Ah, he was on loan from York. That meant they'd take him back at some point, Malachi hoped.

"If I waste your time, it's by no intention of mine, Constable Roberts," he assured with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"And I do not want you to arrest the man until you've found evidence of his crimes. But if the road to justice starts with a report, I will gladly answer to the best of my abilities."

It was a load of shit, that's what it was. He'd never set eyes on Benjamin Ward, and if he had, he'd not been memorable enough to file any reports about. Whatever feud stewed between the Longbottoms he'd met and the Wards he hadn't, it was not one that Malachi had much knowledge of.