Singh nodded slowly. ‘That’s possible. A fifteen-year-old boy would probably be too proud to go straight back if he was in a sulk about something. But if that was the case, why didn’t he stay here?’
I turned to look at the window at the end of the long room, and nodded towards it. Singh and I both approached the window and looked out. From there, we had a clear view of the little clearing in the trees where Sasha Thomas and I had found Steve Wilkinson’s body.
‘He saw his head teacher being killed,’ I murmured, taking a deep breath.
‘Possibly,’ Singh replied, tapping his fingers on the windowsill. ‘Or did he see Steve outside looking for him, then leave here in order to confront him?’
I couldn’t imagine what might drive a teenager to kill one of his teachers, but I didn’t contradict Singh. I knew the police had to consider all possible angles.
Singh turned back to the room and began to pace up and down. I ignored him and continued to look out of the window towards the clearing, almost as if the longer I looked, the closer I got to figuring it out. Why was I so desperate to come up with an answer? I realised it was because of Singh. Even though I wasn’t a police officer, he trusted me with information about the case, and I wanted him to carry on putting that trust in me. On top of that, there was part of me that wanted to impress him. I felt my face flush slightly as I acknowledged that to myself, a slight churning feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I was glad I was still facing away from him.
I cleared my throat to bring myself back to the moment and shake these thoughts out of my head. Max was the one who had asked me out, the one I’d been enjoying dating for the past eight or nine months, and the last thing I wanted was part of my brain playing the ‘grass is greener’ game. Turning away from the window, I offered a suggestion.
‘Could he have come here after Steve’s murder?’ I asked. ‘He saw what happened, then ran and hid in here?’
Singh’s eyes lit up. ‘Of course, that’s definitely an option. We’d assumed he was here before Steve died, but there’s nothing to say he didn’t arrive after. Though that still leaves the question of where he went next.’
I turned back to the window, but stopped myself mid-movement. Something had caught my attention, a slight glint in the corner of my eye. Bending down, I tried to locate whatever it was I’d just seen. Behind me, Singh watched.
‘Here,’ I said triumphantly, pointing at the tiny object I’d found. Singh pulled a pair of latex gloves out of his pocket and carefully picked it up, holding it up to the light from the window to see it more clearly.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘It’s a charm, I think. From a bracelet.’
‘It’s a letter C.’
We were both silent for a moment.
‘C for Courtney, or C for Cassie?’ I asked quietly as he continued to look at the charm.
‘I don’t know,’ Singh replied, ‘but I think at least one of these kids has been lying to us.’
Chapter 10
The sky was looking heavier when I arrived at the school later that afternoon, and I kicked myself for not putting some essentials in my car like water and blankets. If it snowed again there was the possibility I could get stuck on the way home and I didn’t want to freeze to death.
There was a fancy black sports car in one of the reserved spots outside the main entrance. I briefly thought that it took a brave person to drive around in something like that in this weather; it didn’t look like it was built for tackling icy roads. It was exactly the sort of car Mike had always talked about wanting when we were together – laughable really, because he earned very little and ate through my savings far quicker than I could replenish them. For a moment I wondered if he’d managed to get some horrendous loan and this was his car, but I shook the thought away. Even if it was, it was none of my concern any more. Still, the idea of him being able to afford something like that when I was desperately trying to keep my old car running bothered me a bit. When I’d thrown him out of my flat and my life, I’d had to accept that his debts were my debts now, and I was still paying them off.
Singh had driven down separately from Normanby Hall, and he and DI Forest joined me in the entrance hall. I was expecting to see a receptionist, but Liz Marcek was waiting for us, and she ushered us into her office.
Is there any news? she asked before we had a chance to sit down.
‘Nothing yet,’ Singh replied. ‘We’ll let you know as soon as we find out anything.’
She picked up a piece of paper from the desk behind her.
