Endeavour2012

Chief Superintendent Bright:
[not convinced] What are you going to do? Produce some eye witness from thin air?

DC Endeavour Morse:
As a matter of fact, sir, we do have a witness. The Reverend Monkford.

DS Peter Jakes:
[almost jokingly] Shall I send back to the station for a Ouiji board?

DI Fred Thursday:
[knowing Jakes' intention] All right Jakes.

DC Endeavour Morse:
He's left us a message. It's been staring us in the face all along.

Chief Superintendent Bright:
What message?

[Morse points at the Hymn board, which has the numbers 74, 17, 18 and 19 on it]

Chief Superintendent Bright:
Hymn numbers?

DC Endeavour Morse:
Actually, sir, that's the last thing they are. The first time I saw it, I thought it odd to have 17, 18 and 19 following on like that. The last time I saw Monkford, he hinted to leave a message. Something that might speak for him. Even if he wrote down what he knew and hid it somewhere, it might be found. And someone did search the vicarage the night he was killed looking for exactly that. Fearful for his life and afraid the truth would die with him, Monkford concealed the killer's identity in the hymn numbers.

Chief Superintendent Bright:
Concealed?

DC Endeavour Morse:
I've since found out that Monkford worked on ciphers during the war.

DI Fred Thursday:
You're saying these hymn numbers are some sort of code?

DC Endeavour Morse:
Exactly, sir. Only, I couldn't find the key until now. Actually, it was Strange who hit upon the answer.

[Strange looks surprised but says nothing]

DC Endeavour Morse:
Before taking the cloth, the Reverend Monkford read Chemistry at Beaufort College. You'll find a copy of the Periodic Table hanging in his home.

DI Fred Thursday:
Isn't that a list of the elements, Hydrogen, Carbon, Helium?

Chief Superintendent Bright:
Yes, yes of course.