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Chapters (70)
  1. Cover
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  3. Map of Rutland
  4. Map of Oakham
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
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  18. 14
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  36. 32
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  38. 34
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  41. 37
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  45. 41
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  50. 46
  51. 47
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  62. 58
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  64. 60
  65. 61
  66. 62
  67. 63
  68. On Borrowed Time
  69. Acknowledgments
  70. Adam Croft

‘And what if I told you that every single other one of these companies no longer exists? They’ve all gone out of business or been sold off, closed down. Arthur Clifton Construction worked on the demolition and groundworks. They were involved in taking down people’s houses and preparing the ground for the flooding. And they’re the only company left. Anyone with a grudge would only have one company to target. One family. Roger Clifton, owner of the company? Murdered. The company passes down to his brother, who mysteriously appears back from Spain? Murdered. There’s enough here to make a link, I’m sure of it, but we’re missing something.’

‘A suspect?’

Dexter nodded. ‘Yeah. The biggest part of all.’

47

‘So what do we know?’ Dexter said, spreading a number of sheets of paper out over the table. ‘We know there are people who’re angry at what’s happened in Rutland over the years. There’s that Edward Picton guy who’s still going on about the flooding of the villages. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was our man, or if at the very least he could lead us to him. I’m still doing my best on that front, but I need to earn his trust. The fact that we can tie Arthur Clifton Construction in so heavily on this has got to be key. Roger and Arthur weren’t killed because they were brothers; they were killed because they were the owner of the only existing construction company involved.’

‘Okay, but let’s roll back. Why now? Why wait until there’s only one left?’

‘Maybe they didn’t.’

‘No. Makes no sense. These have to be the first murders. They were so blatant and obvious. Roger Clifton was laid out on the rocks and his brother was bludgeoned and strangled on his own sister-in-law’s driveway. It’s got to be a grudge against their company specifically. Shit. What about the original Arthur Clifton? How’d he die?’

‘I already checked it out. Meningococcal septicaemia and pneumonia. Not murder, if that’s what you’re getting at.’

‘So Roger and his brother are the first generation that’s been targeted, despite only being boys themselves when this all happened. How can we be so sure the link is with the creation of Rutland Water? It could be any business deal gone wrong, far more recently. There are plenty of people with grudges against construction companies.’

‘Then why Normanton Church? I agree with you. The timing’s weird. But there’s got to be a reason for that. We just need to work out what.’

‘If you’re right, we need to set up a meeting with this Edward Picton. Earn his trust. Arrange to meet him somewhere. As soon as possible. Who’s due to inherit Arthur Clifton Construction now?’

‘Yeah, Sara thought of that already.’

‘I bet she did.’

‘Situation unclear. In the hands of the lawyers.’