‘One of them caught some of my lads in the Half Moon last night. Dredging around for gossip.’ He shot the news crews a dirty look. ‘I knew there’d be a feeding-frenzy once they got wind of the drugs and hospital stuff.’

Suzie, no doubt. ‘I need to ask a few more questions about Patrick Ryan. Did he have any disagreements with anyone on site?’

Robert screwed his face up to think. ‘Not that I’m aware of. He was a good sub-foreman. The lads respected him. Knew he wasn’t from a construction background, but they liked him. It’s a busy site. There are billions of pounds riding on this project. We all have the occasional spat, but I’ve been here all the time Patrick has, and I’ve never seen anything get any further than a bit of swearing when someone’s knackered.’

My gut feeling was that he was telling the truth.

‘How did he seem recently? Anything different?’

‘He’d started helping out at some of the local youth clubs. Mentoring some of the kids and giving talks on drugs. Said he was pleased if his experiences could help them to stay safe.’ He smiled. ‘It was refreshing to see him buzzing.’ Then Robert’s face changed. ‘A couple of times he seemed agitated though. I asked if he was OK, and he said something unpleasant had happened.’

This was what Nicola had told us. ‘Did he say what?’

‘A complaint, I think. He downplayed it, but the fact he mentioned it a few times, I could tell he was shaken.’ He stared into the distance at the large crane underneath which the body had been dumped. ‘What did he say now? Something about the past “rearing its head”.’

‘Did he say which clubs he’d been volunteering with?’

Robert shook his head. ‘Sorry. There are so many round here. A lot of parents are struggling. It’s amazing how youth clubs have reinvented themselves to fill the gaps. My kids love them.’

‘That’s OK. I’ll ask about. Last thing – what are the night security arrangements here? Who’s on site?’

‘We have twenty-four-hour security. We have to. On a few occasions we’ve had the place broken into. Idiots who are bored or off their heads. Youngsters’ high jinks and showing off. We’ve had equipment vandalised. The cranes are a favourite with the urb-ex crowd, and we get graffiti on the hoardings at least once a week.’ He pointed at the latest tags, sprayed in red, purple, black, green and blue aerosol paint. He glanced over at the media. ‘On occasions, it’s targeted crime.’

‘Targeted by who?’ I thought about the flash mob.

‘Several groups have opposed the project from the start. ‘Most of it’s low-level. Placards. Loud-speakers. That sort of thing. The most vociferous are the ones who don’t understand that private developments can help fund regeneration. They think all housing should be affordable.’