She didn’t reply, but folded her arms defiantly. I really wanted to ask how she could sleep with someone else only days after her boyfriend was murdered. Had those tears been just for show, to convince the detectives that she was grieving?
Fine, don’t listen to my advice, I replied, throwing my hands up. I can’t force you.
Jess looked me up and down, then turned to leave before pausing. A sour smile twisted her lips. I should have known what you were like. I know your sister, after all, she signed, then turned and stalked off.
Moments later, Singh was back, beckoning me in the direction of the deputy head teacher’s office.
‘Paige. Quickly, please. We need to speak to Liz Marcek again.’
Still seething from the comment about Anna I hurried into the room after him. Before she had a chance to ask what the problem was, Singh marched up to her desk.
‘You can install a program on some phones to back up your messages, and then they can be downloaded to a computer. Our techs found some of these messages between Leon and Joe, downloaded and saved in a secret folder.’
Leon’s messages were backed up to a school computer? Liz asked, confused.
‘No, it wasn’t Leon that saved them. It was Joe.’
Liz started to sign something, but Singh held up a hand to stop her.
‘The messages were downloaded by Steve Wilkinson. Steve was Joe.’
Chapter 20
The staffroom was packed, and the mutters that were going round put me on edge. Singh had briefed Liz Marcek, and she was preparing to tell the rest of the staff about what had been found on Steve Wilkinson’s account. Singh had insisted that I interpret – it wasn’t appropriate to use another member of staff when they didn’t know what had happened.
Liz waved her hands to attract attention, and as all the faces turned to her she began.
I’m sorry to interrupt your day like this, but we’ve had some very serious news. Leon still hasn’t been found, she hastily added, as some of the staff put shocked hands to their mouths, obviously assuming the worst. However, the police have discovered a possible link between Steve’s death and Leon’s disappearance.
A few people started to mutter or sign to each other, but Liz stamped her foot to get their attention again. Don’t interrupt, please. I don’t want to extend the lunch break.
The offenders looked suitably chastised, so Liz continued.
On examination of Steve’s computer, it seems he was sending messages to Leon, posing as a sixteen-year-old boy called Joe. The nature of these messages was romantic, and at points sexual.
Gasps went round the room.
Obviously, the police need to investigate a lot further to see if this was something Steve had been doing for a long time, and if any other children had been put at risk. I will be speaking to the governors about the best way to handle this discovery. For now, this information must not be shared with our students, under any circumstances. It is vital that we pay strict attention to even the slightest hint of a suggestion that Steve behaved inappropriately towards any of them, girls or boys. I know you are all familiar with the safeguarding policy, that any disclosure is reported immediately to the designated safeguarding lead, but if any of you took any concerns to Steve that you think were not dealt with, please come to me with them now. We’ll need to review all our safeguarding records as well, to ensure no student has slipped through the cracks.
There is no doubt that this will get out to the media at some point, but until it is released by the police I do not expect to read anything about it beyond the walls of this school. If there is a leak from the staff, the person responsible will be suspended with immediate effect. I have made the decision to share this information with all of you in order that we can come together to ensure the safety of our students. The governors and I will contact Ofsted so they are aware of the situation before it becomes public knowledge, in order to try and limit the damage to the school’s reputation.
She finished, and her shoulders dropped. I noticed how tired she looked, despite the well-applied make-up. It must have been difficult, suddenly having the headship thrust upon her in tragic circumstances, and now having to deal with this shocking revelation. I felt for her in that moment, as I saw how strong she was forcing herself to appear on the surface.
Singh waited around for the rest of the lunch hour, in case anyone had anything they needed to tell him immediately, but the staff mainly looked stunned. After reminding Liz Marcek to pass anything she discovered on to the police as soon as possible, Singh and I left.
We walked through the car park in silence towards Singh’s car. We didn’t talk much on the drive back to Scunthorpe, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Had Leon arranged to meet Joe at Normanby Hall and then discovered his online boyfriend was actually his headteacher? Had he killed Steve and then run away to escape the consequences? Or had someone else discovered what Steve had been doing and killed him in order to protect Leon? If that was the case, Leon must have seen something and run away because he was scared. I shook my head. It was so tangled. And that poor kid, finding himself in that situation – whatever had happened, he must be terrified.
When we pulled up outside my flat I asked if Singh wanted to come in for a drink.
‘I’d love to, but I need to get back to the station. We’re going to be working all night on this, I expect.’
‘I just don’t get it,’ I said. ‘How can Steve have been Joe?’
Singh thumped the steering wheel. ‘Men like that, they don’t give a shit about the kids they target. He probably got off on seeing Leon round school, knowing the conversations they’d been having.’ He shook his head in disgust. ‘Some people would be glad he’s dead, but I’d rather he’d lived to see the inside of a cell for the rest of his life.’
I wasn’t sure how I felt about it but I knew Singh was right: he should have faced justice, not been murdered, regardless of his crimes. On the spur of the moment, I reached over and gave Singh a hug before I got out. He looked taken aback by my display of affection, but smiled at me before he drove off.
