‘Right, so I’ve been digging deeper into the history. I think you’re right. This is symbolic in some way. The church, the crucifixion pose, the Sunday morning. But I don’t think it’s a religious thing. I think it’s a history thing.’

‘Go on.’

‘So the church isn’t a church anymore, right? That kind of wipes out the religious aspect in my mind. There are a ton of churches in Rutland, and loads of them are pretty isolated at night so it’d be much easier to dump a body at one of those. Our killer, though, chose this location. Even though it’s bloody impossible to get into overnight and it’s a tourist hotspot. They went to a lot of effort. That tells me this place is symbolic. I think the choice of location and the crucifixion pose, the timing — all that — was symbolic of what this place was rather than what it is.’

Caroline blinked a couple of times. ‘Right. Now bear in mind I’ve only had two cups of coffee this morning.’

Dexter smiled. ‘And you’re getting on a bit.’

Caroline laughed. ‘Piss off. Now, tell me in English.’

‘Alright, so basically I think we need to look more closely at the history. There’s a ton of it round that area. The lost villages, the deliberate flooding, the public opposition, deconsecrating and saving the church, all of that. It totally divided opinion back then. I think it’s probably safe to say it’s been good for the area in the long run because it’s brought tourism and stuff, but there’s still a generation of people who are a bit sore about it all.’

‘Wasn’t this in the early seventies?’ Caroline asked.

‘Late sixties, early seventies, yeah.’

‘That’s fifty years ago. If we’re looking for someone who was old enough at the time to still hold a grudge now, then by your logic our killer is a pensioner who fills his spare time between episodes of Homes Under The Hammer by carrying dead bodies halfway across Rutland in the middle of the night. Besides, why wait until now if they’ve been holding a grudge for fifty years? I’m not sure I buy it.’

‘Me neither. And that’s why we need to look further into it. Get a bit of context, if nothing else.’

‘I get that, Dex. And I appreciate it. But we have to prioritise. We need to speak to Roger Clifton’s staff and colleagues. And the council. And his family. We’re far more likely to find motives there than we are reading history books. Know the victim, find the killer. That’s my motto.’