'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.
The problem now, with the other conspirators dead, was finding out who was.
Part Six
Fifty-four
Whatever doubts Bolt had about Pat Phelan's involvement in the kidnap of his stepdaughter, the fact remained that they were largely irrelevant. He was off the case and, for the moment at least, off the team.
It had been a long night. He'd been at Enfield Nick until the early hours, giving his statement to two of the local CID and taking their questions. He'd stuck to the story he'd told Steve Evans about why he'd been on the scene in the first place, but made sure he told the truth about everything else, and it soon became clear that they were treating him as a witness rather than a suspect in the murder of Scott Ridgers. Formalities complete, he'd eventually made it home a little after three a.m. and collapsed, exhausted, into his bed straight away, able to relax for the first time in close to forty-eight hours.
He slept late. It was gone eleven when he finally rose from his bed, cleaned himself up, and put on a fresh pot of coffee. There was a message on his mobile from Mo telling him that Matt Turner was still on the critical list but that the operation had been a success and the doctors were confident he was going to pull through. He also added that Emma had been debriefed and had confirmed Bolt's version of events, then finished by wishing his boss luck and hoping he'd be back on duty soon. He sounded a little contrite, and Bolt guessed that this was his apology for the way he'd been the previous day.
It was good news about Turner. He'd go down the hospital to visit him as soon as he was well enough to be seen.
As he poured the coffee and made himself a couple of slices of toast, his thoughts turned to Emma. It was a strange feeling knowing that he had a daughter who for fourteen years had grown up only a few miles away. But he felt happy about it, and hopeful too. He wanted to become a part of her life now, although he knew that this would have to wait a while, at least until she'd recovered from the worst of her ordeal.
But at the very least he needed to know how she was getting on, and when he'd finished his toast he called Andrea's landline. Marie the liaison officer answered. She sounded tired, but brightened a little when she recognized Bolt's voice.
'It's great news that we've got Emma back,' she said. 'Andrea's ecstatic, as you can imagine.'
'Is Andrea there?' he asked.
'Yes, they're both here. Do you want to speak to her?'
'Please. Just tell her it's a quick courtesy call.
I'm sure she's busy.'
'I'll go and find her. Hold on.'
Marie clearly didn't know about his suspension. In fact, it didn't seem that she'd been told much, which under the circumstances was probably no bad thing.
A few seconds later he heard the receiver being picked up. But it wasn't Andrea. It was Marie again.
'She says she's very busy at the moment, Mr Bolt. Can she call you back later?'
He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. 'No problem. I'll wait to hear from her. But Emma's fine, yeah?'
'She's asleep at the moment, but yes, she's bearing up well, although the doctors say she's quite dehydrated.'
He wanted to ask something else, to keep the conversation going in the hope that Andrea would change her mind and take the call, but he wasn't sure what, so reluctantly he said his goodbyes and hung up.
He turned on the TV and found Sky News. The main report was on the failed ransom drop. The man shot dead by police had not been named, but the young father he'd fatally stabbed had been identified as thirty-five-year-old Anthony Randolph of Waltham Abbey, Essex. A photo of him on his wedding day flashed up on the screen, followed by a photo of Matt Turner looking particularly deadpan, as the reporter described him as fighting for his life in intensive care. A camera panned round a largely empty Tottenham High Road, lined with strips of scene-of-crime tape, as the report continued, but it was clear that information was scarce, and there was no mention of the kidnapping, or of the separate but linked death of Scott Ridgers.