Some of the phrases were repeated in other messages, but only one was on all of them.
Come home now. Come home now. Come home now.
“But you didn’t, did you, Dr Corcoran?” Amanda took a step forward. “Admittedly that’s not really your fault, but not my problem, either.”
“And what exactly is ‘your problem’?” said Parva.
“Why, the three of you of course.” Amanda gestured with the gun to the two struggling girls. “There’s no point in doing that,” she shouted to them. “You’ll never get free. Those knots have held spies from the Eastern bloc while our agents have interrogated them in the most gruesome ways. Believe me, they’re good and tight.”
“Your agents?” Parva pocketed the phone. “You’re a spy then?”
Amanda gave her a cool look. “Spy is such an old-fashioned term. Besides, that’s not what I do. I am what is known in our business as a sleeper. I can go for years under an assumed persona, never breaking character, behaving in exactly the same way as you might expect some closeted, almost institutionalised middle-aged woman to behave, even though I spent my youth negotiating arms deals in South America.”
“Wales must be something of a comedown for you, then.” Parva tried to edge towards the door but Amanda spotted it instantly and turned the gun in her direction.
“Not really,” she said. “Besides, you get a bit tired of having high velocity weapons pointed in your face while you’re trying to do your best to avoid a civil war. After that a private girls’ school actually came as a bit of a relief.”
Parva tried to keep her talking while she figured out what to do next. “How long have you been here?”
Amanda appeared to consider this before answering. “A few years,” she said eventually. “We always knew something like this would happen eventually.”
And now we come to it, Parva thought. “Like what, exactly?”
“Oh of course. You still don’t know, do you?” Amanda actually looked surprised. “Now, should I tell you, in which case I really will have to kill you?” She looked at Jocelyn and Emily. “All three of you.”
“If it’s a choice between one or the other, I’d rather you release us,” said Parva.
“The question is - how much do you know?” Amanda took another step forward and trained the gun on Parva. “Or rather, how much do you think you know?”
How to answer this one? Parva glanced behind her. It seemed highly unlikely that the cavalry was about to save them at the last minute, and she had never been good at making things up under such conditions. So she decided to start off being honest and try to wing it from there.
“Four girls died,” she said.
Amanda sighed. “We all know that already,” she said.
“A verdict of suicide was returned, but at least one of the girl’s fathers wasn’t convinced, so he asked DCI Willoughby to send someone - me - in to find out what had really happened.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “I can guess who that would have been,” she said, “and all this was his own bloody fault for not keeping his daughter on a shorter leash.”
“So all four girls were killed to cover up the fact that only one girl needed to die?” Parva frowned. “Isn’t that a bit excessive?”
“More like an accident,” Amanda admitted. “The intention was to drug them and then find out how much each girl knew. Unfortunately I didn’t count on them getting up to no good with various illicit substances I would imagine they purchased from Jocelyn here.” She kicked Jocelyn’s chair and the girl gave a little grunt. Parva drew breath.
“Oh yes,” Amanda gave a wry smile. “Did she have you convinced that she was a pupil here? She’s been chased off the grounds more times than I can think. Utter bloody nuisance. I can only imagine she came with you to try and find if the police had discovered the hiding place of their stash, which of course she would then have tried to sell on to some of the other girls here. And the teachers. You won’t believe some of the things people get up to in this place. It might be Wales but sometimes it reminds me of Venezuela.”
Parva still couldn’t believe it. “So the girls’ deaths were accidental?”
Amanda nodded. “And it was why the coroner was able to return a verdict of suicide. I kept telling them they should have called it death by misadventure but I was shouted down as usual. Apparently a suicide pact was more believable. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how my bosses get to be in the positions they are.”
“Influence, family, bribery and a lot of corruption I suspect,” said Parva.
“Oh you’re probably right,” said Amanda. “To give them fair due, in one of my weekly reports I’d mentioned that girls had formed this club and called themselves the Suicide Blondes. Seeing as only one of them was actually blonde I always thought it was admirably eccentric, while at the same time playing to the downbeat sensibilities so many teenaged girls seem to harbour. Like young Emily here.” Now it was Emily’s turn for a kick. “You’re a bit of a Goth, aren’t you? No idea about circle theorems but you know how to keep your fingernails painted perfectly black, don’t you?”
Parva detected a note of something there. Something she might be able to play to her advantage.
“You’re not jealous of these girls, are you?” she asked.
Amanda looked shocked. “If you must know I despise every single one of them. Wealthy, privileged, self-obsessed. None of them has a future worth talking about. They will all leave here to live off their parents’ money, have numerous affairs with boys from similarly obscenely rich families, and live out lives of worthlessness before succumbing to a death brought on by some manner of hedonism so excessive it’s too much even for their young pampered bodies.”
“So let me guess,” said Parva, “all the black magic stuff that Miss Arbuthnot found was your doing?”
