He put his hands up. ‘Honestly, I’ve never been arrested in my life!’

She couldn’t help smiling. ‘Well, there’s always a first time for everything.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘If a policewoman like you had arrested me, I’m sure I’d remember.’

‘Clearly, I must be thinking of some other Casanova I met,’ Jane said drily.

‘I usually get mistaken for Robert Redford,’ he said with a grin.

‘Not Woody Allen?’

He laughed. ‘Ouch, that hurt.’

Although Jane was enjoying their banter, she thought it best to get to the point of her visit.

‘I’m sorry I didn’t contact you yesterday. Things got busy at work and I didn’t get a chance to call you before your office closed.’

‘That’s OK. Lee, my site manager, told me about the discovery of the coffin last night. He also rang this morning and said you’d found the body of a nun in it. Do you know who she was?’

‘Not at present. Her body was mummified, so she probably died some years ago.’

‘Lee also said you’d arrested Barry May for stealing a cross from the corpse,’ he said with a frown.

‘Yes, that’s correct. We found a cross and chain at his flat, which we believe to have been taken from the nun’s body after he forced open the coffin.’

‘He’ll never work for me again, that’s for sure,’ Nick said angrily. ‘How does all this affect our building work at the convent?’

‘My detective chief superintendent has said that you have to close the site for now.’

‘Can we at least knock down the fire-damaged buildings?’

‘He wants to know if the land is consecrated and identify the nun first, then he’ll review the situation.’

‘I doubt the outbuildings would be. I was told they were badly damaged by a fire while the nuns were still there. The structural damage meant we couldn’t rebuild them. We were going to knock them down and make it into a parking area.’

‘Like I said, the final decision is my boss’s. As soon as he’s made it I’ll let you know.’

‘Thanks. My dad’s a stickler for doing things by the book. He made sure everything was in order before buying the convent and starting the renovation work.’

‘I don’t doubt that,’ Jane said. ‘But we still have to make the necessary checks. Do you know in what year your father purchased the buildings and land?’

His brow furrowed. ‘I remember him showing me round. He was chuffed to bits, proudly telling me his vision of turning it into luxury flats. I’d just finished my A level exams at the time, so it must have been the summer of 1965.’

Jane wrote the date in her notebook. ‘Why the long gap before the current redevelopment?’