‘Do you really think the parents will be happy with you if this has happened and you didn’t call them straight away to let them know? To give them the option of collecting their child immediately?’ Singh asked, his voice calm despite the situation. ‘If you keep this from them, they won’t trust you again.’
Liz Marcek looked aghast, but this hit home and she nodded. Okay. You’re right. I’ll get Karen from the office to start calling parents.
She left the room, her shoulders slumped in defeat. The pressure that had been thrust upon her in the last week was immense, and I was surprised she’d held up as well as she had. I understood her desperate need to keep the school running, but Singh was right, the parents would be up in arms as soon as they found out that a member of staff had been murdered on the premises during the school day.
‘Any idea what happened yet?’ I asked him, and he shook his head.
‘The CCTV doesn’t show anyone entering the grounds who isn’t already in the hall,’ he said, loosening his tie a bit and running a hand over his face. ‘In theory, we have our murderer trapped, but unless we can figure out who the hell might have done this we’re going to have to let them go soon enough. We’ll start interviewing staff soon, and we’ll have to be vigilant when we’re letting students leave in case anyone tries to slip away. The four students who are potential suspects will still be here, but I think we can rule out all of the other students.’
I chewed my lip as I thought about whether or not to ask my next question, but I had to do it.
‘Rav, could it have been Mike?’
My fear must have shown in my eyes because he squeezed my hand. ‘I can’t lie to you, Paige. He’s definitely a suspect. He followed Steve into the woods after he went to look for Leon.’
‘When we were at Normanby Hall, he cornered me in the woods after Sasha and I found Steve’s body. I fell over, but it felt like someone pushed me. Could he have been worried I’d seen him kill Steve?’
Singh hesitated before he answered, which was all the response I needed.
‘Shit,’ I said. ‘I never pressed charges for anything he did to me because I just wanted to close the door on that part of my life. But if it turns out he did this …’ I let my voice tail off, because I didn’t think I could bear the weight of that responsibility.
‘This is not your fault,’ he replied, his voice fierce. ‘Victims of abuse always blame themselves for the abuser’s actions, and this situation is no different. You have no responsibility for anything he may or may not have done.’
I nodded, but I couldn’t stop my thoughts from straying that way.
‘We need to interview the staff now,’ he said. ‘It might be a bit of a random order, so we’ll need you to stick around. Is that okay?’
I agreed, and he went to find DI Forest to check she was ready.
The next hour and a half was a frustrating blur of interviews, which took place in a stuffy classroom. When parents arrived to collect their children, most of them were rushed straight out but a couple of parents wanted to speak to the police, which then delayed the interviews. One deaf parent kicked off because she wanted to speak to Liz Marcek, but the deputy head had gone off to escort one of the younger children to the car park. Forest managed to calm the parent down, with me to interpret, but that took at least twenty minutes.
Half of the staff couldn’t remember when they last saw Saul, while several had seen him during the morning but couldn’t say exactly what time. When all the children had gone, some of the PCs were dismissed while a couple of others went over to the residence with Bradley, Kian, Courtney and Cassie.
I was taking a break while they interviewed hearing staff when my phone beeped with a text from Max.
Can I pop over tonight?
I smiled. A night with Max would be a very welcome distraction. Sure, but I don’t know when I’ll be home. I’ll text you when I’m leaving Lincoln.
Okay :) xx
I had a smile on my face when I got his reply, but it slipped when I heard a door open beside me and found Mike standing there.
‘Used to be me who put that smile on your face,’ he said with a grin that looked more like a leer. ‘Who’s the new man?’
I didn’t answer, put my phone away in my bag and started walking away from him down the corridor.
‘Don’t just walk away from me, Paige.’ I heard the anger in his voice but I didn’t care. We were in a building full of police officers, even he wasn’t stupid enough to do anything to me.
‘Where the fuck do you think you’re going?’ Behind me, I heard his footsteps pick up pace as he chased after me, and he caught up to me right outside the door where the staff were being interviewed.
‘I know it was you,’ he hissed at me.
This caught me off guard, because I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.
‘What was me?’
‘You told Jess to keep away from me. Is that how it’s going to be, Paige? Because you can’t have me, nobody can?’ He was shouting now, anger making a vein stand out on his neck. ‘You’re just a bitter, jealous bitch and you need to get your own life sorted out before you come messing with mine.’
‘Messing with your life? You’re the one who’s been following me!’ I snapped.
‘What?’ For a moment he looked genuinely confused. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘I’ve seen your car, Mike. Don’t you have anything better to do than stalk me?’
His lip curled. ‘I don’t have a car, Paige. I always knew you were delusional but this is taking it a bit far, even for you.’
It took a moment for this to sink in. Was he telling the truth, or was he just trying to throw me off the scent? If it hadn’t been him following me, who was it?
‘You stupid cow,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Are you trying to ruin my life again?’
I’d had enough. ‘You really need to get help, you know that? You’ve brought all of this on yourself, with your ridiculous denial of what you did to me. You stole all my money and locked me in my flat for four days, Mike! And you wonder why I wouldn’t want anything to do with you? I haven’t said a word to Jess, she probably realised what a shit you are all on her own.’
