‘Why on earth did you bury the coffin on land you knew you were going to dig up?’ Boon asked.

‘I told a couple of labourers we’d been given permission by the bishop to bury the coffin down by the lake. I paid them to move it. The lazy beggars must have thought it was too far to carry and buried it near the burnt-out buildings.’

‘What were their names?’

‘I can’t remember now. I think one was called Jordan.’

‘Why didn’t you rebury it when you dug it up last week?’ Jane asked.

‘Because Dermot phoned the police while I went to tell Tom about it.’

‘Why the big pretence you didn’t know each other?’

‘Because we didn’t want anyone to find out what we’d done with the coffin. We were also worried it might affect the current building work and we’d lose thousands.’

‘You’re a pair of idiots. If you’d just told us the truth about the coffin none of this would have happened,’ Jane said.

Lee sighed. ‘I know.’

Jane decided it was time to ask Lee some crucial questions about Becky’s death.

‘You said earlier you were angry with Becky because she wouldn’t leave when asked.’

‘I was more annoyed than angry,’ he replied.

‘Did you lose your temper and push her down the stairs?’ Jane asked.

Lee looked distraught. ‘No. It was all a terrible accident. If she hadn’t tried to go down to the cellar, none of it would have happened.’

‘Why didn’t you just call the police and say there’d been an accident?’ Boon asked.

‘Because I thought no one would believe me and I’d be arrested for something I didn’t do.’

‘Why have you packed a suitcase?’ Boon asked.

‘Nick phoned me late last night. He told me about Tom’s heart attack while you were searching his house. I was scared. I didn’t want to go to prison for something that wasn’t my fault. I was going to stay with a friend in Spain.’

Boon glared at him. ‘Which conveniently happens to be a country we have no extradition treaty with.’

‘I swear on my life, I didn’t push her.’

Boon shook his head. ‘I don’t believe you and I doubt a jury will either.’

A terrified Lee looked at Jane. ‘Am I going to be charged with murder?’

‘That’s not for me to decide. A post-mortem is being carried out later this morning. We will interview you again after the pathologist has completed her examination of Becky’s body. There are a couple of other things I need to ask you about the convent. Did you or Thomas Durham ever do any work there prior to the purchase?’

‘No.’

‘How long have you been working with Thomas Durham?’

‘Since he started the company, which was about twenty-five years ago.’