‘Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a better night’s sleep than I did. We now have two corpses. Men who died in similar fashion, almost two weeks apart, the bodies being found within a mile of each other.’ He pointed to a large map pinned to the wall, then went over the circumstances of the discovery of the first body and the numerous witnesses to the splash, and referenced their witness statements, which were contained in a prepared pack on each person’s desk.

‘We still do not know for certain whether the splash was relevant to the body. Up until the discovery of the second body we did not in fact have any significant leads. That has now changed.’ He turned to the second whiteboard and described how Rollason’s body was discovered.

‘We’re awaiting a formal ID when we can get hold of his daughter, but there is little doubt from dental records who it is. I think we can all agree that with a common MO we can rule out accidental death in both cases. Neville Rollason looks to have been killed within twelve to fifteen hours of his release from prison. There are impressions of cable ties on both wrists and ankles, indicating he was bound for at least part of that time. Someone used his phone to claim he had been abducted by AVENGE.’

‘Are you now doubting that, sir?’ Rainy asked.

‘Yes. I’ll cover that in more detail when we have the conference call. The biggest immediate challenge is going to be a public relations one.’ He glanced at DI Morgan. ‘The Home Office in its wisdom sanctioned the creation of a new identity for one of Britain’s worst child-killers. The process that was used was one that had been used several times before and should have been foolproof. When we go public with the news, and I’m afraid we will have to do that within the next few hours, we’re going to need a clear narrative.’

At that moment the double doors to the room opened and the chief constable walked in. Alison Rigby’s effect was, as usual, to chill the atmosphere. She folded her tall frame onto a seat right at the back of the room.

‘Christine, what would you suggest?’ Gillard asked.

‘We have to be as transparent as we can,’ the PR officer replied. ‘The coverage is more likely to focus around why he was released in the first place and why we ever use the public purse to build someone like him a new identity. The tabloids will undoubtedly react with glee to the news that he is dead. It’s a huge embarrassment, clearly, but my instinct is that it is the Home Office and the probation people who will get it in the neck more than us.’

Morgan could be seen shaking his head slowly, more with regret than disagreement.