‘Not much question as to how poor Julian met his maker. Look.’

Jazz and Patrick peered at the bloodstains marking the side of the trunk behind Julian’s head.

‘A massive blow to the back of the head.’ Chapman picked up one of Julian’s hands. ‘See, the palm is covered in scratches and has a layer of white dust on it.’ Chapman checked the other palm, which was identically covered. He looked behind him at the steep cellar stairs. ‘I’d say from the look of his hands and the bruising on his forehead, that he was hit from behind as he was walking down the stairs. He fell head-first. The dust on his palms looks like he reached out to break his fall, which would mean he was still conscious, if only for a few seconds, before he was hit again.’ Chapman went back to examining the back of Julian’s head. ‘I’d say he was struck at least three or four times.’

Jazz swallowed, feeling nauseous in the confined space with its fetid air. ‘With what? Any idea?’

‘Something with a sharp edge, such as an axe, or perhaps a meat cleaver. This was a frenzied attack. Nasty.’ He turned round, bent down and started to study the cellar floor, just a few feet in front of the stairs. ‘Can you see, there are some bloodstains here, too? Looks like our murderer finished him off on the floor, then dragged his body into the trunk.’

‘How long has he been dead, would you say?’

‘Can’t really tell until I’ve done the PM, because the heat in here is intense. The body has deteriorated faster than it would usually.’

‘The boiler was off this morning for a few hours due to a burst pipe,’ Jazz said. ‘Julian’s been missing since Tuesday evening.’

‘Then at a guess I would say he died pretty soon after that; latest, early hours of Wednesday morning. Bonnetti, get the lads to bring a stretcher. Let’s get Julian out of here and give him some dignity. I’ll have a poke around down here, take some samples from the floor and the trunk, see if our murderer has left anything of himself behind.’

‘Where are you taking him?’ Jazz asked.

‘I’ve already called the coroner in Norwich and Julian’s going there. Doubt it’ll be as state of the art as my own, but I’ll get by, I’m sure.’

‘How soon can you get back to me? We really have to move very fast on this one.’

‘When I’ve finished here, I’ll get straight onto it. I should have a report for you by tonight, but I’m not expecting much more than I’ve already told you as regards cause of death. If I pick up any juicy DNA samples, I’ll let you know.’

‘Thanks, Martin.’

‘I think we’re all done here.’ As Patrick turned and began walking up the stairs Jazz crossed to the trunk and bent down to study the initials embossed on the front.

R.M.M.

There might be other boys in Fleat House with those initials, but Rory Millar would fit the first and last names.