Gregory Pryor is a private investigator who used to work for the police; he refused to say why he left. In June 2007, Nicola Laredo asked him to investigate her husband, Hector. She wanted a divorce, but due to their prenup, she wouldn't get anything out of the proceedings without evidence that he was cheating on her.
Hector worked for the IT department of a shipping and delivery company based in Liverpool Street. He started to make the excuse that he had to work late and Gregory followed him. Hector went to Barking, then went south over the A13 and eventually arrived in an industrial estate. In one of the warehouses on River Road, he went into a warehouse marked 'For Sale'. A red SUV pulled up and two Ukrainians in tracksuits spoke to him. After a short exchange, they gave Hector a white package, probably of heroin, while Hector gave them a brown envelope full of money.
Later, when Gregory was still tailing Hector, he lost the briefcase. He returned to the Ukrainians to explain, but they just gave him a note with an address and a message: "Ask for Jared". The next day, Nicola told Gregory that Hector had not returned home last night and that she needed confirmation that he was dead, if he was. She agreed to pay Gregory a large sum of money to get evidence of his death.
Gregory went to the address from the note, which turned out to be a butcher's shop in Stockwell. Although meat dripped in the window, there was nothing inside. Past a thick, soundproof steel door was the backroom, inside which was a table with a tarpaulin over it. Removing the tarpaulin, Gregory found Hector, whose waxy skin suggested that he was dead. After taking a few photos he turned to leave, but saw a tall, bulky figure at the door to the building. He hid in a nearby locker and saw the 7-foot-tall man with too thick limbs walk in.
This man, most likely Jared, removed the tarpaulin from Hector and proceeded to reach inside him and pulled out a few of his ribs. As he did this, Hector awoke and screamed. Jared twisted the ribs as though they were warm putty in his hand and crafted a braid. He shook his head and pulled back one of the floor tiles to reveal a glistening, teeth-lined hole.
Hector quickly lost consciousness, but for the next four hours Jared removed his bones, changed their shape and threw them into the hole. He even removed Hector's femur, fashioned it into a spiral and placed it in himself. Hector eventaully died, and Jared sighed in disappointment. He dismembered the body and threw it down into the hole, then sat down and closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, Gregory crept out of the locker and went to the door. As he opened the thick steel door, an ambulance drove past, sirens blaring. Jared leapt up and charged towards him. Gregory was able to close the door on Jared, but not before Jared grabbed his arm, removing the bones therein.
The police didn't find Jared, but Nicola was happy with the result. His arm was eventaully amputated, although he sometimes feels like it's still somewhere, moving in someone else's arm.
Post-Statement Follow-Up
Jonathan Sims believes that this is clearly the Jared Hopworth from MAG 17. Although there's no account of the book, it's possible that Jared doesn't need it anymore. Jonathan isn't sure what to make of the pit, but mentions that it puts him in mind of other meaty cases.
Gregory emigrated to New Zealand in 2015 following a tax evasion scandal. Nicola confirmed the details of the case, but Martin let slip some of the more gory details of Hector's death to the widow and Jonathan suspects another complaint might be on the cards soon.
(Not-)Sasha is having problems with her computer and it has broken down again, so she is unable to look into police reports. Tim used his connections (romantic involvements with two people in the police force) to get a copy of the police records, which explains that clothing belonging to at least 14 people was recovered, including 5 missing persons. There was nothing under the floor except the body of Harry Goth, the owner of the establishment who has been dead for 6 months.
Jared Hopworth is still at large.
Supplemental
Jonathan explains that Elias is hard to pin down: he was a drug user at university who gained a 3rd in PPE at Christchurch, however now he's a high rising head of the Institution; what changed? James Right, his predecessor, was the head from 1973 to 1996. Gertrude was the only person who had been there longer than him, did she know something about him that he needed hidden?