I’ve made a list of Leon’s friends. Samira Hassan is his best friend, and we’ve received permission from her family for you to interview her. I should warn you, however, that she can be very flighty and prone to making up stories. She’s forever coming out with tales about being left home alone when her parents go abroad, when we know full well she has a brother who is over eighteen who still lives in the family home. He spends more time with her than her parents do, I think.
‘Thank you,’ Singh said, taking the list from her. ‘We’d also like to speak to some of your staff, those who know Leon best.’
Of course, there’s his form tutor, Jess Farriday, Liz replied. Mike of course, and the other residential staff, as they spend so much time with the residential students.
‘We’ll need to know which of the staff are hearing and which are deaf,’ Singh said, ‘then we can make the best use of Paige’s time with us.’
Of course. Jess will need an interpreter, Liz explained, but Mike is hearing, as you know. If other staff wish to speak to you, maybe we could have a time set aside for when the interpreter is available?
‘That’s fine,’ Singh replied, ‘but before we do anything I’d like to see Courtney and Cassie.’
A frown flickered across Liz Marcek’s face. Can I ask why?
‘There’s a piece of evidence we need to show them,’ Forest interjected. There was a pause; Liz was clearly hoping the DI would elaborate, but when Forest didn’t give her any more information she nodded.
Okay. I’ll bring them to you.
Liz set us up in a meeting room, then a few minutes later returned with both of the girls in tow. Cassie looked nervously between the two detectives while Courtney sat down primly on one of the chairs.
What’s wrong? Courtney asked.
‘We want you both to have a look at something we found at Normanby Hall,’ Singh explained, pulling a small plastic evidence bag out of his pocket. I could see the shape of the charm, and wondered if either of the girls would claim it as theirs. Liz had stayed in the room and I could see her craning to see what it was.
Cassie took the bag from Singh and peered at it, then shook her head. It’s not mine.
Courtney leant over and took it from Cassie’s hand. What is it?
‘It’s a charm, from a bracelet. It’s the letter C. So you can understand why we wanted to talk to you both.’
It’s not mine either, Courtney replied, handing it back to Singh. Is that it? Can we go now? She stood, clearly impatient to leave. With nothing further to ask them, the detectives let them go back to class.
‘It might not be connected to Steve’s murder at all,’ Forest pointed out. ‘It could have been sitting there for weeks.’
‘I thought it was worth checking, though,’ Singh replied. ‘Courtney was in a hurry to leave, so I’m not sure I believe her.’
When the two girls had been looking at the charm, I was sure that Cassie had looked at Liz before she replied. Maybe she had just been looking for reassurance, but there had been something in that glance that made me suspicious. I kept my thoughts to myself for now, though.
‘We’ll bear it in mind,’ Forest said, then turned towards the door as it opened and Liz Marcek led in a curvy Asian girl. Samira Hassan looked older than fifteen, but that might just have been the attitude radiating from her the moment she saw the detectives. A man, presumably her brother, stood behind her, in a suit and bright white trainers.
‘Is this going to take long?’
‘We’ll be as quick as we can, Mr Hassan, but it’s important we speak to Samira.’
Why do I have to talk to you? I haven’t done anything wrong. Samira folded her arms after signing this statement, and glared at Singh.
‘Samira, thank you for coming to speak to us,’ Singh replied, unfazed by the attitude. ‘We don’t think you’ve done anything, but you’re the person who can tell us the most about Leon. Would you like to sit down?’
Did they send you because you’re Asian too? They thought I’d be a good little Muslim girl and respect my male superiors? Samira replied, still standing.
Singh laughed. ‘Well, I’m half Indian, half White Scottish. My dad is a Sikh and my mum has no interest in religion, so I don’t think that strategy would really work.’
The corner of Samira’s mouth twitched but she fought off the smile and gave a big theatrical sigh instead. Throwing herself onto a chair, she shuffled her skirt down from where it had ridden up. Her brother sat down next to her and pulled out his phone, but then hurriedly put it away again when it earned him a frown from both the detectives.