The stunned look on Mike’s face was still there when the door next to us was flung open. DI Forest stood there, her face thunderous as she looked between us both. I braced myself for the tirade, but she settled on Mike.
‘Mr Lowther, you are disturbing our interview process. I would kindly ask you to control yourself.’
He hesitated, but she stared at him until he walked away.
‘Thank you,’ I said to her, and she nodded. Still surprised that she only railed at Mike for his behaviour, despite the fact I had been shouting too, I sat down to wait for the next time I’d be needed.
It took another hour before Singh came to find me, and I could see his exhaustion hanging beneath his eyes.
‘It’s as if a ghost came in and killed the man,’ he said, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘Nobody saw anything untoward, nobody thought Saul was behaving differently, and he didn’t tell anyone what he’d found. We’re getting absolutely nowhere. One of these people killed him, but I’m going to have to let them all go.’
He kicked the wall in frustration, and on impulse I gave him a hug. I felt the tension in his shoulders relax slightly as he returned it, then he pulled away and gave me an embarrassed smile.
‘It’s not your fault,’ I said. ‘Something will turn up. The tech people have his computer, don’t they?’
Singh nodded.
‘They’ll find whatever it was, and you’ll have them in the next day or two.’
‘By which time they could be halfway across Europe.’
‘Or they might still be here, hoping you haven’t found anything.’
He nodded, but I knew he wasn’t really listening to me. In his head, he was probably listing everything he could have done better.
‘You should go home,’ he told me.
I nodded. ‘Okay. But ring me if you need me back, okay?’
On impulse, I gave him another hug before I walked to the door. I stepped outside and gasped at how bad the weather had become. The snow was over my ankles, and any tracks that had been made by parents’ cars had already been buried. A figure came towards me and I backed away until I recognised Liz Marcek, bundled up in a huge coat.
It’s no good, she told me. The road is completely blocked.
Looking past her I could see the tracks she’d made as she’d walked back to the school from the main gates. She must have been out to check if it was passable.
What are we going to do? I asked.
There’s nothing we can do, she replied. We’ll have to wait here until it stops.
I looked out at the snow and thought about Leon. I hoped he had shelter, wherever he was. He could be all alone, scared and hiding in the snow, and now whoever it was had killed Saul, Leon would surely be next on their list. I hoped the snow would stop soon, because I was convinced Leon was in grave danger.
Chapter 33
I didn’t notice when the sun went down, because it was already so dark outside with the snow obscuring everything. A few of the staff had managed to get out before the roads became blocked, but many were stuck in the school. Forest, Singh and I were still there, along with a couple of Lincolnshire PCs. Forest had spent some time on the phone to the local council, insisting the route out of there was ploughed immediately, but it wasn’t as simple as that. They had to prioritise hospitals first, then major routes; a handful of people stuck in a warm building with plenty of food in the kitchen certainly weren’t near the top of their list.
We huddled in the staffroom, waiting for someone to tell us what to do. Liz Marcek looked like she wanted to take charge, but she reluctantly deferred to Forest.
There are some spare staff bedrooms in the residence, Liz said. But not enough for all of us. Sasha is already using one, then there are three more spare rooms. And there’s Mike’s room, he has his own of course.
I looked around the room and counted the number of staff left: seven, not including Mike, who was over in the residence with the students.
‘And there are just the four students left?’ Forest checked.
Yes, some of the weekly residential students didn’t arrive this morning due to the snow, and the ones that did made it home.
Forest nodded. ‘Okay. Given the circumstances I want at least two police officers in the residence at all times.’ She looked at Singh. ‘Rav, can you go over with one of the PCs, please. Make sure the students are reassured.’
We need to tell them what’s happened, Liz interrupted, her face sombre. They’ll be wondering what’s going on. I’ll come over and speak to them.
‘Actually, I’d prefer it if you stayed here,’ Forest told her. ‘DS Singh and Paige can let the students know what’s happening. Sasha can go with them.’
Liz looked like she was about to argue, but Forest was already beckoning to Sasha so I could interpret her request.
You can’t make decisions like that and exclude me, the deputy head complained. These are my students.
‘And it is my responsibility to keep them safe. Right now, I think a detective is the best person to reassure them that they are being protected, don’t you?’
Liz twisted her mouth but she didn’t reply, and Singh, Sasha and I went over to the residence. The forensics team had managed to get away before the weather worsened, and the area where Saul’s body had lain was already covered with fresh snow. It was almost as if I’d imagined it.
When we walked in there was chaos: Bradley was on his feet, shouting and signing furiously at Mike, who was standing opposite him with his arms folded across his chest. Kian was sitting in the corner with his hands over his face and Courtney had her arm round him, while Cassie was folded into a corner of the sofa, chewing her nails.
‘What’s going on?’ Singh asked, stepping in between Mike and Bradley.
Nobody will tell us what the fuck is happening! Bradley fumed, breathing hard from between clenched teeth. Someone else has been killed, haven’t they? Haven’t they?
