Hail and Farewell (The Lakeland Murders) (26 page)

‘Then you’ll do it right here.’

‘All right. I was going to come down the nick later, and turn myself in, like. Your mate’s right Keith, I don’t have any receipts for skips or anything like that. I’ve been to every council tip for thirty miles and got rid of what I can, but I’ve fly-tipped five or six times this year.’

‘You bloody idiot’ said Tina. ‘The fine will bankrupt us, and I’ll be ashamed to show my face in town. And Christ knows what dad will say.’

‘All right, Tina’ said Keith, ‘hold your horses for a second. This is important Mike, so don’t even think about lying to me now, OK? The load that your wrapper was found in, did you tip that?’

‘No, like I told you I did have a skip this week. I chucked it in there, I promise. I’m not a total bloody idiot, Keith, no matter what you think. When I fly-tipped I never chucked anything that could be traced back to me, like.’

‘All right, thanks.’

‘So what happens now?’

Iredale shrugged. ‘Like you said, you need to come down to the station and make a statement.’

‘But then he’ll be charged, won’t he?’ said Tina. ‘We’ll go bankrupt, Keith, we’ll lose the house, everything.’

‘It won’t come to that. I’ll help you pay the fine. I’ve got savings. I don’t spend it all on mountain bikes and running shoes you know.’

Tina wasn’t smiling.

‘You’d bloody love that, wouldn’t you? So would dad. It would prove you both right about Mike, wouldn’t it?’

‘I am here, love’ said Gambles, mildly.

‘Worse luck. You’re a fucking idiot, getting us in a mess like this, Mike. Why didn’t you talk to me about it? We could have worked something out.’

‘Like what, eh?’ Gambles tone was firmer now. ‘You tell me, Tina. There’s been so little work this last few years lads are cutting each other’s throats for jobs. If I’d hired a bloody skip on all those jobs the kids wouldn’t have eaten. It’s that simple. So what else should I have done, eh?’

‘I could go out to work.’

‘Oh, aye? And what would I be then, a bloody house husband or whatever they’re called? Be with the kids all day? It’d do my bloody head in, would that.’

Iredale decided to intervene while he still could.

‘Listen, both of you. I tell you what we’ll do. I’ll have a word with Ian, DS Mann, and tell him what’s happened to dad. He’ll understand, and he won’t chase you for those records for a day or two. So don’t come down today, all right, Mike?’

‘I’d rather get it over with, marrer. Face the music, like.’

‘I understand. Like I said, I’ll talk to him about it. I’ll tell him what you’ve told me.’

‘You think you might be able to just get him a caution?’ asked Tina.

‘I don’t know, love. It’s not like Mike’s got a blameless record.’

‘I’ve never been done for fly-tipping though, have I?’

Iredale smiled. ‘It’s not compulsory to get the full set of convictions, Mike. You’ve not disembowelled a goat and drunk its blood either, but they don’t take that into consideration at sentencing, do they?’

‘Very nice, a drop of goat’s blood.’

‘Be serious, you pillock’ said Tina. ‘So you want us to wait on you, before Mike comes in?’

‘Aye, let’s concentrate on mum for now.’

‘Are you going into work?’

‘Of course. Dad will phone as soon as there’s any news.’

Tina shook her head.

‘Christ, Keith, you get more like the old man every bloody day. Is there anything that’d keep you away from that bloody job?’

Iredale put down his mug, and hugged his sister,

‘We’re flat-out busy, love. And not just with stupid twats like Mike dumping crappy old kitchens all over the countryside. I’m needed, it’s as simple as that.’

It was three o’clock before Bill Iredale walked into Hayton’s taxi office. The dispatcher wasn’t busy, but she still didn’t look up from her phone when Iredale pushed open the door. The two men lounging on the chairs near the door to the upstairs office both glanced up at Iredale, but only briefly.

‘I’d like to see Mr. Hayton’ said Iredale, hoping the one of the three of them would bother to reply. They didn’t. So he said it again.

‘Who are you then, marrer?’ said one of the men. ‘Mr. Hayton is a very busy man.’

‘An old friend.’

‘You’ll have to be more….’ The man hesitated. ‘What’s your fucking name?’

‘Bill Iredale.’

‘Wait’ said the man, getting slowly to his feet.

Half an hour later Iredale was still waiting. The man hadn’t been gone for long though, and he’d looked marginally more interested in Iredale when he returned.