Inside, Anna got up as soon as I walked in.
What’s happened? I know something’s happened, she told me. I can see it all over your face.
I shook my head. I really can’t tell you about this one, I’m sorry. But it’s serious. Very serious.
Is Leon dead?
A shudder passed through me. I didn’t know the answer to that question. Had Steve been able to hurt or abuse Leon before he had been stabbed? It didn’t bear thinking about.
Not that I know of.
I needed a bit of time to myself, so I told Anna I was going to have a shower. I turned the water up as hot as I could bear and stood underneath the water until my skin felt bruised. Even then, it was an effort to turn it off and step out, back into the world where things like that could happen.
I wrapped a towel around my hair and went back into the living room, where Anna was scrolling through her phone. Another thought had occurred to me.
Do you remember Jessica Farriday?
Anna put her phone down and stared at me, her eyebrows raised in disbelief. Do I remember Jessica Farriday? Is that what you asked?
Yeah. She told me the other day that you were at school together, but I forgot to mention it.
Anna laughed but there was no humour in it. Oh, I could never forget her. Do you remember when I was about fifteen, I had a week or two where everyone completely ignored me? Even some of the teachers ended up doing it.
Yeah, that was awful, I said. I had been seventeen at the time, and fully prepared to come to Anna’s school and sort out the bitches myself.
Well, that was Jess Farriday’s doing. She was the queen bee, and she loved nothing more than playing people off against each other. When I wouldn’t bow down and worship her, she did everything she could to make my life hell, until she got bored of me and went to work on someone else instead. What the hell were you doing talking to Jess Farriday? Anna t
ilted her head on one side. Oh, wait. Is she working at our old school?
Yeah, she’s the PE teacher.
Anna gave a snort. Of course she is. Any chance to prance around in her shorts, I bet. She made sure the lads all followed her around like puppies when we were at school, and I bet she tries that with the male staff now.
I wouldn’t know about that, I said, but it did seem to ring true given what we’d discovered. I couldn’t share information about Jess’s relationship with the dead head teacher, and I probably shouldn’t tell Anna that she’d also dated both Mike and Max.
She was the sort of person that, if she found out two other students were together, she’d do her best to split them up, just for the hell of it, Anna said, her mouth twisted into a distasteful expression. Maybe she’d want the lad for herself, but mostly she just didn’t want any attention taken off her.
Sounds like a nightmare, I said.
I mulled it all over as we sat watching something mindless on the TV. I wondered if any of this was relevant to the investigation. Maybe Jess still behaved the same way as she did when she was a teenager; was it possible she was only having a fling with Steve in order to advance her position in the school? What Max had told me about her certainly suggested it was possible. Unfortunately, the one other person I knew who had been in a relationship with her previously wasn’t someone I wanted to talk to about it. Mike and I had been civil to each other and I hoped it would carry on that way, but if I started asking him questions about his ex that might lead into territory I didn’t want to cover. And what was her motivation for taking up with him again, just as all of this was happening?
The doorbell went, and we frowned at each other. Neither of us was expecting anyone, so I went to the intercom to find out who it was.
‘Hi Paige, it’s Mike. Can I come up?’
I felt a chill run through me, as if he’d known I was just thinking about speaking to him.
Anna looked inquisitive and I pulled a face. Mike, I signed.
Her face dropped into a scowl. Don’t let him in.
I’m not going to. But I’ll go down and talk to him at the door.
Without asking, she followed me out. When I opened the door to the building, Mike was leaning against the wall.
‘Hi,’ I said to him, giving Anna a sideways look, wondering how she’d react. ‘Why are you here?’
‘I need to talk to you,’ he said, standing up and reaching for the door as if to push it open. I paused for a moment, unsure of what to say, but I stepped outside with Anna and pulled the door shut behind us so he couldn’t get into the building. Anna was glaring at Mike and looking at me for an explanation.
‘What about?’ I asked.
‘It’s freezing out here,’ he said. ‘Can I come in?’
I looked over again at Anna.
‘No, I’m sorry. It’s not a good time.’
He frowned. ‘I only want to talk to you. Is that not allowed now?’
‘It’s allowed, but not right now. Anna’s got work to do and I promised I’d help her with it.’ It wasn’t strictly true, but it was a handy excuse.
‘Paige, this is silly. Let me in.’
‘No.’
He looked surprised, and I realised that I’d probably never said no to him before, or at least not for a very long time. Mike was probably expecting me to still be the same person I was when we were together, but I’d changed a hell of a lot in the last three years.
‘As always, your sister comes first,’ he replied with a roll of his eyes.
‘Of course she does.’ I folded my arms and stared at him defiantly. If he genuinely wanted to apologise for the way he’d treated me, so we could both move on, he wasn’t being particularly successful.
‘Paige, I’m sorry, okay?’ He let out a long breath. ‘I’m sorry, you just have this effect on me. Three years, and now suddenly you’re here and I can’t stop thinking about you. It makes me so mad, you know, that we threw away such a good thing. So, I forget myself sometimes.’
