Deadline

'But surely the kidnappers'll find them?'

'Eventually they will, yes, if they know what they're looking for.'

'Which they do, Mike. You know they do.'

'But we're not going to let them run with this money for long. We'll be following you the whole way as you deliver it. There'll be surveillance teams travelling in front of you and behind.

There'll also be helicopter back-up. There's no way you're going to be in any danger.'

'I'm not worried about me, Mike, I'm worried about Emma. We're putting her life in danger here, and I can't stop thinking about it.'

'Look, we'll keep back so we're not noticeable, and you'll be wearing a mike so we can monitor any conversation you have, and a tracking device so we don't lose you either. Mo, can you put them on for Andrea?'

Mo nodded curtly, and attached the devices to Andrea's blouse while Bolt continued.

'When you've delivered the money and withdrawn from the scene, we'll track the money to its destination. The kidnappers may put the money in a different bag but they won't have a chance to check half a million pounds in cash for trackers. We'll then follow them and the money to that destination and arrest them there.'

'But what if Emma isn't there? What if they're hiding her somewhere else?'

It was the big question, one that Bolt really didn't want to think about, because it represented the biggest flaw in their plan.

'The chances are she will be, Andrea. If all the kidnappers are involved in the drop – and given that there are only two of them, three at the most, they probably will be – then they won't want to leave her alone for long, I promise you.'

'It's all chances and likelys though, isn't it, Mike?' she said as Mo moved aside. 'That's the problem. There are no guarantees. They've already killed Jimmy. What if they kill Emma too?'

Bolt could have added that they'd also killed her cleaner, but he didn't. Back at the Glasshouse it had been decided not to tell Andrea about this latest development until after the ransom drop, because of how it might affect her mental state.

'There are no guarantees, Andrea. Not in something like this. But you've got to trust us. We know what we're doing.' He decided to change the subject. 'Have you ever heard of anyone by the name of Scott Ridgers?'

She lit a cigarette with shaking hands, and blew out a thin plume of smoke. 'No. Should I have? Who is he?'

Bolt told her about the possible connection. When he'd finished, she looked shocked.

'You're not saying this has got anything to do with what happened all those years ago, are you?'

'It's possible. We can't find him at the moment.'

'Was it common knowledge that I told you about the robbery, then?' She glanced at Mo as she spoke. 'I swore you to secrecy.'

'And I kept it secret, I promise. It's just a possibility that he's involved.'

'I only ever met a couple of Jimmy's friends, and I don't remember a Scott Ridgers,' she mused.

'Fair enough,' he said, not entirely able to mask the disappointment in his voice. He wasn't totally surprised. Ridgers was a vague lead at best, and now he was beginning to get vaguer.

It was a long shot, but he pulled out of a pocket an A4-sized copy of Scott Ridgers' latest mugshot and unfolded it.

'This is a photo of him.'

The moment she took it, her eyes widened.

'I know him,' she said simply.

Thirty-nine

'He's done work in the garden here before,' said Andrea, still staring at the photo. 'For the firm I use. I've seen him here a couple of times.'

Bolt looked at Mo. His colleague's face was impassive.

'What's the name of the firm?'

' Brandon Landscapes. I've got a business card with all their details round here somewhere.'

She got up and rummaged round in the top drawer of the pine cabinet next to the sofa until she found what she was looking for.

'And when did you see the man in the photo here?'

'He's only been here recently,' she said, handing Bolt the card. 'In the last few weeks. I hadn't seen him before that.'

'Did he act suspiciously at all?' asked Mo, speaking for the first time.

Andrea shook her head, sitting back down. 'No. Just did his job.'

'Did he ever come inside the house?'

'No. I never let any of the gardeners inside the house. There was never any need. And also, quite a few of the people who work for Mike Brandon have criminal records.'

Bolt raised his eyebrows. 'Really?'

'The idea's to help them get back on their feet.

I've always thought it was a good idea but, you know, I'm not entirely stupid. I'm not going to give them the run of the place. Not with their backgrounds.' She picked up the photo again. 'God, do you really think he might be involved?'

Bolt suddenly wished he wasn't, after what Bouchera and Richardson had both said about him, but he nodded. 'Yes, I do. And it shows we're on the right track.' He glanced at Mo as he said this.

Bolt looked at the card Andrea had given him and saw that Brandon was a local Hampstead firm.

'Well, we're going to need to get on to them straight away and see if they've got any other contact details for Mr Ridgers.'

He stood up and excused himself and Mo.

As soon as they were out in the hall, Bolt let out a deep breath. He turned to his colleague, hoping for some form of acknowledgement that he'd been right to follow up the lead.

'I still don't agree with how you went about it,' he said grudgingly.

'This is my daughter we're talking about,' Bolt hissed, leaning close to Mo. 'I had no choice. And now we're getting somewhere, aren't we? Because this is way too coincidental. Ridgers is involved. No question.'

'OK, but we still don't know where he is and we haven't got a lot of time to find him.'

Bolt nodded. 'But I was right to do what I did.'

He turned away before Mo could say anything else and dialled the number for Brandon Landscapes. The call went straight to message and he left one, asking Mike Brandon to get back to him urgently. Then he called Big Barry and gave him the news.

Barry seemed to forget his earlier irritation with Bolt, and praised him for his good work. 'We don't want to put out an alert in case any local copper tries to nick him before he's picked up the money. But it's good to be able to put a name to one of them, Mike. Well done.'

Matt Turner emerged from the study as Bolt came off the phone.

'Any chance of getting relieved here, boss?' he asked. 'I'm going stir crazy.'

'Don't worry,' Bolt told him wearily, 'this is all going to be over soon.'

He wasn't sure what else to say so he left Turner and Mo there and went and stood out in the garden. He had a strong need to get away from everyone. It was a beautiful early autumn afternoon, with only a few wispy strands of cloud and aircraft trails crossing an otherwise perfect azure sky, but he was unable to enjoy the solitude. Like Andrea, he couldn't stand the waiting. It gave him far too much time to think, and the fact that his hunch had paid off was proving to be a doubleedged sword. As Barry had said, it was good to be able to ID one of the kidnappers, but the fact remained that he'd also been accused of being a paedophile, and he was quite possibly holding Bolt's daughter. That thought made relaxation of any kind impossible.

He paced the garden for quite a while, then went back inside. He could hear Mo, Turner and Marie talking quietly in the study but couldn't make out what they were saying. Not wanting to interrupt them, he knocked on the living-room door and was unsurprised to see Andrea still in her seat, smoking.

'You know what?' she said through the smoke, without looking at him. 'The contents of that bag…' She motioned with a flick of her head towards the holdall on the floor. 'It's just a load of fucking paper, isn't it? I've spent my whole life trying to earn as much as I can of those little bits of paper, and all for what? A nice big house. A big car. A daughter I might never see again…'