Линда Ла Плант - Unholy Murder

‘Looks like it’s been in the ground for a while,’ Boon said.

‘There’s no name plate on it, though. It might be a nun, or a priest connected to the old convent,’ Dermot suggested.

‘Looks a bit big for a nun’s coffin,’ Boon said.

‘Nuns, like us, come in all shapes and sizes. The fact is, we won’t know who or what’s inside until it’s opened,’ Jane said.

‘Might save some time if we have a quick look inside now,’ suggested Boon.

‘Barry wanted to open it,’ Dermot said. ‘Then if it was empty, we wouldn’t have had to call you lot. Being a Catholic I was a bit wary, so I said best to leave it and tell Lee.’

Jane could tell Dermot was nervous and gave him a reassuring smile. ‘Don’t worry, we won’t open the coffin here. I’ll arrange for it to be taken to the mortuary where we can do it in a more controlled and dignified manner.’

‘How’re we going to get it out?’ Boon asked.

‘I can dig under the coffin with a shovel and put some heavy-duty straps around it. If I attach them to the digger bucket and lift it out you can put it in a police van,’ Dermot said, thinking they would remove the coffin in one go.

‘The undertakers will come in their van to remove it to the mortuary,’ Jane told him.

Dermot pointed to his right. ‘We’ve made a temporary road using the rubble from the old buildings we knocked down. It’s a bit bumpy and muddy in some bits, but they should be able to get their van up from the lane down the far end.’

Jane could see that the makeshift road was about a hundred metres long and a section of the woodland had been cut away to allow vehicles in from the lane.

She turned to Boon. ‘I need you to go back to the car, radio the station and ask them to inform the Bromley coroner’s officer about the coffin and request the attendance of the undertakers’ van. Give them the location of the entrance and a heads-up about the muddy conditions. See if they can arrange the opening of the coffin for this afternoon.’

‘Will do, sarge. Do you want a lab liaison sergeant to attend?’

Jane shook her head. ‘It’s not a crime scene. Besides, I don’t think there’s anything they can do to assist us here.’

As Boon turned to leave, the ground on the edge of the footings trench suddenly gave way and his feet started to slide out from under him. As he fell forward, he instinctively grabbed the nearest thing to stop his fall, which unfortunately for Jane happened to be her left arm. She let out a loud shriek as she lost her balance, dropped the umbrella, then toppled over and landed in the mud. Boon, however, managed to regain his balance and stay upright.

‘For Christ’s sake, Boon, what are you playing at!’ Jane shouted.

‘Sorry, sarge, it was an accident,’ he said sheepishly as he put out his hand to help her up.

She flicked it away and got up. ‘Look at the state of me. I’m covered in bloody mud.’

‘I’ll pay for your clothes to be dry cleaned,’ he said, looking crestfallen.

‘Too bloody right you will!’ she barked as she shook her mud-covered hands in an effort to get some of it off. ‘Do you have a sink and hot water in the Portakabin?’ she asked Dermot.

‘No, but there’s a cold-water hose outside that’s linked to the main supply up at the flats. We’ve got some loo roll in the cabin you can use as well.’

‘That will have to do for now.’

‘Can I have the brolly?’ Boon asked, not wanting to get soaked as he returned to the car.

Jane headed back to the Portakabin without replying.

‘I’ll take that as a no,’ Boon muttered to himself.

‘Bloody hell, what happened to you, detective?’ Lee asked.

‘Her mate slipped and knocked her over. She nearly fell in the footings trench,’ Dermot said as he handed Jane a toilet roll.

‘You all right, officer?’ Lee asked.

‘Yes, thank you,’ she replied, forcing a smile.

Jane did her best to wipe the mud off her coat using scrunched-up sheets of the toilet roll dipped in hot water from the kettle, but her efforts only seemed to make things worse.

‘Is the land you are working on part of the old convent?’ she asked Lee.

‘Yes. We’re building more flats,’ he replied as he handed her a mug of coffee.

‘Thanks. What was on the land before you started?’

‘Nothing, apart from the fire-damaged outbuildings, which we’ve yet to demolish.’

‘Do you know if the land you are building on was ever a graveyard or consecrated ground?’

‘If it were, I doubt the developer would have got planning permission,’ Lee said.

‘Is he aware of this morning’s discovery?’

‘I tried ringing him at his office, but he was out at another site, so I left a message with his secretary.’

Jane removed her notebook and pen from her coat pocket. ‘I’ll need the developer’s name and contact number, please.’

‘It’s Nicholas Durham. His office is in Bromley, next door to Biba’s nightclub.’ Lee handed Jane a piece of headed paper embossed with THOMAS DURHAM AND SON BUILDING DEVELOPERS, 27 WIDMORE ROAD, BROMLEY, TELEPHONE 014673281.

‘I take it Nicholas is the “son”,’ Jane said.

Lee nodded. ‘Tom Durham started the company, but he’s sort of retired now, and Nick runs it.’

‘Do the Durhams own the land or are they just doing the building work?’

‘Tom Durham bought the old convent and land years ago and turned it into high-quality apartments. Now he’s building some more.’

‘Were you involved in the initial build as well?’ Jane asked out of curiosity.

‘No, I came on board after that, but I’ve been working for them a few years now.’

As Jane wrote some notes, Boon returned to the Portakabin. He told her he’d brought the CID car round and let her know the duty sergeant had spoken with the coroner’s officer, PC Rogers.

‘The undertakers’ van should be on the site in about an hour, and the coffin can be opened at one.’

Jane looked at her watch. It was a quarter to eleven. ‘Where’s the mortuary?’

‘Queen Mary’s Hospital, just off the A20 between Chislehurst and Sidcup. Not far from your house, actually.’

‘A hospital? Why aren’t they using a local council mortuary?’ Jane asked.

‘Bromley and Bexley division regularly use the hospital mortuary for suspicious deaths and murder post-mortems. Two coroner’s officers work there as well,’ replied Boon.

Jane closed her notebook. ‘Thanks for your time and help, gentlemen. As soon as we’ve opened the coffin, I’ll notify you of the result. In the meantime, I think it would be best if you don’t do any more work on the foundations.’

‘Can we do other stuff?’ Lee asked.

‘As long as it doesn’t involve any digging.’ Jane headed towards the door and Boon followed her. She turned round and looked at him.

‘I want you to remain here and supervise the removal of the coffin. I’ll see you at the mortuary later.’

‘How am I going to get there?’

‘Get a lift in the mortuary van. I’m sure they can squeeze you in the back,’ Jane said, knowing very well that three people could sit in the front of the van.

Boon frowned, as if he thought this was payback for landing Jane in the mud.

Jane gave him her brightest smile. ‘For the sake of evidence continuity, I need you to stay with the coffin.’ She handed him the umbrella. ‘Don’t forget to return this to its owner before you leave.’

As Jane drove up St Mary’s Lane, towards the main road, she saw the small parish church they’d passed on the way to the building site and noticed the door was open. It occurred to her that if the coffin did have a body in it, she didn’t have a clue what should be done concerning a reburial, and even if it was empty the coffin would probably be the property of the Catholic church. Deciding it might be worth chatting with the local priest, Jane stopped and parked the car. She took off her dirty raincoat and left it on the passenger seat before going into the church.