Marjorie Plunkett read through the document again, hoping that something would leap out at her. Whoever was behind this thought themselves terribly clever.

Dear little girl so small and sweet,

to meet you would be such a treat,

Soon enough we’ll take you away,

I hope that you won’t have to stay,

but that all depends on how much they’ll pay …

The silly, lilting rhyme hardly sounded threatening at all, and yet the words were absolutely menacing. The phone buzzed, interrupting her train of thought.

Marjorie reached across and pressed the loudspeaker. ‘Yes?’

‘Excuse me, Ms Plunkett, but I have Agent Treadwell here to see you. She says it’s urgent.’

‘Give me three minutes then send her in.’ Marjorie snapped the file closed and placed it back in the bottom drawer of her desk. She shut the drawer and pressed her thumb against it until she heard the whir of the lock.

‘Thank you, Ms Plunkett. Your documents are now safely returned,’ a cheery voice informed her.

‘Thank you, Fi,’ Marjorie said.

The door to her office opened.

‘Good afternoon, Agent Treadwell.’ Marjorie nodded at the woman as she strode into the room. ‘What have you got for me?’

‘Afternoon, Chief.’ Rowena Treadwell reached inside her coat pocket and handed Marjorie a piece of paper in a plastic envelope. ‘They’ve made contact again.’

‘I see.’ Marjorie opened a timber box on her desk and pulled out a pair of white gloves. She put them on and then removed the letter from the sleeve. ‘How was it received?’

‘Same as last time,’ Agent Treadwell replied. ‘Unmarked envelope, in among the rest of the palace post. There’s a stamp but no postmark, so we have no way of knowing where it was sent from.’

Marjorie’s heart thumped as she scanned the page. ‘All right, leave it with me,’ she said calmly.

‘Would you rather I take things straight to the lab in future?’ Rowena offered.

‘Agent Treadwell, I shouldn’t have to explain the extremely sensitive nature of this investigation,’ Marjorie snapped, her words underlined in ice. ‘We don’t know exactly what we are dealing with yet, but we do know there is a child at risk. And for some reason, whoever this monster is, they’ve chosen to involve Her Majesty. Everything comes to me first, do you understand? Everything!’

The tall woman cleared her throat. ‘My apologies, Chief.’

‘I suggest you go home and get some rest. It’s all hands on deck this weekend.’

‘Will I be part of the palace detail?’ Agent Treadwell asked.

‘Yes. You’ll receive your instructions at oh-six-hundred,’ Marjorie replied.

Rowena Treadwell was about to say something when she stopped herself.

‘Is there anything else?’ Marjorie looked at the woman.

‘So you’re really going to marry him, Chief?’ Treadwell asked.

Marjorie Plunkett frowned. ‘Yes, of course. Why do you ask?’

‘Does he know what you do?’

‘Absolutely not, and it will stay that way,’ Marjorie retorted. ‘Do you have a problem with that?’

‘Not at all, I’m just in awe,’ Agent Treadwell replied. ‘I suspect I’ll be single for the rest of my life. I wouldn’t trust myself – pillow talk and all that.’

Marjorie smiled thinly. She’d imagined the same sort of life for herself until Lloyd had swept her off her feet. Getting married had never been on her agenda, and now here she was planning a wedding and wondering if she might even have children.

Rowena smiled. ‘You’ll be a beautiful bride, Chief.’

Marjorie’s demeanour softened. ‘Thank you, Agent Treadwell. Sorry if I was tetchy earlier. I’ve got a lot on my mind.’

‘I understand. We need to catch this one as soon as possible. She’s such a sweet girl. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to harm her,’ Rowena said.

Marjorie nodded. ‘I’m sure they’ll slip up soon. See you tomorrow.’

Rowena Treadwell turned on her heel and headed for the door.

‘Oh and, Treadwell,’ Marjorie called after her.

The woman spun around. ‘Yes, Chief?’

‘I like the new do,’ Marjorie said, patting her head.

‘Thank you, Chief. Not sure what I think of it yet but it takes no time to get ready in the morning,’ Rowena replied before leaving the room.

Marjorie chided herself for being so hard on Treadwell. The woman was a wonderful asset and had proven herself most reliable over the years. There had been some tension between them when Marjorie had been promoted to Chief three years ago, but Treadwell had come to understand that the best woman had been given the job. Marjorie pressed her thumb against the drawer. It whirred open.

‘Hello Chief,’ Fiona trilled. ‘What may I do for you?’

‘I need you to run some tests on this.’ Marjorie dropped the letter into the third compartment in her desk drawer.

‘Of course, Chief.’

‘Thank you, Fi. That will be all for now.’ Marjorie closed the drawer and held her thumb against the lock. She took a deep breath and picked up the phone.

‘Yes, Chief?’

‘Miss Betts, please get Thornton Thripp on the line for me.’