9
Caroline and Dexter drove out to Empingham, a village on the eastern side of Rutland Water — and home to Alice Clifton.
Dexter looked over at Caroline a couple of times as she drove, prompting her to ask him if something was on his mind.
‘No, nothing,’ he said. ‘Just I’ve got a couple of interesting facts about Empingham and I was trying to work out if you were in an “Oooh that’s interesting” mood or a “Piss off and leave me alone” mood.’
Caroline chuckled. ‘Fire away, Dex. I’d love to hear them.’
‘Alright. Well, first up, Empingham’s protected from certain destruction only by a wall. To be more specific, a dam. It forms the eastern edge of Rutland Water. You can walk along it. If it wasn’t there, the Empingham valley to the east would flood, along with the village.’
‘Very good. Al
