‘On closer inspection of the burnt-out vehicle I found a small hole in the fuel tank. Small enough that it could be easily missed at a glance, but big enough to allow approximately half the tank’s contents to leak out all over the ground. Which would render the vehicle unroadworthy and basically unusable until the hole was plugged or the tank replaced. But I don’t think it was being driven in that condition. I think the hole was made more recently, with something sharp. Like a very slim, needlepoint knife blade.’

‘For what reason?’

Vaughn replied, ‘Well, it could have been done deliberately to drain part of the tank’s contents into a container, such as the melted jerrycan I found on the scene. Which would imply to me that the fire was started on purpose, and not the result of a bullet accidentally getting into the electricals. The corpse might have been doused in petrol after being shot.’

‘Why would Hope do that?’

‘Potentially, to conceal the identity of the body from us. I’m not saying that’s the case. It’s just a theory, based on a hunch.’

His boss reflected on this. ‘I hear you. We’ll know soon enough, when we DNA the tissue sample and examine the teeth.’

‘The teeth alone wouldn’t necessarily prove anything,’ Vaughn said. ‘Except that Hope was able to obtain a similar denture.’

‘Where from?’

Vaughn shrugged. ‘The subject could have provided him with one. Maybe a spare that he carried with him. Again, I’m not basing that on any kind of cast-iron evidence. I wouldn’t even call it a suspicion. But it’s worth remembering who you’re dealing with here.’

His boss reflected a moment longer. ‘Good work, Vaughn. Hurry back to London with those samples. The sooner we start running these tests, the better.’

‘On my way,’ Vaughn said, and ended the call.

In London, the man whom Ben Hope knew as Saunders put down the phone and leaned back in his chair, his high forehead crinkled into a pensive frown as he weighed up what he’d been told. If his man Vaughn’s hunch was in any way plausible, the logical implications were concerning.