Okay, what do you want to know? she asked, doing her best to look bored.
‘Firstly, we really need to know if Leon has been in touch with you since Saturday.’
She shook her head. Nope, not heard from him.
I could see Singh watching her face carefully as she signed – even though he couldn’t understand BSL, he could still observe her body language and facial expression for indications that she could be lying or hiding something.
‘Has he ever talked to you about being unhappy at school?’
Everyone’s unhappy at school, Samira replied, with an over-the-top roll of her eyes. Why would anyone want to be here when they could be chilling out and doing whatever they want? But he wasn’t depressed or anything, he put up with it same as everyone else.
‘Can you think of anywhere that’s particularly special to Leon, where he might go if he was worried or scared?’
Samira appeared to think for a moment. I don’t think so. I mean, he lives at school. Where else has he got?
Forest nodded, while Singh made notes.
‘What about anything in Leon’s personal life that might have affected his mood?’
Samira looked wary. What sort of thing?
‘Anything that happened recently that could have upset him, or made him behave out of character? Anything he might have been worried about?’
The girl inspected her nails for a moment, which were coated in a sparkly turquoise gel polish. I imagined she was breaking school rules by having them done like that, but I also suspected she didn’t care.
There might have been something, she began, then shook her head.
‘Samira, tell them,’ her brother said, speaking and signing at the same time. ‘Even if it’s small, you need to tell them.’ I got the feeling he was saying this to make her hurry up, rather than to emphasise the importance of her being open and honest.
Samira rolled her eyes again, but sat up a little straighter in her chair. He was worried about how he felt about other people, if you see what I mean.
The detectives both frowned, but I had interpreted her words as clearly as I could – she was trying to skirt around the issue, rather than her meaning being lost in translation.
I mean, like, who he liked. Like, boys, not girls.
‘Leon’s gay?’ Singh asked.
Well, maybe, Samira said, tilting her head from side to side to show indecision. That’s the point. It’s not as simple as straight or gay. I don’t think he really knows. But he thought he might be, and he said he didn’t really fancy anyone in particular, but he thought about boys rather than girls.
‘Had he talked to anyone else about this?’
Samira shrugged. I didn’t think so, she signed. Leon’s my best friend, he tells me everything, but he holds himself back with other people so I don’t think he’d come out to anyone else. This was a big thing for him, and he was only really starting to talk to me about it.
‘Could someone have found out, maybe bullied him?’ Forest asked.
No, I’m sure he would have told me about that.
At that moment, Singh’s mobile phone began to ring and he winced.
‘Sorry about this,’ he said, pulling it out of his pocket and checking the display. When he saw who was calling, he frowned and stood up. ‘I need to take this, I’m sorry.’ He walked out of the room and left Forest and me with Samira and her brother.
‘Are we done, like?’ he asked.
‘Not just yet,’ the DI replied, her voice icy. ‘We have a couple of other questions.’
‘It’s just, I need to get to work, don’t I?’
‘I understand that,’ Forest said, and I could see she was getting annoyed with his impatience. ‘But it’s very important we talk to Samira. A boy is missing, and he could be in danger.’
She turned back to the girl. ‘Samira, are you worried about Leon?’
The question seemed to take Samira by surprise, because she hesitated before answering.
Of course I’m worried, because I don’t know where he is. This isn’t the sort of thing he’d do, just walk out and leave without saying anything. But I think he can look after himself.
The door opened and Singh walked back in, his phone still in his hand. He shot Forest a serious look, then sat down and immediately turned to Samira with more questions.
‘Samira, did Leon ever mention anything to you about meeting someone this weekend? Anyone new?’
What do you mean? she asked, looking warily towards her brother.
‘Did he tell you he was going to meet anyone while he was away on the trip?’
