‘The old man always had a bit of a ruthless streak, too, by all accounts,’ said Jarvis.

‘Abraham?’

‘Aye. Richard was a chip off the old block, so to speak. Cared for nothing but money. He thought he could pay his staff peanuts, but it wouldn’t wash with me. I was a craftsman.’

‘Mr Jarvis, you said that Richard Slack was the business brains of the firm. But did he do his share of the funeral work?’

‘Oh, if he had to.’

‘He was on a removal job when he died, wasn’t he?’

‘Yes. I left Hudson and Slack not long after that.’

‘Did you ever hear a rumour that he wasn’t alone in the van when it crashed?’

‘There was some woman turned up with a tale like that. But it came to nothing.’

‘Would it have been normal for him to collect a body on his own?’

Jarvis shrugged. ‘That wasn’t a side of the job I got involved in much. But I don’t suppose it was out of the question if it was an easy removal. They have a trolley they can use. And he might have been expecting someone to be there to give him a hand. Police, or something.’

Cooper watched the dogs at his feet. They were gradually drifting to sleep as the rain dried on their coats.

‘Actually, that’s a bit odd, isn’t it?’ he said.

‘What?’

‘Well, why did you decide to leave Hudson and Slack just when the man you disliked so much had gone?’

Jarvis shrugged again. ‘Like I said, the business was already going down the nick then. I’m only amazed it’s lasted so long. Slack wasn’t much good as a man, but at least he had a head for finance. He was always looking for ways of making money.’

‘Unorthodox ways, perhaps?’

‘I don’t know anything about that. But I reckon by the end of his time, Richard Slack was ready to do anything to line his own pocket. Anything.’

Cooper forgot the dogs and looked at Tom Jarvis more closely. Such a blatant attempt to cast suspicion on Richard Slack seemed uncharacteristic of the man. He looked uneasy, too, as if he was troubled by what he was saying. He kept shuffling his feet and moving a bit across the boards.

Then Cooper felt a trickle of water on the back of his neck, and realized that he was gradually being eased towards the steps of the porch. He was already standing under the edge of the roof, and the dogs were starting to stretch and get to their feet, as if expecting to see him off the premises.

‘So …’ began Jarvis, adjusting his cap.

Cooper looked at the house. The windows were empty, and dark under the shadow of the porch. With a horrible jolt, he was struck by a possible identity for the body that had replaced Audrey Steele’s on the way to the crematorium.

‘Is Mrs Jarvis home? I haven’t had a chance to speak to her yet. If she’s home right now, it would save me coming back again.’