‘How do you get the stuff in there?’ I looked up. Above the tank a big metal grid, like an old-fashioned laundry airer, hung on chains.

‘If you stand aside a minute, I’ll show you.’ He grabbed one of three levers on the side of the tank. ‘This one raises and lowers the grid,’ he demonstrated. The chains squeaked and rattled as the grid went up and down. ‘This one opens and closes the lid.’ He pulled the second lever and the two metal halves of the lid closed in a neat seam over the top of the tank.

‘And what does that one do?’ I asked, pointing at the third.

‘Ah, this is the one you have to watch,’ he told me. ‘Mind your head, it swings out a bit suddenly. This lever swings the whole rig out sideways. Then you can lower it to the ground to put whatever you want to go in the tank on the grid …’

‘And then raise it with the other lever and swing it back again,’ I completed for him.

‘That’s it,’ he said. ‘Want a go?’

I took over the levers and played happily for a couple of minutes, raising and lowering the rack and swinging it into place until the novelty wore off.

‘It’s a bit risky isn’t it, using this stuff?’ I asked. ‘It burns horribly, caustic soda.’

‘When I put the tank in, I had to lay a special drain,’ he explained. ‘If you don’t dispose of the waste properly you can get a big fine.’

‘What would happen if you fell in?’

‘You’d never get out again, that’s for sure. Left there long enough, you’d dissolve.’

I suspected him of pulling my leg. ‘Seriously?’

‘It used to be used for disposing of animal carcasses − human ones too, I expect, on the quiet. I heard a story once about a bloke who fell in a tank and couldn’t get out. They found him next morning − nothing but jelly.’

I took a step back, shuddering. In the safety of the workshop once more, my thoughts returned to Nick. ‘Will you phone me when you’ve seen him tonight?’

‘Don’t worry.’ He gave a sudden grin. ‘Perhaps these guys won’t come back. It sounds like you made a good job of scaring them off.’

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

When I got back to the house I still had to unload Nick’s boxes. As I was making my fifth trip from the van to the front door with my arms full, Adam came out to give me a hand and told me I could store them in a space under the stairs. I began to feel a lot happier. Then Kate came out from the kitchen and asked me if I’d like a spicy vegetable pasty for my supper and my happiness bordered on ecstasy.