Evans moved past Bolt, leaving him alone with Mo and Tina. Mo asked how Emma was. His tone was stiff and formal, and Bolt had noticed that he hadn't called him 'boss' for some time now.
'She's good,' he answered. 'As well as can be expected, anyway. But it's going to take her a while to recover.'
'But she will recover. Kids always do. They're resilient like that.' Mo looked towards the house. 'I'd better go inside.'
'OK.'
Mo managed a weak smile that confirmed to Bolt that their relationship had taken a serious beating.
'I hope you're back on duty soon,' he said.
'I will be.'
'Good luck.'
Mo turned and walked towards the gate. Tina made no move to follow him.
'You not going with him?'
She nodded. 'In a minute.'
Bolt smiled at her. He couldn't help but think she looked pretty in the moonlight.
'Thanks for what you did, Tina. It saved Emma's life.'
'Thanks for covering for me.'
'I couldn't really do anything else, could I? Not after you put your job on the line.' He sighed. 'How's Turner?'
'Still critical, but he's off the operating table now. It looks better than it did.'
'Thank God for that. Any other developments in the case?'
It was her turn to smile now. 'You're the one who seems to be creating the developments, Mike.'
'I didn't have anything to do with Ridgers' death, you know.'
'I never thought you would have done.'
He wondered why he'd felt the need to tell her that. Had he really moved so far from his position as law enforcer that he had to justify himself to his colleagues in case they suspected he might be a killer?
'It wouldn't surprise me if Mo thinks I did, though,' he said, rubbing his eyes.
'Mo likes to do things the right way. He's pissed off with you, but he still thinks you're a good cop.'
Tina was wrong. Mo didn't always have to do things the right way. Bolt remembered that at one time Mo had done things for him way above and beyond the call of duty, but that maybe now he'd grown weary of bailing his boss out.
'You look whacked, Mike.'
'I am. It's been a long day. But, you know, I don't like the idea of going home knowing there's still someone out there who's a kidnapper and a killer, and who's now at least half a million pounds richer.'
'The police here have found Phelan's car in one of the outbuildings. But no sign of Phelan.'
Bolt was surprised. He'd almost forgotten about Andrea's husband.
'I don't think it was Phelan who killed Ridgers,' he said slowly. 'I just can't see that he's the one behind this. I mean, the guy's a fly-by-night, a minor criminal, and an inveterate gambler. He's hardly a criminal mastermind.'
'But if his car's here, then why isn't he?' asked Tina. 'If he wasn't involved, I would have thought they'd've disposed of the car and the body together, because there'd be no point doing it separately.'
'I suppose so, but if he is part of this, then why did they bother killing Andrea's cleaner?'
Tina shrugged. 'Good point. God knows.'
They fell silent, and Bolt yawned.
'You'd better go in, Tina. Steve Evans won't be pleased if you're talking to me. You'll keep me posted of how things go though, yeah?'
She nodded. 'Of course I will.'
As she walked past him, she patted his arm reassuringly and he realized it was the first time in their two years working together that she'd ever touched him.
'You did a good job tonight, Mike,' she said. 'You'll be back on duty soon.'
He watched her go, thinking of all the things he'd done today, so many of which could still cost him his career. He'd been in law enforcement for twenty years. It was the only job he'd known, and despite the constraints it imposed and the huge tedium of much of the work, he loved it. If they sacked him, he had no idea what he'd do. But the fact remained, there was no way he'd have changed any of his actions because in the end, illegal or not, they had got him the one thing he wanted most: his daughter back.
He thought about Pat Phelan in the photograph with Emma and Andrea at Andrea's house, all close up together, the happy nuclear family. If he was involved, it would be a betrayal of epic proportions. Fear can make a man do some strange things, and owing big sums of money to a violent thug like Leon Daroyce was going to make someone like Pat Phelan very frightened. But even so, Bolt still didn't buy the fact that he was the man who'd escaped with the money.
