A Rush of Blood

Twenty-seven

‘You know, son,’ Ken Green drawled, frowning at Haddock across his desk, ‘I was being nice to you yesterday when I agreed to see you, but I have a busy practice, and limited free time, so this is pushing it.’

‘Your cooperation is appreciated, sir,’ said Jack McGurk. ‘That said, there are times in this job when I feel like a dentist.’

‘Oh aye? Why’s that?’

‘It’s because getting information from so-called cooperative people can be like drawing teeth. You’d have been much nicer to my colleague yesterday if you’d told him everything about your client’s involvement in the massage parlour business.’

‘The boy asked me questions. .’

Haddock leaned forward. ‘Excuse me, sir,’ he began, ‘but am I right in thinking that it’s best for someone in your profession to have decent relations with the police?’

‘Yes, you probably are.’

A look came into the DC’s eyes, a look that neither of the two men in the room had ever seen before. ‘In that case, sir,’ he went on, his tone low and even, ‘you should be aware of this. The next time you call me “son”, or “the boy”, you’ll be making an enemy for life. If that doesn’t seem like much of a threat to you, think on this; all things being equal, in twenty years’ time you’ll still be in the lawyering game, doing pretty much what you do now. And I’ll still be a police officer, still lifting your clients. But chances are I’ll be a bit further up the ladder. Maybe I’ll be a DS, like my colleague here, or maybe we’ll both be a notch or two higher. But even if I’m not, even if I’m still a humble detective constable, I will make it my business to shit on you at every opportunity. Can we be clear about that?’

Green glared at him, but Haddock held his gaze, unblinking, until the solicitor looked away. ‘That can cut both ways,’ he growled. ‘Wait till the day I get you in the witness box.’

‘I’m sure there will be a few of those. I repeat. Are we clear?’

‘We’re clear.’ The reply was almost a snarl.

‘Good.’ The DC glanced at his sergeant. ‘Sorry, Jack, I had to get that off my chest.’

‘You beat me to it by about half a second, Sauce. Now, Mr Green, to business and to what you failed to volunteer to us yesterday. Since you helped Mr Zaliukas set up his offshore company, and buy the former Manson premises, he’s continued to make acquisitions in that sector. Four more, in fact. Were you involved in those transactions?’

The lawyer sighed. ‘I was. My client instructed me to make formal offers to the owners of the premises in each case.’

‘We know where Tommy got the money for the first buys, but where did the cash for these come from?’

‘From the operating profits of the first eight businesses.’

‘With bank support?’

‘No; they were all straight cash buys.’

‘The sales went ahead, so we know that deals were done, but were all your offers accepted immediately?’

‘One was accepted on the spot, one a little later. There was negotiation on the other two, but terms were agreed.’

‘And was that negotiation carried out by you, or was a third party involved, possibly a man called Valdas Gerulaitis, Zaliukas’s cousin?’

‘I’ve got no knowledge of that. All I know is that in each case I was contacted by the seller, who said that he was now willing to deal.’

‘Were you aware that one of these places, in Polwarth, caught fire, and another, in Lauriston, was flooded out, not long before the sales happened?’

‘Of course not.’

McGurk smiled. ‘Neither were we, to be honest, until I asked a few questions of my colleagues in fire and rescue earlier on today. Did you know that another initially reluctant seller, a guy called Kenny Bass, was the victim of a hit and run accident not long before you and he came to terms?’

‘I’ve no knowledge of any of that stuff. Look,’ he protested, ‘Tomas ran his pubs and clubs like clockwork, but as far as I know he kept his hands well off the other places.’

‘What do you know about Gerulaitis?’

‘Nothing!’ He hesitated. ‘Well, I know he was Tomas’s cousin, and I know that when Tomas went to Uruguay to set up the company, he took him with him for. . well, for company.’

‘Were you there too?’ Haddock asked.

‘No. That wasn’t necessary; I made all the arrangements through an agent.’

‘Since yesterday, have you had any instructions about the running of these businesses?’

Green shrugged. ‘Who’s to give me instructions? Regine, I suppose, but that’s hardly going to be at the top of her to-do list right now.’

‘Not necessarily Mrs Zaliukas,’ said McGurk.

The lawyer’s eyes narrowed. ‘What do you mean by that?’ he challenged. ‘Who else would Tomas have left his piece of the company to?’

‘I’m not free to tell you that, but I do know that it isn’t her, or their children. All I will say is that while you might have been able to maintain your innocence before, you might find it more difficult from now on.’