here.’
Hodder looked slightly surprised at being consulted. ‘Don’t mind me,’ he said, after a pause. ‘Wouldn’t trust Salter any further than I could throw him.’
‘No way to talk about your elders and betters,’ Brennan said. ‘Interesting you think that, though.’
‘He got me tangled up in that Kerridge business,’ Hodder said. ‘Had me tailing one of our undercover officers, Marie Donovan. I went along with it because – well, because he was senior to me, I suppose. I thought he’d got it officially sanctioned, but he was off on his own. He covered for me, but mainly because he had to make his own story hang together. Didn’t feel right, though. Still doesn’t.’
‘How’d you mean?’
‘I don’t know. The whole thing with Kerridge. Salter came out of it looking good. But there was something not right about it.’ He shook his head, as if dealing with a subject beyond his comprehension.
Wakefield had been watching this dialogue with some interest. ‘So what’s Salter’s interest in Kenning? The guy grassed on a small-time drug ring.’
‘Salter reckons it wasn’t all that small-time. That it was part of Kerridge’s empire. And that Kenning was taken out by Pete Boyle, the guy who’s trying to become the new Kerridge.’
‘Anything’s possible,’ Wakefield said. ‘Boyle marking his territory? Tomcat pissing up the wall sort of stuff?’
‘Warning off the competition. Yeah.’
‘So what’s your role in all this?’
‘Evidence officer. They’re still trying to build a case against Boyle. Some days I just think he’s come up with half-arsed task to keep me out of trouble. Then I think maybe he’s using me. If anything comes of it, he can claim the glory. If it goes tits up or if you lot get arsey, he can always just blame me.’
‘The perfect scapegoat,’ Wakefield agreed. ‘So what do you reckon? Does Salter’s theory have legs?’
‘It’s not completely off the wall. Three incidents of small-timers killed by oddly professional murderers. Look at this one. You might expect Kenning to be taken out eventually, but a pro hit seems more than he merited.’
‘Maybe,’ Wakefield agreed. ‘Though God knows you can’t always fathom the logic of these people. These other cases, they look like pros too?’
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