Child's Play

by Alison Taylor

  ‘All he did was cut her out of the group, like he was sorting sheep, and bark once,’ Dewi said. ‘There was no need for the fuss she kicked up, but she started screaming like a banshee. Daisy didn’t help, either. She added fuel to the flames by calling her a pathetic amoeba.’

  Accompanying Matron along the corridor from the refectory, across the central lobby and down the facing corridor, McKenna came to the conclusion that for all the building’s spare lines, austere proportions and wealth of windows, it was no less oppressive than the encircling woodland.

  Matron’s room overlooked the Strait and the lawns, where the massed banks of rhododendron and azalea were touched with gold by the dying sun. She gestured him to a basket chair and squeezed her bulk into another, keeping her back to the window. ‘We don’t need the light on, do we? Not quite yet, anyway.’ Her voice dwindled away. Then, haltingly, she said, ‘Do you know, it’s been one of my greatest pleasures to watch night fall over the Strait, but never again.’ She shuddered. ‘Never again!’ Her bosom heaved as she drew a steadying breath. ‘I don’t want to think about it, but I can’t stop myself. I can almost see her, being dragged into the depths by that terrible undertow. You can see it running even at low tide.’

  ‘Menai Strait is notoriously dangerous.’ He paused. ‘I’m surprised there haven’t been other incidents.’

  ‘The shoreline’s fenced off. It’s out of bounds, anyway.’

  ‘So Dr Scott told me, but I’m sure the bounds, and a good many other rules, get broken.’

  ‘Where is the Head?’ she asked.

  ‘Making a statement at the police station.’

  ‘Does she know what’s going on here?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Doesn’t she mind?’

  ‘I’m afraid it’s out of her hands.’ He let her come to terms with the sudden transfer of authority, before saying, ‘Why did you want to see me?’

  ‘I want to know what happened to Sukie.’ In the deepening dusk her eyes were like those of a hunted animal. ‘Please tell me,’ she implored.

  ‘She drowned,’ he replied bluntly.

  ‘Did she kill herself?’

  ‘At the moment we’re not in a position to say.’

  She balled her hands into fists and stared at them. ‘Well, I think you’ll find she did,’ she concluded.

  ‘Why should she?’ asked McKenna.

  ‘Well,’ she said slowly, ‘perhaps she thought she was pregnant. My goodness, I’ve seen more girls panic that way than I care to remember.’ Her mouth worked. ‘She had looked peaky of late,’ she went on. ‘And she was off her food. Oh!’ she wailed. ‘Why didn’t she tell me?’

  ‘Do you keep a record of the girls’ menstrual cycles?’

  Not unless there’s a need. They often come on at the same time, anyway. So do some of the staff. That can happen when women live together.’

  ‘I can assure you that Sukie wasn’t pregnant,’ he said quietly. ‘However, she could have had other worries. Tell me,’ he went on, ‘who were her friends? Who would share her confidences?’

  She hesitated. ‘Well, she seemed to get on with most people.’

  ‘That’s not what I asked you. To whom was she close?’

  ‘Lately, you mean? I can’t really say,’ Matron replied. ‘I’m not being difficult,’ she rushed on, sensing his impatience. ‘But at my age, you know things aren’t always how they look. In places like this, people come together for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with friendship or affection.’ She drew another deep, firming breath. ‘All I know for sure is that she idolised Torrance Fuseli, the American girl who approached you in the refectory. Although,’ she commented sourly, ‘if you ask me, it wasn’t you she was interested in.’

  ‘Was it one-sided heroine worship, or something deeper?’

  ‘I don’t know!’ She sniffed and pulled a snow-white handkerchief from her pocket. ‘I don’t seem to know anything any more. Sukie’s death has knocked everything sideways.’ She dabbed her eyes. ‘It’s a terrible thing to say about such a tragedy, but knowing she was dead was actually a relief! There’s no more need to fret about what might have happened.’