‘Yes,’ Singh replied, and Bradley was startled into taking a step back. He clearly hadn’t been expecting an honest answer from the DS.
‘Now, go and see to your brother,’ he continued, with a nod to Kian in the corner, ‘then come and sit down, so we can explain.’
Mike looked at Singh. ‘I was handling it,’ he said, his voice a low growl. A flicker of intense dislike passed across Singh’s face, but it was gone again a moment later.
‘We need to tell them what’s happening,’ Singh replied, then turned to the students. I stood next to him to interpret, and I noticed that Sasha deliberately sat on the opposite side of the room from Mike. Once or twice I caught her looking at him with a suspicious frown on her face.
‘Earlier today, Mr Achembe was found dead. That’s why there has been an increased police presence at the school, and why the other students were sent home. Until we discover who killed him, there will be police officers here to make sure you are safe.’
‘To make sure we’re safe?’ Courtney asked, her soft voice quavering. ‘Why wouldn’t we be safe?’
‘We have to take these precautions,’ Singh replied.
‘But you think someone is going to try to hurt us as well? Is someone going to try to kill us?’ Courtney’s voice rose as she became hysterical, then burst into tears. Bradley looked torn between keeping Kian calm and comforting his girlfriend, so Sasha stepped in and put an arm around Courtney.
That’s not what they’re saying, the social worker signed, holding Courtney’s gaze to try and keep her calm. They want you to know that you don’t need to worry, because the police are here to protect you.
But why do we need protecting? Kian asked.
I could see from Singh’s face that this wasn’t how he had envisioned this going. Mike had a smirk on his face that made me want to kick him, but I did my best to ignore him.
‘Because you’re children, and you shouldn’t be involved in this sort of situation. If we could find somewhere else to send you, so you were far away from what’s happening here, we would. For now, I’m going to stay here with you, as well as PC Brown,’ he said, indicating the uniformed officer who was loitering by the door. ‘If you’re scared, please talk to us. And if you think you saw anything today, tell me. If there are any more secrets that any of you are keeping, it’s very important that you share them now. Do you understand?’
The students all nodded, but none of them volunteered any information. Singh encouraged them to relax, and Bradley turned on the games console, but none of them seemed particularly interested. Around dinner time, Mike went over to the main school building to get some pizzas from the kitchen, which kept Bradley and Kian occupied for a while, but the girls just picked at their food.
As the evening wore on, I had to go back to the staffroom to interpret for Forest. Now the interviews were over, she’d stayed in the main building to keep an eye on the rest of the staff. The DI was happy for one of the teachers to stand in if she needed an interpreter for basic communication, but then she needed to speak to Liz to give her an update, which she thought was best kept confidential. Trudging through the snow back to the residence, I thought I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. Spinning around, I held my breath as shadows loomed at me. Everything sounded strange, muffled by a thick blanket of snow.
‘Is someone there?’ I said, then felt embarrassed at my own idiocy. I turned around again and was about to ring the bell for the residence when I noticed a set of footprints leading around the side of the building. I followed them, and discovered they stopped outside one of the students’ bedroom windows. Someone had been standing here not very long ago. As I turned to go inside, something else caught my eye – something glinting in the snow, reflecting light from one of the windows. I bent down to pick it up and saw that it was a charm bracelet.
&
nbsp; My heart hammering, I slid back round to the front door and waited for someone to let me in.
‘What’s wrong?’ Singh asked as soon as he saw my face.
I held up my hand to show him the bracelet but didn’t speak, trying to work out which room the footprints stopped outside. Going through the communal area, I walked down the girls’ corridor and stopped outside a door. Motioning to Singh to join me, I knocked on the door.
‘What?’ Courtney asked as she poked her head around her door.
‘Courtney, did someone come to your window a little while ago?’ I asked.
‘My window?’
‘Yes.’
Courtney shook her head, her eyes wide and innocent. ‘No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘Can we come in?’
The girl looked reluctant, but held her door open for us to squeeze past her. I pulled her curtains aside and checked outside; I was right. Beneath the window were the footprints I’d seen, with mine behind them.
‘Someone was standing here,’ I muttered to Singh, hoping Courtney couldn’t hear me. ‘I saw the footprints.’
‘Did you see anyone outside?’
I shook my head, and Singh continued looking out of the window for a few moments. I still had the bracelet in my hand, and I showed it to Courtney.
‘I’ve been looking for that,’ she said, and moved to take it from me, but I pulled my hand away.
‘Was that charm yours? The one with the C on it?’ I asked.
She blushed scarlet, and nodded. ‘Bradley and I went out that night, to the pavilion. We don’t get time alone together normally. I didn’t want to get into trouble.’
Singh took the bracelet from me. ‘Why was it outside your window?’
Courtney shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I haven’t been able to find it since we came back from the trip. I thought I’d lost it there.’
‘When were you in the pavilion?’ Singh asked her, his expression stern.
‘Just after midnight. Bradley and I waited until the others were asleep, then we snuck out.’
Silent Night Page 25