he took, and he was beginning to doubt his ability to handle it.
'What is it, boss? What's wrong with you?'
Bolt avoided Mo's concerned gaze. 'Nothing. I'm fine.' It was his stock response, and it sounded utterly hollow. He couldn't even bring himself to instil any meaning into it.
'No, you're not. This isn't like you. I've worked with you, how long now? Four years, five? You never let things get to you. Not like this. You care, but not so much it brings you right down. And you're down now. You haven't been right all day.'
There was a long pause. Bolt sat there with the key in his hand, inches from the ignition, unmoving.
'Come on, tell me,' said Mo eventually, his voice quiet. 'We've shared things in the past.'
'I know.'
'Important things. Things that no one else knows.'
'I know.'
'So, talk to me now.'
In that moment, Bolt knew that the dam had to give, whatever the consequences. He put the key in the ignition but made no move to start the car.
'I had an affair with Andrea Devern fifteen years ago.'
'I thought there was something between the two of you. Back at the house—'
'There's more.'
Mo didn't say anything for a moment, then it seemed to click.
'Oh shit, boss. You're not saying that . . . that Emma's something to do with you?'
'It looks that way.'
He told Mo what Andrea had told him earlier.
'How do you know Mrs Devern, Andrea, isn't bullshitting you?' Mo asked when Bolt had finished. 'Especially as that's exactly what she told Jimmy Galante as well.'
Bolt sighed. 'I don't know, Mo, but the dates fit. I checked them.'
'But she was seeing Galante at the same time, right?'
'That's right. And she was married too.'
'Well, she certainly got around,' Mo said, a hint of disapproval in his voice.
'I don't know what to do. It's ripping me to shreds.'
'Chances are she isn't yours, boss. That's the way you've got to look at it. No offence, but if she was married, seeing another man, and seeing you, it's likely there were others as well.'
'But if it's true . . .'
'If it's true . . .' Mo paused, thinking. Choosing his words carefully. 'Then we've got to make sure we bring her back.'
Bolt ran a hand across his face, the fingers finding the scars on his left cheek. He rubbed hard at the shallow divots in his flesh.
'You saw what those bastards did to Galante. They're not going to let her go, are they?'
'You've got to have faith, boss.'
'Faith in what, Mo? Faith in what?'
'If you haven't got faith in God, and I know that you haven't, then at least have faith in our abilities. We've got out of tight corners before.'
'It's a lot easier said than done, Mo. It really is.'
'I know.'
'Do you?'
'I've got four children, boss. Believe me, I know.'
They were silent again. Bolt felt the tension flowing through his veins, tightening every muscle in his body.
'You know,' said Mo eventually, staring out of the window, 'there's a village in India, somewhere along the Ganges, where they consider cobras sacred. It means they're not allowed to harm them, and because of that, the whole village is teeming with them. In schools; in people's kitchens; in kids' bedrooms; all over the place. But no one takes a blind bit of notice because they're convinced they're not going to get bitten. And, you know, even when one of the villagers is bitten, they think it's a mistake on the cobra's part, and that the poison won't have any long- lasting effect because they worship it. Now, cobra venom can kill if it's not treated. That's a medical fact. But do you know what? In that village there's not one recorded incident of anyone dying of a snake bite. Like I said, boss, you've got to have faith. It'll be OK.'
They looked at each other, and Bolt was impressed by the determination in the other man's expression. It made him feel a little better, glad that he had shared his feelings. He was also surprised by the fact that Mo hadn't suggested he say something to Barry Freud. Mo was his friend, but he was also a professional, and he would know that he was taking a risk by keeping his boss's relationship with both the kidnap victim and her mother silent.
'Not a word about this, OK?' Bolt told him. 'It won't affect how I run this op, I promise.'
