability.

It occurred to her then that she should probably call Frank. She imagined he was probably still fretting about her preoccupation with Mister Snigiss and the sex tape investigation. He was a bit of a worrier by nature, and although he hadn’t raised the subject during their last meeting, she knew it had probably been on his mind. After all, despite her statements to the contrary, he knew she wasn’t the type to quit on something of such personal significance to her. Given the importance of this operation, the less unnecessary things he had weighing on his mind, the better.

She picked up her undercover phone and dialled his number. He answered a few moments later, sounding uncharacteristically cheerful.

‘Bailey! How are you?’

She could distinguish the sound of a young girl laughing in the background.

‘Is that Isabel I can hear?’ she asked.

‘Yes. We’re having a bit of a father-daughter bonding session. Joanna’s going away for a few days with Roland and she’s left Isabel in my care for the rest of the week.’

Joanna was Frank’s ex-wife and Roland was her new partner – a stable and reliable businessman who Bailey knew Frank shared absolutely nothing in common with.

‘I’ll be quick then,’ said Bailey. ‘I just wanted to put your mind at rest about that whole thing with Mister Snigiss and the sex tape and Jennifer and all that. I just wanted to let you know I’ve put it behind me and I’m one hundred per cent focused on the operation, because that’s all that counts at the moment.’

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

‘You know me only too well, Bailey. To be honest, I had been a little concerned. And I did voice those concerns to Dale, actually.’

‘Oh yeah? What did he say?’ she asked with a little twinge of anxiety.

‘He told me not to worry. He told me that he thought you had a handle on everything regarding the operation.’

Bailey felt a burst of gratitude towards Dale for having her back. And it didn’t sound like he’d spilt the beans.

‘Oh good,’ she said, relieved.

‘But I appreciate you calling me, Bailey. I really do. Thanks.’

‘Well, I hope you and Isabel have a nice evening,’ she said, and ended the call.

Almost as soon as she had done so, and before she’d even had a chance to put it back on the table, her phone rang. It was Dale.