‘He’ll see you in a bit. He told me to ask if you needed anything.’

‘What have you got?’

The man shrugged.

‘She could order you a taxi home. Or maybe an ambulance. Whichever, like.’

Iredale looked at the two men. They were both fat, but they were both under thirty. He reckoned that he could still take one of them, if he had to. But not both. Not any more, anyway.

‘I’ll wait’ he said.

‘Aye. You do that.’

A young woman opened the door and called his name. She was smiling. Iredale followed her up the stairs, and on into a meeting room. A young man, who he didn’t recognise, got up and shook hands.

‘Lee Bell. I work for Mr. Hayton.’

‘Doing what?’

‘I’m the finance director. And you used to be a policeman. Is that right?’

‘Aye, I did. Is George joining us?’

‘Not immediately. He asked me to have a brief chat first. You’ll appreciate that he’s a very busy man.’

‘And you’re not? I’d have thought it’d take you all day to count all the bloody cash coming in.’

‘I’m not a cashier, Mr. Iredale.’

‘Aye, right. Well, no offence, son, but it’s Mr. Hayton I need to talk to. I’ve been kept hanging around for bloody ages, and my wife’s in hospital in Carlisle. I haven’t got time to piss about while George shows me what a big man he is.’

‘I’m sorry to hear about your wife. How can we help?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m authorised to offer our help, Mr. Iredale. Just tell me what you need.’

‘As easy as that, like?’

‘Certainly. Mr. Hayton prides himself on helping out members of the community who’ve fallen on hard times, shall we say. Especially if they’ve been helpful to Mr. Hayton in the past. Loyalty is a watchword for him.’

‘And you want nowt in return?’

‘What do you have to offer?’

‘Information.’

‘But you’re retired, Mr. Iredale. Isn’t that right?’

‘Aye, but my son’s not. Now, can I see George?’

‘Give me just a minute, would you?’

‘Aren’t you going to check me for a wire, like?’

Bell smiled.

‘Now why would we need to do that? In any case, we already have. There’s a detector in the door frame.’

‘Bugger me. I remember the time when the most modern bit of kit George used was a pick-axe handle.’

Bell smiled and got up.

George Hayton still looked like a hard man, even in a five grand suit. He came in to the room alone.

‘Bill’ he said, holding out his hand, ‘how long has it been?’

‘I’ve been retired for coming up to six years, so that’s how long. Give or take, like.’

‘Too long. Now, what’s this I hear about your wife? Heart trouble again, is it? I did hear something.’

‘Aye. She’s in Carlisle, having tests. It doesn’t look good, like. A few months, they think that’s all she’s got.’

‘And there’s nothing they can do?’

‘No, not by the looks of it. But I’ll get a second opinion, see if anything can be done. If not, I want to give her some of the things she’s always wanted.’

‘Of course you do. Well, I’m glad you came to me. I really am. And I’ll be happy to help. You just give young Lee your bank details and I’ll have ten grand transferred before close of business today. How does that sound?’

‘I’m not after charity, George.’

‘You’d prefer it in cash? I understand, Bill, of course I do. But that’s not my style these days, marrer. Lee will give you an invoice as well, from you, for consultancy or something, and that’ll keep us all square with the bloody taxman. They’re just armed robbers without guns, that bloody lot.’

Iredale had promised Jane that he wouldn’t try to act, so he didn’t. He just came to the point. It’s how he’d always been.

‘I’ve got something for you. Information. I’d want paying, mind.’

‘Of course you would, and that’s not a problem. There are ways of putting you on the payroll. And this comes from your son, does it, this information?’

‘Aye.’

‘And what kind of money are we talking about?’

‘Fifty.’

‘That’s a lot of money, Bill.’

‘She deserves it. Best wife a bloke could ever have, and that’s a fact. Loyal, you know.’

‘I do, aye.’ Hayton didn’t take long to decide. ‘Tell you what. You get the ten now, like I said. You’ve earned it, over the years. And as to anything else, let me put a value on it, depending on what it is. Who knows, Bill, it might be worth more than fifty to me. Can you give me a clue, like?’

‘Let’s not piss about. I don’t have time. You’re interested in what those detectives from Kendal are up to, right? And you know they’re not just looking at Chris Brown’s death? They’re connecting it to you, to your whole organisation.’

‘I had heard.’

‘Well, that’s just it.’

