‘Is this for a recording, dear?’ She smiles back at us.
‘No, we’re not recording anything; we’re just a couple of enquiring minds,’ I say. ‘You also mentioned the Magpie Society on the WKL? podcast and, even though I’ve been at the school for nearly six years now, I’d never heard of it. Obviously, we have our little tradition of making an offering to the magpies at the start of the year, but we had no idea it meant something more. And then we found this –’
‘While doing research for an assignment,’ Audrey jumps in.
I nod and pull the yearbook from my bag. I hold it carefully while flicking through to find the right page. ‘We were wondering if you recognize this person? We heard her granddaughter lives in Winferne.’ Mrs Trawley holds my wrist as she focuses on the image.
‘Of course I recognize her. She’s my grandmother actually. She was what … sixteen here?’ She takes her hand off my wrist and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
‘Your grandmother? That’s amazing!’ Audrey looks at me, her eyes wide with surprise that we found her so easily. ‘Are you related to the Radcliffes?’
The woman frowns. ‘No. What do you mean by that?’
‘Oh, it’s just that …’ Audrey looks to me for backup.
‘This picture looks so much like a girl called Lola Radcliffe. She went to our school and died at the start of the summer.’
Mrs Trawley nods sadly. ‘It does look like her. I’d never noticed that before. So you’re Illumen Hall girls?’
‘We are. Do you know what Lily means here about thanking the magpies?’
‘Where did you say you found this again?’ Mrs Trawley takes the book out of my hand and traces her fingers over the cover. ‘This is very old. Very special, I should imagine.’
‘We found it in the school archives. They have hundreds of them, not all in such good condition though.’ I hope that the warmth of my smile brings her back to Audrey’s previous question.
‘Are you sure you were supposed to have removed it from the archive?’
‘We got special permission. Because of our project?’
‘Your project. I see.’ Every mirror on her stall seems to reflect her disbelief.
Mrs Trawley sighs. ‘Lily was a remarkable woman, but I can’t say she had the easiest time at Illumen Hall. She was one of the only girls attending at that time, maybe even the first. It was just for boys back then, you see. And there was a group of them that bullied her relentlessly. Except bullying back then could go totally unnoticed. No cameras, no school counsellors. Goodness me, even the teachers whipped you and beat you back in the day. But this was different. Those boys would burn her with matches in her sleep, stuff her pillows with dead rats and slice her arms with scissors – horrible stuff.’
Audrey gasps and claps her hand over her mouth. My stomach turns.
‘She was absolutely tortured by them, but never told a soul. She was a very timid girl, you see, didn’t want to be any trouble, just wanted to do well. It was a different time back then, but Lily was smart and bright. Illumen Hall had opened its doors to her, but some of the boys didn’t like it because they felt threatened. They didn’t believe a girl like Lily should be there.’
‘So what happened? She said something saved her life?’
Mrs Trawley traces the wording underneath the photograph with her finger. ‘I’m getting there. So one day, as you can imagine, a boy went too far. He pushed her into the lake next to the school and ran off. He didn’t realize poor Lily couldn’t swim. Next thing she knows, she’s lying on the ground and she’s alive. All she ever said was that “the magpies” saved her.’
‘As in … the birds?’ Audrey nervously chews at her nail.
Mrs Trawley shakes her head, smiling. ‘No, dear, not the birds. There was a group of people who called themselves the Magpies – and they were dedicated to preserving the integrity of the school. Although magpies are wonderful birds, aren’t they? So common you might not notice them if they weren’t so smart. Anyway, this group of people took Lily under their wing, protecting her from the bullies, and eventually more young women were encouraged to board there and pursue their educational dreams. It wasn’t long before Illumen Hall became one of the safest places for girls to learn alongside boys.’ She picks up an antique mirror and fiddles with her headscarf, smiling at her own reflection like we aren’t there.
‘That’s an incredible story, Mrs Trawley – sorry, Maggie. So that particular group of people – the “magpies”? They must be dead now. Were they part of, I don’t know … a bigger movement?’
