Daffodil presented her fake ID to the reception desk of Sunnyside Prison.
“This is very unusual.” The receptionist looked disconcerted. “Unaccompanied children aren’t normally permitted to make visits.”
“My mother and I are only in the country a short while and she isn’t feelin too great.” Daffodil handed over a permission slip. “So the Home Office made an exception.”
“Oh. Well, these look to be in order.” The woman studied the perfectly forged papers that Frankie had printed. “You’ll have to be searched for contraband, even if you are a minor.”
“That’s all right.” Daffodil allowed herself to be frisked then walked through the scanner. She half expected the chip in her neck to set off the alarm, but Frankie was encased in plastic and invisible to the detection devices. Her picture was taken and she was given a visitor pass to clip on.
“All done.” The warder on duty ushered her through.
“This security system sucks,” Frankie muttered in her head. “They deserve to lose a prisoner or two. Maybe it’ll persuade them to try a bit harder in the future.”
*
Scotty Primo was led to a small plastic table in the visitor room.
“You don’t get company very often.” The guard sat him down. “And you never mentioned having a daughter before.”
“First time she’s ever set foot in the place, boss.” Scotty said dolefully. “I haven’t seen her in years.”
“Tough break.” The man shrugged and walked off. Everyone in here had a hard-luck story and he’d heard them all before.
The door opened with a buzz and a girl dressed in black edged in. Spotting Scotty, she rushed across the room and squeezed him tightly. “Hello, Dad!”
“Hi, darling. Take a seat.” Scotty glanced round to make sure the guard wasn’t listening, but he was already engrossed in conversation with one of his workmates. “I’m an inquisitive type,” Scotty was well spoken and his piercing green eyes rarely blinked. “Which is why I agreed to this request for a visit. Problem is, you’re not my daughter. Her mum won’t let her see me until she turns sixteen and can decide for herself.”
“Can’t imagine why.” The girl snapped her fingers. “Oh. Maybe ’cause you’re a convicted criminal and probably not the best role model a young girl could have.”
“OK. You’ve done your homework.” Scotty nodded. “And you must have some pretty convincing documents or you wouldn’t have made it through that door.” He gave a smile and his eyes twinkled. It made him look both likeable and trustworthy. “I certainly appreciate the company, but I still want to know why you’re pretending to be my kid.”
“Dial down the charisma, bub. I ain’t the swoonin type.” The girl kept her voice low. “My name’s Daffodil McNugget and—”
“That’s a pretty stupid alias, if you don’t mind me saying…” Scotty studied her face, then looked mortified. “Oh. You’re telling the truth. Sorry.”
“And my accomplices and I are gonna break you out,” Daffodil continued, undeterred. “In return for a favour, of course.”
“I’ve only got five years of my sentence left to serve,” the man replied calmly. “I don’t want to be broken out, even if it were possible.”
“No thanks.” Primo turned to beckon the guard.
“I understand your reluctance. You had £5,000,000 you conned outta fat cats stashed in a bank account in the Cayman Islands. Only it’s gone.”
The smile vanished. “Say that again.”
“Sort code 45 85 96. Account number 188722563148.” Daffodil reeled off the numbers. “We emptied it.”
Scotty’s mouth opened, but no sound came out.
“That enough of an incentive for ya, buddy?”
“The money I hid was to set my daughter up in life,” Primo replied acidly. “My real daughter.”
“Then she’s gonna be a damned sight poorer.”
Scotty Primo was a practical man. This girl had his bank details and how she got them wasn’t important right now. She was obviously a force to be reckoned with.
“You have my attention.”
Daffodil slipped a hand inside her shirt, clicked open a hidden catch on her pendant, and removed three tiny pills. “These oughta be small enough to hide on your person.” She took Scotty’s hand and slid the capsules into his palm. “You swallow one and convince a convict called the White Spider to take the other. They’ll give you a temperature and bring you out in a rash, but there won’t be no long-term effects. However, they’ll land you both in the prison infirmary and we’ll be able to break you out from there.”
“Then the answer’s definitely no.”
“No?” Daffodil was taken aback.
“I conned rich people. Nasty rich people.” The man glared at her. “But I’ve never killed anyone. I’m certainly not helping put a sadistic animal like the White Spider back on the streets.”
“I take it you don’t like the guy.”
“This place contains some of the most hardened criminals in the country,” Scotty replied. “Men who have slaughtered women and children without blinking an eye. Guys who aren’t afraid of anything.” He shuddered. “Except the White Spider. He’s sinister beyond words. He scares the guards, for God’s sakes.”
“He’ll only be free for a short time. Then we’ll turn him over to the police.” Daffodil gave a sly wink. “Though you don’t have to share that particular bit of info with him.”
