‘Maybe that’s best for now,’ Lee agreed.

Jane was about to knock on the Portakabin door when it was abruptly opened by Barry, who barged past Boon, nearly knocking him over.

‘Sorry, mate, was I in your way?’ Boon said sarcastically.

‘Fuck off,’ Barry muttered as he got into the red minivan. The wheels spun in the dirt as he accelerated away from the site.

Jane held up her warrant card and introduced herself and Boon.

‘I’m Lee Holland, the site manager. Sorry about Barry. He’s just worried about the site closing down and being out of work.’

Lee was in his late forties, bald, with a large beer belly and a double chin. He wore a black donkey jacket, white T-shirt, blue jeans, and Doc Martens workman’s boots.

Compared with the cold weather outside, the Portakabin was stiflingly hot. There were two paraffin heaters, the interior windows were covered in condensation and there was also an overpowering musty odour, a mixture of dampness and sweat, which Dermot and Lee seemed oblivious to. The cabin had a couple of desks and some filing cabinets and pinned up on the wall were plans for the site. The floor was covered in muddy boot prints.

‘Who found the coffin?’ Jane asked.

‘Barry hit something hard when he was using the digger,’ Lee said. ‘But Dermot here was also there. They cleared the surrounding soil away so you can see it better. I’ll put the kettle on while he tells you about it.’

Dermot recounted how the coffin had been uncovered, not mentioning that Barry had wanted to open it.

‘Did you find anything else which might indicate the area was a graveyard?’ Jane asked.

Lee shook his head. ‘No, not a thing. And we’ve dug out quite a large area so far. Would you like to see the coffin now or have a coffee first and see if the rain eases off?’

‘May as well see it now,’ Jane said, holding up the umbrella. ‘This should help keep the worst of it off us.’

‘It’s pretty muddy out there. Have you got any wellies in your car?’ Dermot asked.

‘Unfortunately, no,’ Jane replied.

‘I’ve got some plastic shopping bags you can use as shoe covers,’ Lee said, opening a desk drawer and taking some out.

‘They might make it more slippery as they’ve no grip, but thanks anyway,’ she replied, thinking she’d look ridiculous wearing the bags.

‘I’ll have some,’ Boon grinned. ‘These shoes were expensive!’

*

Dermot took them round the back of the Portakabin to the building site, which was bigger than Jane had expected. At about half the size of a football pitch, it was clear that quite a few flats or houses were going to be built on the land. Jane stepped carefully through the mud, whilst balancing herself with the umbrella, but her shoes quickly became covered in the brown sludge.

Standing at the edge of the footings trench, the large grey metal coffin was now clearly visible as the heavy rain had washed away the topsoil. It was over six feet long with an inlaid silver cross on top and fresh scratch marks caused by the digger bucket. It looked old, with patches of rust.