‘I’m Detective Sergeant Tennison and this is Detective Constable Boon. We were wondering if there’s any building work occurring on the grounds,’ Jane said.

‘Yes, out the back of this building down the far end of the gardens. The site access is off a lane over the back of here. Has something happened?’

‘Nothing for you to be concerned about, sir,’ Jane replied.

‘They dug up a coffin,’ Boon said casually, and Jane frowned.

‘On the site?’ the man asked, looking worried.

‘We don’t know the full details yet, sir,’ Jane told him.

‘Is this building still a convent?’ Boon asked.

‘No, all the Sisters of Mercy nuns have long gone now. The buildings have been converted into private apartments.’

‘I like how they’ve kept the outside like an old building, especially the stained-glass window there,’ Boon remarked, pointing.

The man nodded. ‘It’s a listed building, so the exterior remained as is, though obviously the stone and brickwork were cleaned up and some double glazing put in. The stained glass is original, and that part of the convent was the oratory.’

‘What’s an oratory?’ Boon asked.

‘It was the chapel used by the nuns.’

‘I bet a flat in there costs an arm and a leg,’ Boon said.

The man forced a smile. ‘Yes, the apartments are expensive.’

‘Thanks for your help, sir. Can you give us directions to the building site?’ Jane asked.

‘The temporary road leading up to it will be very muddy and you might well get stuck. It would be quicker to walk through our rear communal gardens. Please follow me.’ He wiped his wellingtons on the outside doormat, then unlocked the front door.

Boon was about to step inside, when Jane whispered to him to wipe his feet on the mat. Inside there was another large doormat which the man also used, before picking up a neatly folded towel from the floor and wiping the dog down with it.

The hallway was large with a beige marble floor and a stunning Gothic-style dark oak L-shaped staircase. Halfway up the stairs to the upper floor was a pictorial stained-glass window, the centrepiece of which depicted the virgin Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in the stable at Bethlehem.

‘Excuse me for a moment while I put Bella inside.’ The man went over to a large arched wooden door in the right-hand corner, opened it and went inside.

Jane took Boon to one side. ‘You shouldn’t have mentioned the coffin. The residents might start worrying about dead bodies in their back garden.’

‘Sorry, sarge, but they’re going to find out sooner or later, aren’t they?’

Jane was about to reply when the man returned carrying a large umbrella. ‘Sorry, I’ve only got the one, but it’s better than nothing.’

‘Thank you,’ Jane said, taking it from him.

The man then led them to a rear entrance off the hallway where he opened the door. Outside was a vast garden with high walls and Gothic-style arches.

‘Blimey, the back garden is massive,’ Boon remarked.