Death on High (The Lakeland Murders) (34 page)

‘Aye, probably, but don’t you worry about it marrer. It’s not your fault, and me mum’s delighted really. You probably did us all a favour, because he’d just have dropped down dead in a year or two otherwise.’

‘But will you be able to manage financially? I thought it wasn’t possible.’

‘With the help from a few state handouts, aye, we’ll manage. I told the wife we should have about ten kids, like you see on daytime TV, and the benefits would give us a better living than the farming job ever can. Farm a family, like. But she’s not having any of that.’

‘I know, or you wouldn’t be in the pub with me otherwise.’ They both laughed. ‘But I’m pleased for you Ben, I really am.’

Brockbank went and got another round in. Mann was glad to see that Brockbank only had a half for himself, and Brockbank saw that Mann had noticed.

‘Once a copper eh?’

‘Aye, but not always a copper Ben. I’ve got to face up to that now.’

‘Really? I’m sorry to hear that mate, really I am. So what will you do, if they don’t send you to jail and chuck away the key?’

Mann shrugged, then winced. ‘I don’t know really Ben. I’ll just see what happens over the next few weeks, then decide.’

‘And what about that Subaru? Do you get to keep it?’

‘No, they’ve taken it back. I usually drive a diesel Focus.’

‘Of course you do Ian’ laughed Ben. ‘You know I never picked you for a cop, it never once crossed my mind, but you never looked quite right in that Scooby somehow. I should have guessed.’

‘I was too old for it, that’s for sure.’

‘Maybe a bit. And I’m probably going to have to sell mine too.’

‘Why? You’ve spent a small fortune on that car.’

‘I’ll have to pay back some of the money I got from our recent night shifts marrer. My brief told me to volunteer to do it, so I have. My old man is all for us selling stuff off the farm, but there’s no way that’s happening. So the car has to go. They didn’t make those bastard bankers do that when they got caught, and it’s their bonuses that have been bidding up the price of farmland. So it’s not fair like. But you know what, I’m not bothered about selling it.’

Mann looked surprised.

‘Really marrer, I’m not. I reckon it’s time to grow up and graft a bit, now I’m a dad and all. Try to make my old man proud of me, while I still can.’