“You expect me to believe this nonsense?” Scotty laughed out loud and the prison officer looked round. “Just sharing a father–daughter joke, boss!”
“Nice to see you’re getting along.” The warder checked his watch. “You’ve got ten minutes left.”
“Fine.” Daffodil said nonchalantly. “There are a dozen inmates in here we can use instead.”
“Then do so. This visit is over.”
“All right. We’ll put the money back into your account.”
“You’ll do what?” It was Scotty’s turn to look flabbergasted.
“If you’d intended to keep your ill-gotten gains, we’d take the lot. But your daughter ain’t a criminal, so it’s not fair to deprive her of a decent life.” She got up to leave. “Good to know you got some morals.”
“Sit down.” Scotty stared into her eyes. “I’m the best con man in the business and I always know when someone’s playing me.” He sat back and rubbed his head. “You’re telling the truth.”
“Here’s somethin else to think about.” The girl held his stare. “Your daughter don’t need money. She needs a dad in her life.”
“Yeah? What good is a father who’s always looking over his shoulder in case the law closes in?”
“We’ll provide you with a new identity and tell you where your daughter is, if you wanna risk seein her.” Daffodil shrugged. “I sure hope you try.”
“You don’t know where your parents are, kid,” Scotty said sympathetically. “Do you?”
“You’re certainly good at reading people.” The girl smiled sadly. “I don’t even know who they are, but I’d give anything to find out.”
“A great liar can always spot when someone is being insincere.” The man ran a hand down his face. “And you’re not.”
“We’re the good guys, Mr Primo. Honest.”
“Who is the third pill for?”
“The prison doctor. Slip it into his drink when you get to the infirmary.” She reddened slightly. “I hate to have an innocent man suffer but, like I say, it won’t have no-long term effects. He’ll be right as rain in a couple of days.”
“I need to think about it.”
“It’s a one-time offer.” She snapped her locket shut. “Turn me down and you’ll have five long years to ponder your missed opportunity.”
“You can really pull this off?”
“It should have been impossible for me to get this far. But here I am.”
“I want to see my daughter more than you could imagine. So count me in.” Scotty pocketed the pills. “But if this prison break goes wrong, I’ll find a way to convince the authorities I was a victim and not an accomplice.”
“I’m sure you will. You’re slippier than a weasel coated in axle grease.”
“Also, are you positive the White Spider wants out of jail?”
“Why wouldn’t he? He’s got a life sentence.”
“Because he’s completely off his rocker, by all accounts. He actually seems to like it here.”
The girl took on a faraway look, as if she were listening to some voice Scotty couldn’t hear.
“Time’s up, people,” the guard shouted.
“If he won’t co-operate, tell him this.” She leaned forward, kissed the man on the cheek and whispered a sentence in his ear.
“I don’t even know what that means,” Scotty said dubiously.
“It’ll work. My source is never wrong.”
She got up and left with the warder.
The grifter watched her go, fingering the pills in his pocket and wondering just what he had agreed to.
*
Daffodil climbed into the van, parked outside the prison gates.
“Primo’s on board,” she announced. “We can’t take his money though. It’s for his daughter.”
“Are you sure he didn’t con you about that?” Charlie was sitting behind the wheel. “It’s what he does.”
“Not at all,” Daffodil replied. “But I gave my word and I ain’t about to break it.”
“That’s all right. We have another bank account to empty. And this one belongs to a proper scumbag.”
Charlie started the engine and drove off.
“My turn now. Tomorrow we’re going to rescue Nurse Samantha McLaren from an extremely bad situation.”
“You might want to consider something.” Frankie spoke from one of the monitors in the back of the vehicle. “Nobody knows who Daffodil is, but I made the security cameras blurry, just in case. Her prints and ID will also vanish from Sunnyside’s systems when this is over. You’re a different kettle of fish, Charlie.”
“In what way?”
“The shootout at your house has been on the news, along with your picture. I can wipe the CCTV near Miss McLaren’s house, but a passer-by might still recognise you. You better wear a disguise.”
“As long as it’s nothing like my dad’s effort,” Charlie said. “Besides, I’m too young to grow a moustache.”
“Ooh! Ooh! I know!” Daffodil held up her hand. “I got the perfect camouflage.”
“This is bound to be good. What have you got in mind?”
She told them both her idea.
“I am not doing that,” Charlie fumed. “No way. Not a chance.”
“You’re turning out to be quite an asset, Mac.” Frankie laughed. “I’d pay serious money to see this.”
“Not doing it,” the boy repeated.
“Don’t worry.” Daffodil could hardly contain her glee. “You’re gonna look adorable.”
“I’ll replicate the things we need. Sorry, Chaz.”
“Daffodil?” Charlie glowered. “I really hate you right now.”