  ‘You must know something about her relationship with Torrance,’ he coaxed.

  ‘But I don’t! I just know she worshipped her. But as for what Torrance felt about Sukie — well, Torrance is the only one who knows that, and she won’t be telling.’

  ‘No? Granted, we only met briefly, but I found her quite forthright.’

  ‘But that’s the trouble, isn’t it? If she’s got any feelings, she hides them. Nothing ruffles her feathers, not even a death.’ Fretfully Matron rubbed her bare arms and he heard the rasp of flesh against flesh. ‘Only myself and the deputy head knew Inspector Tuttle had taken Dr Scott to the mortuary. We were on tenterhooks waiting for her to come back, but he came back alone. Then he made everyone go to the assembly hall. I was standing right next to Torrance when he told us about Sukie and she didn’t turn a hair. She didn’t even seem surprised. She went a bit quiet for a while, but by the time you turned up she was back to normal. As you must have noticed,’ she added pointedly.

  ‘Don’t you like her?’

  ‘I don’t know her. I sometimes wonder if she doesn’t run as deep and dark as those wicked waters outside.’

  ‘What’s her background?’ he asked.

  Matron snorted. ‘Money, of course. Her family owns half the oil wells in America, I shouldn’t wonder. Apart from young Alice Derringer, she’s probably got more money coming her way than anyone here.’

  ‘She asked for Alice to help with the horses. Are they particularly friendly?’

  ‘Yes.’ She nodded thoughtfully. ‘I thought it was odd, too, when I saw them leave the refectory together.’ She fell silent and despite her earlier vow, turned to glance outside. ‘Mind you,’ she said, after a while, ‘Alice is a Tudor girl. Torrance is captain of Tudor House.’

  ‘And which house did Sukie belong to?’

  ‘Windsor. Charlotte Swann’s their captain and Nancy Holmes is captain of York.’

  She seemed to close her lips rather firmly then, but the light was now so dim he could have been mistaken. ‘What about Lancaster House?’

  ‘That’s Imogen Oliver’s.’

  ‘Which of them is head girl?’

  ‘Oh, none of them. Ainsley Chapman’s the head girl. She’s won a Cambridge exhibition, so she’s leaving next month.’

  ‘Who’ll replace her?’

  ‘There’ll be a secret ballot at the beginning of the autumn term. Dr Scott and the department heads lock themselves in her study until the next head girl’s been chosen.’ She glanced at him, then looked away quickly. ‘I’ve often expected to see a puff of smoke coming out of a chimney, like it does when there’s a new pope.’

  ‘Were you here before Dr Scott became headmistress?’ he asked.

  ‘Come September, I’ve been here sixteen years.’

  ‘Did you prefer the old regime?’

  ‘Yes, I did. The Hermitage was a—’ She struggled to find the right words. ‘It was a kinder place before. I’m not saying we didn’t have to contend with spite and jealousy, because girls are always envious, even if it’s only about the length of somebody else’s fingernails or the colour of her hair. Now, though, they’re competing over everything every minute of the day. Dr Scott might be right when she says they’re learning to survive, but at times I can’t see the difference between the girls and a pack of wolves.’ Then her face tightened with anxiety. ‘You won’t tell her what I said, will you?’ she begged. ‘She’s looking for any chance to get rid of me. When she says true leadership is the ability to pick the right people for the right job, I just know she’s telling me I’m not the right person.’

  ‘She can’t sack you for nothing.’

  ‘Can’t she?’ Matron demanded. ‘She got rid of eight teachers in her first year. Natural wastage, she called it.’

  ‘Which happens in any organisa
tion,’ he said. ‘How much involvement do the school governors have?’