She puts down the mirror and waves to an old man strolling past. ‘Well, my dear, there were Magpies before them, and Magpies after them. Even when I was at school, the Magpies were a sort of legend. Everyone knew of them. Some said they were ghosts, guardian angels, loved ones who had passed away … There were less fanciful rumours too, mind!’ She laughed. ‘Some suggested it was a group of teachers with a conscience. But nobody ever saw them or knew where they met. While I was a student, the Magpies exposed a headteacher who had been embezzling large amounts of the school’s boarding fees. The school was about to be wrapped in scandal, but the Magpies swooped in, caught him in the act, made him pay back the money and fired him before any of the parents or press got a whiff.’
‘That’s wild!’ I can almost hear Audrey’s brain next to me creaking with this information overload.
‘We would always leave a penny for the magpies in the pond. To keep us safe,’ Mrs Trawley says.
‘We still do that now,’ I say softly. I keep catching sight of my reflection from every angle in the mirrors. I don’t like it.
‘So … do we think there’s still a group of these “Magpies” around now?’ Audrey looks like a kid in a sweetshop, her face completely lit up.
‘Like I told that voice, if nobody’s mentioned them … maybe they’re no longer needed?’ She laughs to herself and dips her paintbrush back in the gold paint. ‘But, if I were looking for a Magpie, I suppose I’d check where only those with feathers could go.’
I’m suddenly aware I’ve let Audrey do most of the talking, which is not like me at all. I don’t know if it’s the scenario, Mrs Trawley or the constant stream of people passing behind us, but everything feels a little chaotic and loud and prickly heat is rising on my neck.
‘But, if the Magpie Society is back, then it’s for good reason,’ Mrs Trawley continues. ‘Don’t you see, my dear? That’s what they’re there for. We don’t question the whys or wherefores. When they’re needed, they rise up again.’ She leans forward and touches me on the chin. ‘It’s students like you that benefit the most. You’ll not want to disturb them. Let the Magpie Society do its work.’
‘Mrs Trawley – do you think … could the Magpie Society have been connected to Lola’s death?’ Audrey asks.
Mrs Trawley grabs the edge of her stall so forcefully, the mirrors shake and jingle. She shuts her eyes but, when she speaks again, her voice is as cold as ice. ‘I’m sure they had nothing to do with that.’
‘So the drawing on Lola’s back?’ I ask.
Now she opens them again, and her piercing blue eyes bore into mine. ‘I can’t explain it. Maybe someone was creating a distraction. Something to misdirect questioning eyes …’
A shudder runs through my body. Does she know more about the Magpie Society than she’s letting on?
‘Such a shame, Lola’s death. A real shame.’ She shakes her head and focuses back on painting her daisies.
I exchange a look with Audrey. ‘I think we’d better be going,’ she says abruptly. I follow her lead.
‘Oh, I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help, dears,’ Mrs Trawley says, her tone all sugary-sweet again. ‘And do tell Mrs Abbott to pop by some time. I’d love to see her. I need to ask her about some very unpleasant rumours concerning the school. Well, it’s been lovely to meet you, Ivy and Audrey.’
We all shake hands, smile nicely and make our way back through the rows of stalls.
‘Well … that was interesting, right?’ I turn to Audrey who’s suddenly looking a little pale.
‘Ivy …’
‘Yeah?’
‘She … she knew our names. She just said, “lovely to meet you, Ivy and Audrey”.’
My stomach drops. ‘Oh my God. She did, didn’t she?’
‘Have you met her before? How would she know that?’
I rack my brains for anything that may have meant our paths have crossed, but there’s nothing.
We look at each other in horrified silence. ‘No. There’s absolutely no way she should know our names.’
35
Audrey
‘I still think that was messed up,’ I say, once we’re safely away from the market.
Ivy doesn’t reply. She shivers and wraps her coat round her a little tighter.
‘You OK?’ I ask as we walk back towards the bus stop.
