Chapter 17

‘We're going to need a specialist in religious iconography,' Nightingale said. ‘Is there anyone in the NCA who might be able to help?'

Linus cleared his throat.

‘I'll make some calls,' Poe said. ‘Someone on the Russian desk will be able to help. The Russians love their Jesus tattoos.'

Linus cleared his throat, louder this time.

‘Will you stop that?' Poe snapped. ‘Either suck a Locket or piss off somewhere we can't hear you.'

‘I think Linus wants to say something, Poe,' Bradshaw said.

‘Tough luck. This isn't playschool; not everyone gets to have a go.'

‘This man had a deep understanding of Christianity,' Linus said, ignoring him. ‘There are no conflicting images here.'

‘I told you—'

‘Let him speak, Poe,' Nightingale cut in. Then to Linus, ‘What do you mean, "this man had a deep understanding of Christianity"?'

‘There's no fluff,' Linus replied. ‘Nothing superficial. All these tattoos are deeply significant.' He pointed at the laptop. ‘May I?'

Nightingale handed it over without a word. Linus clearly knew his way around computers and it wasn't long before he had blown up some of the dead man's tattoos.

‘There are a lot of crosses and crucifixes, right?' he continued.

‘What's the difference?' Nightingale asked.

‘A crucifix is a cross with Jesus on it, a cross is symbol free.'

‘I didn't know that,' she said. ‘Please, go on.'

‘This one here' – Linus tapped a solid black tattoo: three crosses, all different sizes, all touching each other – ‘has a dual meaning. It represents the three aspects of God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but it also symbolises Christ and the two others crucified with him at Golgotha.'

Linus expanded another cross. This one was upside down.

‘This is the Petrine Cross, and it doesn't, as many people assume, represent anti-Christian sentiment or Satanism. It's associated with Peter the Apostle who, after being sentenced to death, requested the cross was put in the ground upside down as he didn't feel worthy of being crucified the same way as Jesus. It's come to mean humility before God.'

Linus swiped to a new photograph.

‘The one on his elbow, the eye enclosed in a triangle surrounded by rays of light, is the Eye of Providence,' he continued. ‘It signifies how God watches over humanity. The Greek letters on his left shoulder come from Revelations: "I am Alpha, and I am Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End". There's even a peacock.'

‘Peacocks are Christian symbols?' Nightingale said.

‘They are. You really have to know your stuff, but Ancient Greeks believed peacock flesh didn't decay after death. Early Christians adopted it as a symbol of immortality.'

Poe looked at him shrewdly. He wondered if Linus was giving away more than he intended. Flynn said he'd read theology at Durham. But, instead of using it as a stepping stone to become ordained, or a chaplain, a teacher or youth worker, he'd found a job with the National Audit Office. That didn't make sense. But listening to Linus reminded Poe there was another career choice for bright people with an in-depth knowledge of Christianity. He wondered if he would be able to prove it. His phone rang, an unrecognised number. He answered it.

‘Sergeant Poe?'

‘Speaking.'

‘My name is Peter Overton and I'm calling on behalf of the Bishop of Carlisle. He was wondering if you could do him a huge favour?'

‘I'm listening.'

Overton explained what the favour was. Poe smiled, the seeds of a plan already starting to take root. ‘That's fine,' he said.

‘Who was that, Poe?' Bradshaw asked, when he'd ended the call.

‘Tell you later.'

‘OK,' Nightingale said. ‘It seems this man was serious about being a Christian. Was it why he was killed? Is the convention a coincidence?'

‘Should we focus on the victim this time, ma'am?' Poe said. ‘I know we usually profile the perpetrator, but in this case finding the killer might be easier once we've identified a motive.'

‘And we'll hammer the forensics and the witness statements,' she agreed. ‘Meet you in the middle somewhere.'

‘Sounds good.'

‘What time are you seeing the bishop?'

Poe checked his watch. ‘Soon.'

‘Will you be asking him about this?'

‘Oh, I have lots of questions for the Bishop of Carlisle,' he said.

And I might be able to get answers to something else at the same time, he thought.