‘Did you know she was the reporter who wrote the article in the News Shopper about the discovery of the coffin?’

‘No. Tom told me about it, but I never read it. I told her I wasn’t Mr Durham, and he was out for the afternoon, but she didn’t believe me. She wagged her finger at me, then said, “Good try, Mr Durham, but I don’t give in that easily.” I told her again I wasn’t him, just a friend of his.’

‘What happened next?’ she asked.

‘She said she’d like to see the crypt because she thought that might be how the coffin was moved to the building site. I asked her to leave, or I’d call the police. She looked around the room and saw the stairwell, then just started towards it. I got annoyed and shouted at her to leave. She just ignored me. I shouted at her again, but she just wouldn’t listen. She was a couple of steps down when, when I . . . Oh God, please forgive me . . .’ Lee started to tremble, his breathing became erratic and he put his face in his hands.

Boon looked at Jane, worried that Lee was about to go the same way as Thomas Durham.

‘I know it’s hard for you, Lee, but I need you to tell us what happened,’ she said.

He blew his nose and looked at Jane. ‘I grabbed her coat . . . I was only going to escort her out of the house. She spun round and knocked my hand away . . . then she lost her balance. She started to fall backwards . . . it was like everything was in slow motion . . . there was a look of panic in her eyes . . . she was waving her arms around to try and stay up. I tried to grab her coat to stop her falling but I didn’t get a proper hold. She slipped away from me . . . the next thing I knew she was rolling over and over down the stairs. I froze in panic, then heard the thud as she landed at the bottom. I went down. She was just lying there . . . then I saw the blood trickling across the floor by her head. I knelt down and spoke to her, but she didn’t move or say anything. I knew then she was dead.’

Jane got him another glass of water and gave him time to compose himself before continuing. Lee’s account of what had happened was plausible but he could just as easily have lost his temper and pushed Becky down the stairs.

‘You said a minute ago you knew Becky was dead. How did you know that?’ Jane asked.

‘She wasn’t moving.’

‘Did you check if she had a pulse?’

‘No. I couldn’t bring myself to touch her at that point.’

‘What did you do when you thought Becky was dead?’ Jane asked.