‘Quite simply because the coroner insists upon it,’ Gillard said. ‘We’ve got a modern body, with DNA, and we need to find out who he is. The wound to the neck is, according to Delahaye, unlikely to have been caused by the excavator or any other movement of the body, so we have a presumption of homicide. We’ve got familial DNA analysis, as well as mitochondrial being undertaken from the hair follicles found in the comb, and we’re looking to see if we can match them to any of the degraded hair on the head, and anything we get from Blanchard’s home. All that may take a couple of weeks.’

Rainy leafed through the folder in front of her in which were bound statements of each of the witnesses to the discovery of the body. ‘Aye, we’ve plenty of witnesses to the discovery of the body. Water engineers, workmen, and the lassie with the digger. It all looks consistent. Is it just a question of waiting for the forensics, sir?’

‘No, I’ve never believed in waiting,’ Gillard said. ‘There’s more we can do in the meantime. There’s a lot of friction between the water company and the locals over pollution, and some question over whether the original work on the site had been done correctly.’

Hoskins groaned. ‘I hate that kind of stuff.’

‘We’re sifting for motives, Carl, not policing a civil engineering project.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘The point is that if Ozzy Blanchard was driving that car, then he was terrified of something. You do not head the wrong way up a dual carriageway at rush hour unless you’re even more scared of whoever is behind you than of a fatal collision.’

‘But who was behind him?’ Rainy asked. ‘We dinnae have that information.’

‘The witness statements to the accident mention only Blanchard’s Volvo – for obvious reasons, each and every driver would have been focused on it. But that doesn’t mean to say that he wasn’t being chased, or at least wasn’t convinced he was. From the statements given by his wife, it was clear he meant to be away for a considerable time.’

‘Well, he certainly managed that,’ Hoskins said.

‘What we need to find out is what he was scared of,’ Gillard continued. ‘The fact that his boss called him at home within an hour of his leaving seems to indicate that there were some work issues. Now they may not turn out to be the crucial ones, but I think they should be investigated.’

‘I can’t imagine a water engineer getting into that kind of trouble,’ Hoskins said.

‘Up shite creek without a paddle? This is the wee laddie who installs the creeks. Seems to describe him perfectly,’ Rainy observed.