  ‘Well, Mr Nicholls, the chairman, visits every so often and the whole board turns up twice a year, but we never get the chance to talk to them. They listen to a lecture from Dr Scott, then go away again.’ Frowning at him, she added, ‘Don’t think I haven’t tried to say my piece. I know where my duties lie and I’ll stand up to Dr Scott if necessary, even if it causes an atmosphere. Still,’ she went on, hurriedly, ‘you mustn’t think she’s a bad headmistress. The school’s gone from strength to strength since she took over, especially on the academic side. In the old days the girls went to finishing school or did the season; now they’re groomed for university and a proper career.’ She paused to draw breath. ‘But the most important thing we offer is stability. For instance, without us, I shudder to think where Alice Derringer might end up. The poor bairn doesn’t know from one day to the next whether her mother’s in the Far East or the Far West — not that they probably don’t both come together somewhere in the middle.’ She held her head proudly. ‘Alice’s mother is Martha Rathbone. She’s near the top of the world rich list, you know.’

  ‘Yes, I’ve heard of her. She has a reputation for philanthropy.’

  ‘If you mean she builds schools and hospitals in the Third World while she’s exploiting its cheap labour, you might call it that.’ Her voice was sharp with disapproval. ‘To my mind, charity should begin at home, preferably with her sparing some of her precious time for her daughter.’

  ‘On the subject of charity,’ he said, ‘are there any scholarship girls here?’

  ‘We don’t offer scholarships.’ She looked at him shrewdly. ‘Were you thinking about Grace Blackwell?’

  ‘I did wonder how a vicar could afford the Hermitage fees.’

  ‘Isn’t that his business?’

  ‘Not if it might impinge on ours. I understand Grace has a lot of Sukie’s clothes.’

  ‘She has some of her outgrown clothes,’ Matron corrected. ‘Dr Scott encourages the girls to pass on their old uniforms and sports equipment, and there’s no reason why she shouldn’t. It teaches them something about sharing, if nothing else.’ Chewing her bottom lip, peering at him again, she said, pre-emptively, ‘And, yes, they do need to learn to give and take. Teenagers are notoriously selfish.’

  9

  The halogen lights glaring from the corners of the building reduced the sunset to a few wan smudges above the treetops and deeply accentuated the darkness beneath. As McKenna returned to the mobile incident room, moving from one set of lights to another, his elongated shadow rotated disconcertingly about his feet.

  Jack was at a table in the main body of the room, munching the last of a sandwich. ‘Foodwise, HQ’s done us proud,’ he announced. ‘We’ve got sandwiches, soup, pizzas, burgers, baked potatoes, all-day breakfasts, cakes, biscuits, fruit, ice cream, soft drinks, tea, coffee and chocolate.’ He wiped his mouth on a paper napkin. ‘We can’t complain about personnel, either. I’d have liked a few more women officers, but that said, we’ve probably got most of the force’s contingent.’ Picking up a polystyrene beaker brimming with murky-looking coffee, he added, ‘Bryn’s handler reported in a few minutes ago. The dog’s been through every potential weapon in the vicinity without picking up a sniff, so if a weapon was involved, it probably followed Sukie into the Strait.’

  McKenna seated himself on one of the rather flimsy chairs. ‘How are the interviews progressing?’

  ‘Probably being hindered by the fact that everyone wants to talk to Dewi. They’re clustering around him like bees round a honey pot. Dr Scott asked me, very pointedly, to give him “other duties”, but I declined, so I won’t be getting any gold stars for co-operation.’

  ‘When did she get back?’

  ‘A while ago. I’ve asked her to remain in her study.’

  ‘Are you making headway with the staff?’

  ‘Depends what you call headway. Some are scared witless, others are openly hostile and the rest are unbelievably bland, so in terms of gleaning useful information the answer’s probably “no”.’

  ‘Matron allowed herself a few indiscretions,’ McKenna offered, ‘but quickly backtracked in case the headmistress got wind of her disloyalty.’ He lit a cigarette. ‘She’s convinced herself Sukie thought she was pregnant and therefore committed suicide.’ He smoked in silence for a moment. ‘And while suicide’s the easy answer, it may turn out to be the right one. Unfortunately, we won’t know until Eifion’s finished with the body, which he doesn’t expect to do before tomorrow night. He’s had Sukie’s file, as well as the accident book, although there’s little information in either. The local surgery that attends the school last saw her three years ago, when she had a sore throat.’

