“Have you any idea what happened to Samir after you left the gang?”

“Not really. He was still there when I left, and I heard most of them stayed with the Albanians. Why not? I mean, nothing changed but the personnel at the top and the place they operated out of. Maybe he even paid more than Lenny G. Easier for him not to have to start right from scratch again when he already had a crew that knew the routine.”

“And Samir was still living in the council house with the others when you left?”

“Yeah. They was all set to move somewhere else, though. Kit’s dad was due to come out of jail.”

“Do you know where they moved to, or where the new center for the lines is?”

“No, man. That was after I’d gone. Didn’t know, didn’t want to know. I didn’t look back. I can’t tell you anything more.”

“When did this all happen?”

“It all started about a month ago.”

“And Samir was still working the Malton line when you left?”

“Yeah.”

“Any idea when they might have moved him over to Eastvale?”

“No. But it takes time to make the changes and redo the setup. You need the lines, the trap houses, the cuckoos. I mean, most of it was already there, in place, but whenever someone new comes in they like to do it their own way, don’t they? And I might not have been the only one who split. I’d say at least two or three weeks to get everything reorganized and back in smooth running order. Maybe a month.”

“Can you direct us toward anyone who’s still working out there?”

“No. I told you, I don’t know how the Albanians have reorganized it all. I don’t know nothing about them. I don’t stay in touch. And I won’t shop my old mates.”

Banks wasn’t certain that he believed Greg knew nothing, but he didn’t think he was likely to get much more out of him. The kid was clearly scared and desperate to hold on to the fragile new life he had made for himself. “It seems as if Samir got your old gig, Greg. We’re pretty sure he was working the Eastvale line out of Howard Stokes’s house when he was killed—or he was about to take it on, at any rate.”

“What’d they do to him?”

“Stabbed,” said Banks.

“Poor sod. But I thought you said Howard was dead?”

“We’re not quite sure of the sequence of events, but we believe they both died around the same time. A week ago Sunday.”

“The Albanians?”

“Maybe. But why?” Banks asked.

Greg shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe Sammy was skimming, though I’d have thought he’d know better than that after being trained by Lenny G.”

“Did Samir take drugs?”

“He did a little coke. I think it was mostly a matter of being like one of the big boys, you know, to fit in, be one of the lads. I mean, I don’t think he had a serious habit or anything.”