"I'm on your side, Joan," he says, and his voice has a veneer of anger but it's chipped and peeling over desperation. "I'm on your bloody side, you just don't know what that feels like. What do you want me to do, you want me to lie to you?"

He kicks in the door to the bathroom, crouches to put her down on the floor. Back leaning up against the tub. "There's no world in which I put a bullet in your head. Got that? Now listen, listen to me," he's on his heels, pushing her hair back from her forehead, cradling her face between two hands. "Listen, shhh. I'm gonna fix this no matter what, but you can help me speed it up. Let's make this quick, duck. Quick and easy. Please. Tell me what you know."