‘We can talk about it, but not right now. You can’t turn up at my front door and expect me to drop everything.’ I turned to walk inside and he put his arm out. Anna moved as if to get in between us, but I shook my head at her.
‘Wait, I’ve not said what I came here to say, yet,’ Mike said, a note of impatience in his voice.
‘And I’ve told you, now isn’t the right time.’
Before he had a chance to respond, Anna pushed past me, hands flying as she ranted at my ex-boyfriend.
I reached over and put a hand on her arm, stopping her mid-sign.
Anna, what are you doing?
Telling this bastard exactly what I think of him, she signed back to me, her eyes blazing. I can’t believe he’s allowed to supervise children. How do you know he wasn’t the one who killed the head teacher?
Mike was watching all this with a raised eyebrow, a smug expression on his face.
‘Can’t control your tempers, can you? You’re both the same, a pair of hysterical bitches.’
I rounded on him. ‘What the hell? A couple of days ago you were apologising to me and begging to talk to me, then you throw that insult at me?’
He looked genuinely embarrassed. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘She got me so worked up.’
For a moment I was about to accept his apology, until my brain waved a little red flag at me. Whenever he got angry at me, his eventual apologies were empty, and usually involved blaming me. ‘I’m sorry, you just make me so angry’ was one of his most common phrases. Now he was just switching to gaslighting my sister instead of me.
‘Piss off, Mike. And don’t come back here.’
I saw his fists clench and I tensed, ready for flight, but with a curl of his lip he backed away.
‘Okay. Well, hopefully we can get together soon and have a chat,’ he said, his jaw tight with pent-up anger.
Mike walked towards the pavement, glancing back at me as he went. Anna and I went inside, but she didn’t ask for an explanation until she’d locked the door behind us.
What did he really want?
I have no idea. You didn’t give him the chance to tell me. I knew I couldn’t tell her about his sudden desire for closure on our relationship. She would fly off the handle, accuse me of getting involved with him again. That wasn’t what was happening, but I didn’t think she’d understand.
She frowned. I’ve just thought. What if he wanted to tell you something about the case or the missing kid?
Then he can tell the police, which is what any normal person would do, I told her, surprised she’d even suggested it.
You’re right, she signed, stepping forward to give me a hug. She peered out of the window. He’s still there.
I looked where she was indicating. It looks like he’s on the phone. He’ll probably go soon.
Mike stood outside staring at my flat for another ten minutes before he walked away. I’d been hoping he’d parked right outside so I could see what kind of car he was driving. Had it been him in the sports car who had followed me last night when I went out with Max?
Part of me wondered if I should have just let him in and heard what he had to say, but I was scared of the outcome. If he really had changed, how would I feel about the new, improved version of Mike? And if he hadn’t, would he go straight back to his old ways once I’d invited him over the threshold?
Chapter 21
My phone went off at two a.m. and I considered ignoring it. Singh’s name flashed up, however, so I sat up in bed and answered.
‘Hi, Paige. Did I wake you?’
‘It’s two in the morning,’ I replied. ‘Of course you woke me. What’s up?’
‘I’ve had a call from Lincolnshire police. An alarm has gone off at the school in the middle of the night. They sent a couple of uniforms out and it seems it could be related to our case. They’ve passed it on to us, and Forest has requested I go down there.’
‘So that means I have to go too,’ I said, my voice weary.
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br /> ‘If you don’t mind?’ I could tell from his voice that he didn’t want to go either, but at least it’d be easier if I agreed to go. They’d never get another interpreter in the middle of the night.
‘Okay. Want me to meet you there?’
‘I’ll pick you up.’
Fifteen minutes later, we were on the road to Lincoln. Anna had been fast asleep when I left, so I wrote her a note and stuck it to the fridge, in case she woke up and found me gone. It was a battle to stay awake, and Singh and I couldn’t even play many car games because there were so few other vehicles on the road at that time.
‘What happened, do we know?’ I asked.
‘There was a break-in of some sort,’ he replied.
‘Why do we need to go now, instead of just sorting it out in the morning?’
‘That one I can’t answer. Lincolnshire apparently insisted that they wanted someone as soon as possible.’
I yawned in response.
When we arrived at the school, there was a police car sitting outside the main entrance, and lights on in a couple of the offices, so we went inside. There we found Liz Marcek and Cassie sitting with two uniformed officers, whose eyes lit up when we walked in.
‘DS Singh,’ he said, introducing himself. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘We haven’t been able to get anyone to interpret, so we haven’t really got to the bottom of it, sir,’ one of the PCs replied.
‘Where’s Mike?’ I asked, signing the question as well as speaking. ‘He could have at least helped out until I arrived.’
It’s Mike’s evening off, Liz replied. I’m not sure where he is. I’ve tried to reach him, but he hasn’t responded to my message.
Typical. Singh looked to the PCs to explain what they knew so far.
‘We got an automatic message that the alarm had gone off, so we responded and found a student had broken into the head teacher’s office.’ They glanced at Cassie as they said this. ‘The staff hadn’t been aware of the alarm.’
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