‘It was. Stupidly, we bottled up our grief as we felt we had to be strong for each other. Coping with her death hasn’t been easy, but at least we now talk about fond memories with a smile. I do worry about my father, though, what with his dodgy heart and this coffin business. It was hard persuading him to retire after Mum’s death. He said work kept him occupied, so I realised I had to find something else to keep him busy, which wasn’t easy as he’s pretty stubborn at times.’

‘What did you find to occupy him?

‘A golden retriever puppy, which he absolutely adores. Taking her for long walks keeps him fit.’ Since Nick had opened the conversation about his father, Jane took the opportunity to ask some questions about him.

‘Is his dog called Bella?’

‘Yes.’

‘And does he live in the old convent?’

‘Yes, in what used to be the chapel. How did you know?’ Nick asked.

‘My colleague and I couldn’t find the building site the other morning. We asked a man who was walking a dog called Bella. Now I know why I thought you looked so familiar yesterday. You’re the spitting image of your father.’

‘Do I look that old?’ he frowned.

‘You know what I mean,’ she grinned. ‘Funnily enough, I also saw him and Bella yesterday morning. He was talking to the site foreman, Lee Holland.’

‘No doubt he was badgering Lee about the coffin and what was happening with the site. I told my dad not to get involved because it’s not good for his health, but he just can’t help himself.’

‘Does Lee know about his heart condition?’

‘Yes, they’re old friends. Lee worked with my dad on building sites long before he started his own company. I kind of knew Lee would speak to my father before me, even though I’ve asked him not to involve dad in any problems. The two of them are as thick as thieves at times. That said, Lee’s been like a rock for Dad since Mum died.’

Jane wondered if she’d got it all wrong about Thomas Durham and Lee Holland. Perhaps their strange behaviour could simply be due to Thomas’s ill health, and the fact that they didn’t want Nick to know they’d been discussing the discovery of the coffin.

‘Hopefully, it will all be sorted in the next few days and the building work can start again,’ Jane said.

‘That would be good,’ he said. ‘Anyway, enough about work. What do you like to do when you’re not investigating mysterious coffins?’

Jane laughed. ‘As I said, I’m studying for the inspectors’ exam, so that takes up a lot of my spare time.’

‘Not too much I hope,’ he said.

‘I’m sure I can take some time off from studying,’ she said.