‘Yes. Ask who you should speak to about records of the children who lived at the convent. If possible, get the records from the time the convent closed going back twenty years to start with.’

Boon closed his notebook. ‘No problem, sarge. I’ll charge Barry May and go down there.’

‘Can we keep him in custody overnight? Then take him to court tomorrow morning?’ Jane asked Stanley.

‘Bromley Magistrates is closed on a Saturday,’ Boon informed her.

‘Why do you want to keep him in custody?’ Stanley asked.

‘He’s been using his wife Katie as a punch bag,’ Jane told him. ‘She was covered in bruises and terrified of him. Sadly, she won’t press charges at the moment.’

‘He’s an evil piece of shit,’ Stanley said with feeling.

‘I’m hoping she’s left him and gone to her parents for now. Even then I’m worried he’ll go round there and give her another beating,’ Jane said.

‘I’ll tell the charging sergeant to keep May in custody for court on Monday morning. You can try and get him remanded in custody by the magistrate, but I doubt he will. Although the offence is repulsive, it’s still only a theft of property that isn’t worth much.’

‘Well, it’s worth a try,’ she said. ‘Maybe the magistrate will be as repelled as we are.’

‘Come on, Boony,’ Stanley said, walking towards the door.

‘Where are we going, guv?’ Boony asked.

‘To charge Barry May and have a little word in his ear about what happens to scumbags who assault women.’

They were out of the room before Jane could say anything.

She did some paperwork while she waited for them to return. It was fifteen minutes before Stanley came back on his own, telling Jane that Boon had gone to the council offices.

‘What did you do to him?’ Jane asked.

‘Let’s just say he won’t bother his missus again,’ Stanley said.

‘You didn’t hit him, did you?’

Stanley shook his head. ‘I just put him up against the wall and prodded his chest a few times.’

Jane thought he’d probably made matters worse. ‘That’s really going to help his wife.’

‘I told him I know some tasty villains who detest wife beaters. He nearly shit himself when I said I’d give them his address if he ever laid one finger on his wife again.’

‘Well, let’s hope it works, for Katie and the children’s sakes.’

The SOCO walked in and handed Jane two sets of A4 photographs. ‘These are the blowups you wanted of the cross. The others are the mortuary photos which DS Johnson took. They came through in the dispatch bag from the lab this morning.’

Jane thanked him and put two photographs of the cross and some of the coffin in a folder.