Mrs Paterson was amused to discover early on Wednesday morning a cross had appeared overnight in a garden plot she had dug on roadside reserve last weekend.
The cross has attracted the attention of passers-by, the mail deliverer and eventually the newspaper delivery person, Graham Taylor, who described the site as "human-sized".
When the Otago Daily Times called yesterday the Patersons were none the wiser.
"The plot thickens. It will come to us who's done it but we really don't know who's done it," Mrs Paterson said.
The couple hope nothing has been buried under the neatly cut polystyrene cross, reinforced by a steel rod to keep it upright.
"I hope there is no dead cat or anything in there. I am a bit scared to dig now.
"We were feeding a wild cat too, but he's still around," Mrs Paterson said.
Mrs Paterson said her neighbours demanded to know what she was doing last weekend and she had joked she was digging her grave.
She actually intends planting drought-resistant toi-toi or grasses, so she does not have to mow and irrigate so much (in Lake Hawea residents look after their own roadsides).
"I think it is great. We laughed and laughed," Mrs Paterson said.
Mr Paterson said it was typical of the community spirit they enjoyed in Lake Hawea, where the former Dunedin couple have lived for two years.