Amanda nodded. “I thought it was a good idea at the time. Nothing puts people off the scent better than something that might be even juicier. A suicide pact was one thing, but black magic rituals at an exclusive school leading to death was quite another. The minute I thought of it I knew I’d solved the problem of how to get Miss Arbuthnot to do her damnedest to keep everything quiet.”
Parva felt the phone buzz in her pocket. The last text message she had read had been sent yesterday. Was it possible that somehow Willoughby’s team had managed to locate her via GPS?
“It all sounds a bit over the top to me.” She knew she was taking risks, but anything that distracted Amanda would give Parva a chance to get closer to the door.
“I do my job,” said Amanda, “and I do it very well. That’s all that matters. And right now my job is to take care of the three of you.”
“It must be difficult, though, working for the government like this,” said Parva as her phone buzzed again. “Doing its dirty work, covering up mistakes.”
Amanda raised her eyebrows. “Did I say I worked for the government?”
No, Parva thought, you didn’t. But I’m trying to get you to admit that you do. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it?” The phone buzzed again. Parva decided to press harder. “You’ve already admitted the girl you wanted to interrogate was the daughter of the man who got me sent here. Jack Willoughby’s a lot of things, but he’s not friends with gangsters, and I can’t think of anyone else who would have ex gun-runners in their employ.”
“An arms negotiator.” Amanda actually looked incensed at Parva’s accusation. “And yes, seeing as you wish to be so pushy about it, I’ll admit than I am working for the people who run this country, one of whom is rather unhappy about the fact that his daughter got caught in the crossfire.”
“What crossfire?” Parva was determined to get this woman to talk. “What was so important that you were willing to risk poisoning four young girls?”
Amanda sighed, her face sagged, and for a moment it looked as if she might drop her weapon. So secret government agents get tired of their lot from time to time as well, Parva thought, as her phone buzzed for a f
ourth time.
“Jennifer...actually let’s just stick to her Christian name to protect those who pay me a lot to help things stay that way, shall we? Anyway, Jennifer X, who was a pupil at this school, got involved with a man who was much older than her. Much older and rather influential where certain matters of state might be concerned. He was a friend of her father’s and his predilection for...younger women was well known. Her father was foolish enough to believe that he would never go after the man’s own daughter.”
“And that’s why she had to die?” Parva could hardly believe it. “So this man’s disgusting little ‘predilection’ as you call it, could be kept secret?”
Amanda shook her head. “Haven’t you read the papers in the last ten years? No one really cares about that sort of thing anymore. In fact if anything the one thing guaranteed to restores a flagging politician’s reputation in the opinion polls is for him to have an affair.”
So he was a politician. Parva filed that little fact away. “What, then?”
“Everything would have been fine if they hadn’t broken up,” said Amanda.
“The world is full of stories like that,” said Parva. “It’s hardly anything new. Why should this be any different?”
“Because, if you were as familiar with relationship break-ups as you are trying to pretend to be, you would know that they can often be very messy.” Amanda was standing between the two girls now. Her gaze swept from one to the other before settling once more on Parva. “People are angry. They do stupid things. And little Jenny did something very, very stupid indeed.”
“She gave the things he kept in her room to the charity shop,” Parva breathed. Suddenly it was starting to make sense. “And among those things there was something important.”
“No.” Amanda obviously didn’t like being pre-empted. “Among those things was something very important. I’m sure she had no idea what she’d done but it became imperative we find out. I was ‘awoken’, and instructed to investigate, with orders to dispose of her and anyone else who might be aware of the item.”
Parva’s phone began to vibrate continuously “What was it?” She thought about trying to edge back further but knew Amanda would shoot if she did. She changed tactics and took two steps forward.
Amanda surprised her by taking a step back. She gave a nervous laugh. “Do you think I would tell you? Or these two trussed up children? Oh no, Dr Corcoran. I’ve had enough trouble trying to track the damned thing down without risking yet more people knowing about it.”
Parva tried moving forward again. Now she was in between the two girls. She still had no idea what she was going to do but at least Amanda had moved back from Emily and Jocelyn.
“Have you found it, then?” Parva asked. The twitch at the corners of Amanda’s eyes told her that she hadn’t. “Wouldn’t it be helpful if you told us what it was and then we could all help you look?”
Amanda forced a laugh. “No, Dr Corcoran, that wouldn’t help at all.”
“I see.” Parva reached into her pocket. “In that case, would you mind if I answered my phone? Someone seems to be desperate to get my attention.”
Amanda looked only slightly perturbed. “Why not?” she said. “The condemned woman deserves a last wish. If it’s Willoughby you can say goodbye, after you tell him what a silly boy he’s been for trying to contact you again. If it’s anyone else...” Amanda paused and looked around her, “...they’ll never believe whatever it is you tell them.”
Parva lifted the buzzing phone to her eye line and pressed the ‘Receive’ button.
The first text message of the evening appeared. As she might have expected, it was from Jack Willoughby.
Don’t do anything stupid.
Parva shook the phone as it continued to vibrate. Why hadn’t it picked up? She pressed the button again.
