‘We weren’t aware that the owner needed planning permission to renovate a house internally. There are no structural or external changes being made, beyond replacing roof tiles as necessary.’

He gave a mirthless laugh. ‘After those houses have stood empty all this time? For several decades, in fact! I find it hard to believe that no structural changes are needed, whether internal or external.’

‘The exteriors of the houses were properly maintained during that period and stayed watertight.’

‘Nonetheless, I’d like to see for myself what’s going on.’

‘Are you calling me a liar? Because if so, I’ll consult our lawyer and you’ll definitely have to go through him before you try to push your way into our houses for a reason I would consider sheer nosiness. Are you just prying …’ she paused, letting the final words follow slowly and emphatically, ‘or are you looking for faults?’

His mouth fell open and a slight flush coloured his thin cheeks. ‘I need to be sure nothing is being done that ought not to be, which is a major part of my role here. Those are old houses and might not be safe. I might even consider it in the public interest to demolish them.’

She looked at him in shock. Was that what they were intending to do? Just let them try!

‘We’ve already had a structural engineer check the houses.’

‘We didn’t approve anyone.’

‘You didn’t need to.’

‘Look, the matter can, um, be settled quite easily by me bringing one of our building inspectors to look at the houses.’

‘You do employ your own inspectors?’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘Then why did we need Mr Dorling’s expertise and advice today? Are you and your inspectors not fully qualified?’ She could see that he was still sweating slightly.

‘Of course I’m qualified to do my job. And we have some, um, very experienced staff, but sometimes they’re busy.’ He turned to his computer terminal. ‘Now, about a time for this inspection.’

‘I can’t arrange that now. Mr Denning will want to be present to answer any technical queries. I’ll present your request to him and he’ll get back to you when he’s finished this project, which is at a critical stage. He’ll want to show you the structural engineer’s report first, no doubt.’

‘As I said, that wasn’t an engineer approved by us.’

She was feeling more suspicious by the minute. If she had any say in the matter, Angus would consult a lawyer, whatever it cost, and have one with him at any future meetings with this man who was, she reckoned, on the fiddle and already planning to find a way to demolish Saffron Lane. He didn’t make a very good conspirator, though.

She stood up and without giving Hobkins time to argue, walked quickly out of the room, not bothering to say goodbye or close the door behind her.

At the end of the corridor, she stopped to shake a bit of grit out of her left shoe and because she had excellent hearing and the office area was quiet, she heard him speaking on the phone. ‘Dorling? She’s gone. You can come back now.’