‘I’m just going through everything we’ve learned about the Magpie Society. I’m kind of fascinated. A benevolent secret society operating behind the scenes at school? Trying to prevent bullying and corruption and … what else?’
‘Well, whatever they are, it didn’t sound like Lola would have come under the category of corrupt – or a danger to the school or anything. And she wasn’t a bully, right?’
‘Not that I know of. Everyone loved her.’
‘So it doesn’t really seem that relevant to the investigation.’
‘But you have to admit it’s incredible. I wonder what else the Magpie Society has done over the years. And did you hear what Mrs Trawley said about going “where only those with feathers could go”? I wonder if that means we should try and get into the staff quarters …’
‘I think I might be done digging,’ I confess. ‘I’m pretty freaked out.’
‘Seriously? After hearing all that, you’re not just a little bit hooked?’
I shake my head. ‘No way. The more I know, the less I want to know. Man, school is complicated enough without adding, like, murders and secret societies and cover-ups into the mix. And now you want to sneak around where the staff go? How would we even do that?’
Ivy’s eyes twinkle. ‘I have an idea. If I can pull it off so we definitely wouldn’t get in trouble, would you be up for it?’
‘Maybe,’ I say.
‘I love this kind of stuff. It’s amazing that I’ve been at the school for nearly six years and I’ve never heard a single mention of the Magpie Society.’
‘I guess Illumen Hall is a place that hides its secrets well.’
Abruptly, Ivy stops dead, then darts sideways into a convenience store. ‘What the …?’ I say with a start, before following her. ‘Um, what the hell?’
‘Oh, just thought I’d get some mints …’
I furrow my brow, then head back outside.
‘No, Audrey, don’t –’ Ivy calls after me.
And then I see him. I probably wouldn’t have recognized him out of context, in his casual clothes, but it’s unmistakably Mr Willis.
I walk back into the grocery store with a much sneakier look on my face. ‘Something going on with you guys?’
Now it’s Ivy’s turn to frown. ‘What, me and Mr Willis? No way. It’s just awkward, right? I mean, who wants to see a teacher outside school …?’
‘Clearly not you. Or at least not when there are other people around,’ I add, and Ivy gives me a small shove. I glance down at my phone. ‘Come on, we can’t hang around here or we’ll miss the bus and then we’ll be stuck in town for another hour.’
‘Yeah, you’re right. I’m being a baby.’ Ivy can’t help but run her fingers through her hair, I notice, as she marches out in front of me.
‘Should we go say hi?’ I ask her, hurrying to catch up.
‘I don’t think that’d be a good idea.’
‘Why not?’
But at that moment a woman in a burgundy peacoat storms across the street just in front of us.
‘Carly, wait!’ Mr Willis follows her. He clearly hasn’t seen us. Ivy and I come to an awkward stop as we watch the two of them. Mr Willis grabs the woman’s arm.
‘Don’t touch me!’ she screams.
‘You’re causing a scene,’ he says.
‘I’m causing a scene?! If you hadn’t been so stupid, then we wouldn’t be in this position at all.’
‘This … is … now … officially awkward,’ I say to Ivy. The woman and Mr Willis are obviously in the middle of some massive argument. ‘Maybe we should turn around?’
But it’s too late. The woman has continued to stride away and it’s Mr Willis who’s turned – and seen us. A momentary look of despair crosses his face, but then he puts on this almost sheepish grin.
‘Sorry you girls had to see that,’ he says.
‘Trouble in paradise?’ Ivy says.
‘It’ll be all right. Carly can be fiery. I’d better go after her.’
‘You do that,’ says Ivy darkly and we watch as he jogs away. ‘Well, that didn’t seem like a healthy relationship,’ she continues, still staring after them.
I nudge her. ‘Ivy, we’ve missed the bus. How about, instead of hanging around town, we call a cab and head back to my parents’ house? It’ll definitely be better with you there. Might be cool to kill some time? And we’ll have the place to ourselves.’
‘Will your parents be OK with that?’ she asks.
