Thea glanced back at their point of entry, still anxious about being discovered. Then she gave Jocelyn’s find more of her attention. ‘It’s an ashes urn,’ she said. ‘Good grief!’

It was a brick-shaped container made of thick brown plastic. A screw-topped lid capped it. ‘What a place to keep it,’ said Jocelyn.

Thea examined the object without touching it. It was much the same as several she’d seen Drew deal with in his line of work. While most of his customers were strongly in favour of burial over cremation, there were occasions where ashes had been interred in his field. ‘There should be a name label on it somewhere.’ She tried to think. ‘But how weird to leave it in this nasty plastic thing. Wouldn’t you expect it to be in 199something more … elegant … more tasteful? If this is a shrine, it’s rather a half-hearted one.’

‘But it’s still exciting!’ Jocelyn insisted. ‘I can’t see a label.’ She picked up the urn and turned it round. ‘Ah, here it is. We’ll need more light to read what it says. Here – take it to the door.’ She held it out to Thea, who stepped back, refusing to take it. ‘It’s much heavier than I would have thought,’ Jocelyn went on. ‘What a funny place to put it. Why won’t you touch it? I’d have thought you’d be perfectly comfortable with this sort of thing.’

‘I’m worried someone’s going to catch us, that’s all.’

‘It’s left right here, for anybody to find.’

‘It’s not really, though, is it?’ said Thea slowly. ‘It’s actually hidden away where nobody would expect it to be found. I bet we’re the first people to come in here uninvited, probably ever.’ She recalled the nicely worded sign on the gate to the Barnsley Park mansion. ‘Proceed By Invitation Only’ it had said. She felt the same might well apply to this barn.

Drew had often talked about ashes, and the problems they could present. People would get landed with cremated remains and not know what to do with them. They kept them in cupboards for decades at a time. Then, when someone else in the family died, the opportunity finally arrived for the ashes to go in a new grave along with the new body. ‘When you think about it, a barn’s as good a place as any to put them,’ she said.

‘I always thought a barn was for hay and corn and implements and owls and bats. This is odd, even for the 200Cotswolds.’ Jocelyn hefted the container again. ‘Well, let’s see what the name is, while we’re here.’ She walked towards the way they’d come in. ‘It says Gwendoline Phoebe Wheelwright. And a date.’ She peered closer. ‘Looks like 5th April 1997. Does that mean anything to you?’

‘Not at all. Put it back, will you? We really do have to go.’

‘What happened to you? When did you get so gutless?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Thea helplessly.

‘Well, look over there, before you run away.’ Jocelyn indicated the furthest corner of the barn. There was a large rectangular object sitting on the floor. ‘That looks like an old trunk.’