‘All we can say is an absolute minimum of three months to get adipocere, right up to a handful of years. We can certainly already rule him out as a historic body, simply based on the modernity of much of what we found upon him. The fillings, the comb and the bits of ballpoint. There’s enough tattered plastic around the body to make it likely he was buried in a couple of refuse bags.’

‘It’s all beginning to look coherent then,’ Gillard said.

‘Yes, we finished on the upper torso in the excavator bucket, but there’s quite a bit more fingertip-search work to do in the hole by the water’s edge. A few of us will be busy on that up to our waists until the late evening I imagine, and when we’ve finished we’ll get the excavator to dig out the last bits just in case we’ve missed anything. One more thing. The archaeologist has been pestering me to allow his volunteers to sift parts of the site while the digging is halted. The riverbank has seen some Anglo-Saxon finds in the past, and he thinks it might be a good opportunity.’

‘Only once you’ve finished at the crime scene, and assuming the water company has given permission’

‘Aqua Western is okay with it. And we’ll be done by midday tomorrow.’

‘All right then. Who knows, they might find something we missed.’

Gillard thanked Quoroshi and finished the call. The CSI chief, originally an Iraqi refugee, had proved an invaluable asset to Surrey Police over the last decade. He’d worked his way up in the forensic service which Surrey and Sussex shared, and proved his worth not only for his knowledge but also his managerial skill. Crime scene investigation is a dirty and often repellent business, and unlike some senior officials, Yaz liked to stay at the sharp end. If there was a long overnight investigation, shivering in a forensic tent in the pouring rain, you could bet your bottom dollar that Yaz would be there right through. Consequently, his staff were ferociously loyal, and would do literally anything for him.

The detective looked out of the car window. Rain was beginning to fall. He didn’t envy the job they would have to do that night.