‘Like I care.’
Ivy smiles. ‘See Casa Wagner? Why not? Lead the way.’
‘Do you think Winferne Bay has Uber?’ I joke. But, when I look down at my phone, I see something that’s no laughing matter.
There’s a new podcast.
THE WKL? PODCAST TRANSCRIPT
EPISODE FOUR
[Intro] Music plays, building suspense with pulses that sound like a heartbeat.
CLOVER
Welcome to episode four of WHO KILLED LOLA?, where I am unravelling the mystery piece by piece. You might notice that I sound a little different now. Well, that’s because my identity has been revealed. My name is Clover Mirth, and I’m a student at Illumen Hall. Yep, a proper insider.
I’m glad my secret is out though. Because, as I get deeper and deeper into this investigation, it’s clear there are plenty of questions still to be answered about Lola’s death. And it shouldn’t be wrapped in shadow and mystery. There’s enough of that around already.
Abiding by the rules, I’m recording this from home. It’s the Illumen Hall half-term, but don’t think that means I’ve been relaxing. If anything, my investigation has stepped up a notch.
Last episode I revealed even more about the secrets of our school, and spoke to Lola’s brother, who convinced me more than ever that she wouldn’t have taken – or even risked – her own life.
But that’s still a lot of speculation. I know many of you out there are interested in cold, hard facts. Well, all you had to do was wait for this episode.
Let me summarize. I have found two major flaws in the police’s argument:
The first is that we have eyewitness testimony that someone was up there on the cliff with Lola.
The second is that now we know the tattoo wasn’t a tattoo at all … It was a drawing. But still not something that she could have done herself. So who is the mystery artist? And does our first suspect have an alibi?
Right now, though, I’m going to pivot in a slightly different direction. I didn’t want to fall into the trap of only investigating one person and becoming too tunnel-visioned in my research.
The old cliché is that the culprit is often a partner or a family member. So have they been looked at closely yet? For the most part, Lola’s family can be eliminated as they have strong alibis – living miles away from the beach at the time of her death. So what about a partner? Lola was into guys as far as we know, and she didn’t seem to have a long-term boyfriend at the time of her death.
It’s hard to believe that a girl like Lola wouldn’t have a whole slew of suitors just dying to go out with her. I was
lucky enough to convince her best friend, Jessica Parkins, who is now a student at the University of Bournemouth, to give me an interview, although my voice was still disguised at that point.
[Interlude] Music plays.
CLOVER
Hi, Jessica, thanks for talking to me.
JESSICA
Oh, um, hi.
CLOVER
So you were Lola’s best friend.
JESSICA
Yeah. We’d been friends since primary school, and we went to Illumen together, of course. She was the best friend I could ever have. I miss her so much.
CLOVER
Of course, I understand that. Can you tell me a bit about her?
JESSICA
What can I say? She was so kind, so generous – she really cared, you know? But she never wanted anyone to see her as weak, especially towards the end.
CLOVER
Towards the end? What do you mean? Some papers have mentioned that maybe she was suffering from some mental —
JESSICA
[jumps in]
She was getting a bit more anxious as uni was approaching, but we all were! No … that’s not what I meant. She was under a lot of pressure from her parents. Have you met her family? They’re intense. They expected a lot from her. She wanted to be more of her own person. That’s why she changed her hairstyle. She wanted something different, to form her own identity I guess.
CLOVER
What about a boyfriend? Did she have one?
JESSICA
No one official, I’m pretty sure. She would have told me. There were loads of guys who were interested though. At school, she’d dated Alex Winters – but he was with Heloise the entire time at the party. And it wasn’t like their break-up was particularly dramatic. She’d kind of given up on guys at Illumen, I think. I did mention one thing to the police, though I’m not sure how much they followed it up. She mentioned to me once that she was kind of into this older guy. She wouldn’t tell me who it was. But, when she told me to go to the party on my own, I assumed it was because she went to meet him beforehand. I don’t know.
The Magpie Society One for Sorrow Page 17