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“If you say so. Now, if we’re that far off the mark, why don?
??t you put us straight?”
“It’s not a protection racket at all. And it’s nothing to do with drugs. Those are my private diaries. You have no right–”
“Will you stop your bleating and just answer the question, son?” shouted Reilly. “We’re in the middle of a very serious murder investigation. Do you honestly think we would have searched your house if we didn’t have reasonable suspicion of your involvement?”
When Pollard didn’t answer, Reilly continued. “If you’re innocent, now’s the time to tell us why. Believe me, we are far from over here today, and this is just the first shock coming your way.”
Pollard stood up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Sit down,” ordered Reilly. “And answer the question. What do these books represent? Books that have names, with large sums of money against them?”
Pollard finished his coffee, then sat down at the table, clenching and unclenching his fists. He seemed to be wrestling with his conscience. Reilly couldn’t work out why. If the man was innocent, why not tell them and save everybody some time? He noticed Pollard was sweating, wondering if a lack of nicotine was playing havoc with his system.
Pollard lifted his hands in resignation. “Okay.”
Gardener stopped going through the file and put it on the table.
“I’ll tell you what I know, but when I’ve done, I want out of here.”
“We don’t make bargains, Jackie lad,” said Reilly. “But I’ll tell you this and I’ll tell you no more, if you convince me of your innocence, we’ll review your situation. So, maybe you won’t be here much longer.”
“I won’t be anywhere much longer if you don’t give me some kind of protection.”
Reilly folded his arms and continued staring at Pollard.
“You say you’re not a murderer. If you know who the murderer is, then you have a duty to tell us. Once we have him, you won’t have to worry about protection, will you?”
“That’s just it. According to your desk sergeant, no one has seen him for a month.”
“Are you saying Lance Hobson is responsible for Alex Wilson’s murder?” Gardener asked.
“I have no idea who did that, but I’ll tell you what I do know, and you can make up your own mind. I’ve been clean since I came out of Armley. But I know what people round here think of me. They’re very quick to point the finger. They don’t trust me. I learned a long time ago to ignore them, let them think what they want. I know what I’m doing is right.”
“And what are you doing?”
“Those diaries contain the names of sponsors. It’s taken years for people to trust me when I say that I want to rid the city of this filth. Carrion, like Lance Hobson, that feed off the flesh of what’s left when they’ve converted them.
“The names in those books are sponsoring a massive drug rehabilitation program. They’re giving me money so that we can set up premises and clean people up, keep them clean, and at the same time, try to stamp out the likes of Hobson.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this yesterday?”
“Because I’m leaving myself open to arrest. You think I killed Wilson, and you think I’ve made Knight disappear.”
“Not to mention Hobson.”
“I lost my brother to drugs a few years ago. Sonia Knight lost her cousin more recently. They were addicts, and the man responsible is Lance Hobson. Sonia Knight has been double-crossing him for a long time now.”
“How?”
“She runs his empire. Takes care of all the finance. Invests money where he tells her. Has done for years. Now I’m not saying that she’s an angel. She started out like all of us. It’s bloody hard to resist the luxuries that the profit from drugs can bring you. But Hobson’s a bastard, just like my father was. He likes to intimidate people, threaten them. And he has a number of henchmen to do his dirty work, and snitching little bastards like Alex Wilson. If he’d got wind of what was happening, he’d have shopped Knight to Hobson, no mistake.”
“So, what part has she been playing?”
“She’s been filtering off the profits from his drug business for ages, putting the money into a bank account for the rehab centre. He thinks she’s been investing where he’s told her to, but she hasn’t. She’s been giving me the money. It’s all in those diaries there, every penny that she and everyone else has given me.”
“And to do that, I had to get Hobson on my side. I had to get him to trust me. It took a long time, but bit by bit I handed over all my customers to Hobson, and I made sure he knew about it.”