‘What is?’

‘That you’d heard. Because the way my lad tells it, he thinks that DCI Hall and his mates reckon you’ve got a bloke on the inside, a serving officer. In the division, like.’

‘Oh, aye. What could have given them that idea?’

‘Knocking over that video bloke, and robbing his hotel room. That wasn’t smart, George. If you hadn’t done this they’d all be back in Kendal by now.’

Hayton sat back and thought. He looked angry now, and Iredale remembered that expression well enough. It had intimidated him back then, but to his surprise he found that he was curiously unconcerned now. Hayton worked hard to smile. He didn’t quite succeed.

‘Thanks for bringing this to me, Bill. And I do appreciate it. Let’s say there’ll already be a little bonus for you as well, like.’

‘That’s not all.’

‘What else?’

‘My lad thinks that Hall might have turned your man.’

‘Turned? What is this, fucking James Bond now?’

‘Hall’s a clever bastard, George. He’s not some country copper. Not like I was.’

‘Aye, so I hear. And what about his oppo then?’

‘Which one? The woman DS?’

‘No, the bloke. My daughter’s been taking a bit too much of an interest in him, as far as I can tell.’

‘I’d have to ask my lad. But he seems to like the bloke. You know he’s the one who chucked someone off a church roof out Brampton way, then killed another with his bare hands. Bit of a bloody animal, by the sounds of it.’

‘Aye, I heard. She likes strong men, does Debbie.’

‘Aye, well. So is it any use? What I’ve told you, like?’

‘That depends.’

‘On what?’

‘Whether I’ve got a man on the force. A copper on the take. If I did have I’d be interested, and if I didn’t then I wouldn’t. Not really. So what’s this Hall bloke’s game then, do you reckon?’

‘Not sure, but from the couple of things that Keith has said I reckon that they might be planning to feed you duff information through this cop. Get you to react. Do something daft. Like I say, they reckon you’ve done it before. Something daft I mean.’

‘Has it started yet? This bullshitting me, like.’

Iredale shrugged.

‘I can’t say, honestly. I wasn’t even that interested, to tell the truth. Keith talked about Hall and his mates, and I just listened. But I could probe a bit, see if I can find out any more.’

‘Aye, you do that, Bill. It won’t go unrewarded, like. Two things I need from you. Who is it, the mole? And what crap are they trying to feed me? You got that?’

‘Aye. Got it.’

‘Good. One more thing, before you go.’

‘Aye?’

‘Which hospital is your wife in? And which ward?’

Iredale tried to keep the tension out of his voice when he replied.

‘Why do you ask?’

‘I want to send some flowers, Bill. Why else would I want to know?’

Saturday, May 3rd

Jane was very glad to be at home, and Hall was even happier to have her back. For the first time since he’d parted company with his bike he was in a good mood. His knee was less swollen, and less painful too, and he was feeling surprisingly relaxed about the case. He’d woken with a strong sense that the video analysis would reveal something important, and maybe even definitive. He was also encouraged by what Jane had relaid from Bill Iredale following their clandestine catch-up meeting on Friday night. Hayton had bitten, he was certain of that, and Iredale hadn’t over-played his hand.

It was almost nine am now, and the two of them were sitting up in bed, with their laptops open. Both were working.

‘This comment that Hayton made about Debbie’ said Hall. ‘I’ve been thinking about that. How we might generate some leverage.’

Jane laughed quietly. ‘Don’t tell me that you’ve got Ian lined up as some kind of male Mata Hari, Andy. I love your imagination, don’t get me wrong, but some things are a bit of a stretch, even for you.’

‘All right, it was just a thought. All I was thinking was that if Ian was seen around a bit at the haulage yard, just talking to Debbie, that might put a bit more pressure on George Hayton. He’s just an old school thug isn’t he? Poke him with a stick a few times and he’s bound to lash out.’

‘At Ian? I can’t see that, Andy. Hayton may well buy cops, I concede that, but I can’t see him taking one on. Especially not someone like Ian.’

‘It was just a thought’ said Hall, mildly.

They worked in silence for five minutes. Jane typed like an expert, and Hall like a policeman: heavily and two-fingered, but surprisingly fast.

‘You want me to talk to Ian then?’ Jane said. ‘You do know that he’s stayed up there this weekend?’

‘Has he?’ said Hall, trying not to smile or catch Jane’s eye. Because that would have given the game away.