‘It’s also possible Meade knew foxglove plants contained a poison,’ Jane suggested.

‘Would the amount of foxglove in her stomach have killed her?’ Barnes asked.

Jane shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but it’s clear it didn’t, since she was stabbed to death.’

Stanley picked up on Jane’s remark. ‘Then it is possible Mother Adele was angry with Melissa and slipped some foxglove in her food to kill her but for some reason it didn’t work. Then later that night, Melissa met secretly with Meade in the crypt where he killed her because she posed a threat to his career.’

‘It still leaves the question of who moved the coffin outside and when,’ Boon said.

‘It could have been Meade and Malone,’ Stanley suggested.

‘God, how I’d love to arrest that bastard Meade! I know I could force the truth out of him and get the evidence we need against Malone as well,’ Barnes said.

Although Jane knew Barnes was fixated on Meade and Malone, she decided it was time to raise her concerns about Thomas Durham and Lee Holland.

‘There’s something else that’s come up in the course of the investigation that I need to ask you about. Thomas Durham and Lee Holland are hiding something, but I don’t know what it is or why.’ She was interrupted by a knock on the door.

‘I’m busy,’ Barnes shouted.

The door opened and PC Roger Rogers, the coroner’s officer, walked in. He glared at Boon.

‘Where’s my daughter?’ he asked aggressively.

Everyone looked at Boon, waiting for a reply.

‘I don’t know,’ he replied.

‘Her flatmate said she was meeting you last night and she never came home. She hasn’t turned up for work this morning either. So, where is she?’ Rogers demanded to know.

‘We were supposed to meet at The Chequers in Bickley last night, but she never turned up,’ Boon said.

‘What were you meeting her for, Boon?’ Barnes asked with a frown, clearly wondering if he was passing on information about the investigation.

Boon started to look uneasy. ‘We were just going to go for a social drink, nothing more, sir. I phoned her work a few minutes ago because I was worried about her. I’m even more worried now.’

‘Why?’ Barnes asked.

‘I asked when they had last seen Becky. Her editor told me she had arranged to meet someone from the diocese yesterday afternoon and left the office at about two.’

‘Who was she meeting?’ Rogers asked.

‘I don’t know . . . and neither did her editor,’ Boon said.

‘Did you tell her about our interest in Bishop Meade?’ Barnes asked.