She shook her head, confusion the only emotion I could read on her face. I wondered what the phone call had been about, to make Singh change tack like that.
‘Was he having any problems at school that he didn’t want to talk to the teachers about?’
No, nothing like that. He actually likes school. Likes it more than I do, anyway, she added with another eye roll. It seemed like she was trying to keep up her attitude in order to mask real concern about her friend.
Singh rubbed a hand over his chin and looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded at Samira and her brother.
‘Thank you very much for talking to us, but I think that’s all for now. We might want to speak to you again, if we find anything else out about Leon,’ he told Samira. ‘I’ll leave you my mobile number, okay? And if there’s anything you haven’t told us, or anything you remember, you can text me.’
He handed over a slip of card with his phone number on, and Samira took it with a nod.
When they’d left the room, he turned to Forest. ‘We’ve been able to access some of Leon’s messages. It’s possible he was talking to someone, arranging to meet them, but most of the messages have been sent through an app that’s encrypted. They’re working on it.’
‘Meeting someone? So that could be where he was going on Saturday?’ Forest suggested.
‘Your guess is as good as mine,’ Singh replied. He looked at me. ‘We still need to speak to Mike Lowther. We didn’t get a chance before Samira and her brother arrived. Are you okay waiting around for a bit, while we interview the hearing staff?’
I nodded. ‘Sure. I’ll find something to occupy myself.’
Leaving the room, I walked back to the entrance hall, turned a corner and stumbled headfirst into Mike.
‘Paige! Hi. Where are you going?’ His tone of voice was light, but I saw his eyes narrow slightly as he asked the question.
‘Er, I don’t know. I mean, I’m going for a walk. They don’t need me for your interview. Obviously.’ After his phone call the other night I’d found myself wondering if I should actually talk to him and let him have his say. Whatever happened, he was right: our relationship had ended very abruptly and neither of us had got a chance to express exactly how we felt abo
ut it.
‘Everyone is really worked up about this, Leon being missing and Steve being murdered,’ he said, shaking his head as if he still couldn’t believe it. ‘Do you know any more?’
‘You’ll have to ask the detectives about that,’ I said. I knew I shouldn’t be surprised at him trying to use me to get information, but I was still irritated. ‘Shouldn’t you be going there now?’
‘Yeah, you’re right. Sorry. I just wanted to stop and talk to you. It’s really good seeing you again, you know. You look really good.’ He reached out to touch my arm but I flinched before he could make contact and he dropped it again. ‘I suppose I deserve that.’ Giving me a sad smile, he walked past me towards the meeting room.
I went towards the front door, but I could see that it was still snowing lightly outside. It brought me back to reality, and I spent the next ten minutes pacing up and down in the entrance hall, reminding myself why I shouldn’t let Mike back into my life. Though that didn’t mean I couldn’t call a truce with him, did it?
I hadn’t told Anna about Mike’s phone call, or about his sudden desire to apologise. I knew exactly what she’d say if I asked for her opinion. She didn’t understand the subtleties of it – all she knew about my relationship with Mike had been what she’d seen from the outside. She’d never seen the good stuff, and part of me wanted to be able to remember that fondly. Despite what had happened between us, I had some pleasant memories of the early part of our relationship, and I’d felt truly happy for a short time. Maybe by allowing him to say his piece, by accepting his apology, I could move on and enjoy my relationship with Max.
Thinking about Max gave me a pang of guilt. I’d never even told him about Mike. But then, really, when it came down to it, it was none of his or Anna’s business. It was between me and Mike, and if I chose to hear him out when I had the opportunity, I was the only one whose opinion mattered.
A bell went, and soon a few students were milling around at the end of the corridor. I reflected on how the uniform had changed since Anna was here; the girls were mostly wearing trousers, which was unheard of fifteen years ago, and there were no ties any more. Anna had always complained about having to wear a tie, so I was sure she’d be glad to hear that the current students didn’t have to suffer the same fate.
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