The message that must have followed appeared.
Under no circumstances put yourself in danger.
Yes, fine, I already am in danger, thank you very much, she thought, thumbing the button once more.
“Problems?” Amanda was starting to grin now.
“Oh, you know,” said Parva as she stared at the final two texts, “technology.”
Cool as a cucumber.
Keep calm and remember your initial training.
Parva blinked. What the hell was Willoughby on? This was just nonsense.
Or was it?
Was it possibly a code?
Parva looked at the messages as Amanda tapped her foot.
“I’m starting to get bored, Dr Corcoran.”
“Sorry.” There was something hidden here, something Parva needed to decipher quickly. She found her eyes straying to the final message.
Remember your initial training.
She’d never had any initial training, or at least it hadn’t been called that.
Initial.
Parva looked at the first letter of each text.
D
U
C
K
The phone was still buzzing. Parva pressed the receive button one last time and the message was there, over and over.
Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck Duck.
Parva threw herself to the floor as the windows of the biology laboratory exploded inwards. Tear gas canisters hit the floor, oily smoke already pouring from them. Parva gripped the legs of the chair on the right and pulled as hard as she could. The chair fell backwards with a crash, as Parva did the same to the left. Both Emily and Jocelyn disappeared beneath a sea of choking fumes. Parva heard a gunshot and winced but felt no pain. She looked up but by now her eyes were filled with tears. She had a vague sense of someone pulling her away and then everything went black.
13
“Are you feeling all right now?”
Parva struggled to focus on the face of Matron Waters as she willed the pounding in her head to go away. She tried to rise from the bed she was lying in, but that just made it even worse. Parva coughed, and wished she had died rather than survive whatever toxins had invaded her system and were making her feel so abominable right at this moment.
“You’re going to feel rough for a little while,” said a man’s voice as Jack Willoughby came into view, his face full of concern. “But once you’re able to walk we’ll get you back to Bristol.”
Parva tried to swing her legs out of bed and immediately wanted to throw up.
“I don’t think I’m ready quite yet,” she croaked. The words echoed around the inside of her skull.
“I’m not at all surprised,” said the DCI, motioning to the matron that she could leave them to it. “That was pretty toxic stuff we sent in there. I needed to knock everyone out quickly and that was the best we could drum up at short notice. Emily and Jocelyn are next door. They’ve yet to wake up.”
Parva squinted at him as she tried to get used to the daylight streaming in through the windows. “How long have I been out?”
Willoughby smiled. “Just under twelve hours,” he said. “Most people are knocked out for at least twenty-four.”
“I certainly feel dead.” Parva tried to return the smile but that required just a bit too much effort. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”
The DCI shook his head. “I can’t tell you too much, I’m afraid,” he said. “I suspect you’ve worked most of it out, though.”
“I know those girls died because of a government mistake,” said Parva, “and that...”
“Before you go any further I’ll tell you right now that you’re going to have to forget all that,” said Willoughby. “If you don’t you’ll be finding yourself on the next flight to somewhere very cold and isolated, and you won’t be allowed back.”
Parva could hardly believe what she was hearing. “Is that a threat?”
“It is,” Willoughby replied. “But if it makes you feel any better I’ve been threatened wit
h the same. Something top secret went missing up here, and more than one group of people has been searching for it. It’s generally considered that both sides have made mistakes and in at least one instance used excessive and inappropriate force to cover its tracks.”
Parva didn’t like the sound of any of that but she had to know. “And what would that thing be?”
Willoughby shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said.
That wasn’t good enough. “I think you do,” Parva insisted. “The least you can do is tell me after everything I’ve been through.” She tried to smile again. It was a bit easier this time. “I promise I’ll forget all about it straight away.”
Willoughby appeared to be considering this for a moment. Then he took a deep breath.
“It was a memory stick,” he said. “The kind of thing that easily fits in an overcoat pocket and then gets forgotten about. The problem arose when that overcoat ended up being given to the local Oxfam by an irate teenaged girl. That’s when things got interesting.”
Parva tried to sit up but she was still feeling dizzy. “What was on it?”
Willoughby shook his head. “That I really can’t tell you, because I don’t rightly know myself. I’m guessing it was either military secrets or something incriminating to one or more people who run this country. Either way, once word got out that it was gone, St Miranda’s suddenly became very interesting to all kinds of people.”
“Including Amanda.” Parva tried to remember what the woman had looked like, but all her fuzzy brain could bring to mind was tweed and cigar smoke. “What’s happened to her, by the way?”
“Amanda Plumridge is no longer.” Willoughby was obviously uneasy discussing her. “But I’m sure you appreciate that she never really existed in the first place. She’s been taken where all such people go in these situations.”
Parva put a hand to her forehead in case that might help the throbbing. “That’s not very clear,” she said.
“It’s not meant to be,” Willoughby replied.
Parva sighed. “At least the girls are all right,” she said.
The Pact Page 7