‘So you had me leave somewhere that might still be perfectly safe, on the off chance that some little shit on a street corner says he knows where I am? I pay you for quality information, Detective Anderson, not a half-arsed rumour. Anyway, as you know, people don’t tend to feel inclined to speak up against me too often.’

‘Owen Carter did,’ said Anderson, regretting it as soon as he spoke the words.

Bolton scowled, eyes narrowing. ‘Mr Carter was … unfortunate. He made some bad choices that didn’t work out too well for him. You, on the other hand, have made good choices, so far.’

The last two words hung in the air. Had anyone else spoken them Anderson would have been on the offensive, asking if they were threatening an officer. He’d seen first-hand what Bolton was willing to do to a police officer, and asked himself, not for the first time, what the hell he had been thinking to do a proverbial deal with the devil. His deal had been struck with Alexander Locke, but in his own way Locke was more of a monster than the behemoth sitting in front of him.

A black-and-white photograph flashed across his mind. Post-divorce days, hazy drunken nights and bleary-eyed mornings. One small moment of weakness leading to one major lapse in judgement. A call to a number found online, the petite brunette at his door an hour later, the need for physical contact, fuelled by single malt, overcoming any hesitancy. The burning shame the morning afterwards, multiplied a hundredfold when Locke’s man approached him soon after. The copied birth certificate saying she was fifteen. The feeling of falling down the rabbit hole with no means of return. The money he had been paid since had helped cover his alimony, but it was a sweetener, nothing more. They had him by the balls. He wasn’t even sure they’d let him go when he retired. That was a bridge he would have to cross soon, but soon seemed like a lifetime away for now.

Anderson tried to placate him. ‘You pay me to keep you one step ahead. I might not know where they’re heading, but I know where they’re not.’ He tapped his finger against the armrest of his chair. ‘Here. And if you’re here then you’re safe.’

‘And you know this how?’

‘Because this was one of the places I was sent to look for you, and because I called in the all-clear before you turned up. As far as the rest of them are concerned, I’ve searched this place from top to bottom.’

Bolton flashed a begrudging smile. ‘Well, what do you know, maybe you’re good value after all?’