  ‘What about her home GP?’

  ‘Eifion’s going to talk to him.’ McKenna began casting about for an ashtray.

  ‘I’ll get you one.’ Jack sighed, getting to his feet. ‘D’you want a drink as well?’

  ‘Tea, please.’

  ‘Tea, coffee and chocolate all come from the same contraption,’ Jack told him, ‘so they all probably taste the same.’ He disappeared into the canteen trailer, to return within minutes carrying another container of murky liquid and a thin foil ashtray. ‘By the way, the handler wants to know if you’re willing to let Bryn try backtracking the other scent he detected.’

  ‘I haven’t decided. If it wasn’t a dead end, it would probably lead him into the school, which would be very disruptive for the girls.’

  ‘They’d probably enjoy the excitement. Life around here seems unnaturally quiet and well-ordered.’

  ‘I’m sure Sukie’s death has been a devastating shock for everyone,’ McKenna said quietly.

  ‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you?’ Jack waved away the smoke from the cigarette. ‘You’d think it’d be prompting memories, making people suddenly see the significance of something puzzling or unusual, or just having an effect. You’d expect people to be appalled and frightened and grieving, but I’ve never come across such cold detachment.’

  ‘Don’t be so judgemental,’ McKenna advised. ‘Perhaps it’s not had time to sink in properly.’

  ‘No?’ Jack’s eyes were flinty. ‘It’s had time enough to focus Scott’s mind on damage limitation.’

  ‘Arguably, that’s simply part of her job.’

  ‘Can I say something?’ Jack regarded him thoughtfully. ‘This is the last place I’d want my own daughters to be. I don’t like the atmosphere, I don’t like the staff and I don’t like Scott’s ethos. She pushes the survival of the fittest, no matter what, and probably no matter who else gets damaged in the process, and that’s without taking into consideration what her definition of the fittest actually entails.’ He paused, then went on, ‘I told you this afternoon that the girls I’d seen looked lost and miserable; closer acquaintance just confirms that opinion. These girls are chronically unhappy and a fair few seem positively frightened, and not because of whatever happened to Sukie. There’s a very destructive subtext to Scott’s philosophy, so I’m not inclined to give her the tiniest bit of quarter. She’s clever and manipulative and probably a complete control freak, and right now, with her knowing Sukie’s death could ruin her, I think she could be dangerous.’

  ‘You and I both know that people often attack when they feel under threat.’

  ‘But the problem is when she attacks, you won’t realise until afterwards and it’ll be too late by then,’ Jack replied trenchantly. He flicked at the heap of statement sheets on the table in front of him. ‘Even though I’ve kept her out of the way, she’s still putting the frighteners on people. I’m sure that’s why no one’s telling us anything and why the security guards, to a man, give the distinct impression that nothing ever happens. I don’t for one moment believe that none of the girls ever tries to get out after dark or smuggles in a boyfriend and I don’t believe the staff are equally virtuous. It’s just not natural.’

  ‘If the girls, or staff, wan
t to get up to mischief, hoodwinking the guards will he top of their agenda,’ McKenna said. ‘Apart from that, security is very thinly spread at the best of times.’

  ‘Considering what the parents fork out in fees, the security’s a joke.’ Frowning, Jack added, ‘Maybe we should ask where all that money goes, because it doesn’t seem to be spent on creature comforts for the girls.’

  ‘Don’t overstep the mark,’ McKenna warned. ‘The school’s financial affairs are not really our business.’

  Jack regarded him steadily. ‘Everything is our business at the moment, because we don’t know what might or might not have had a bearing on Sukie’s death. I’ve no intention of carrying out this investigation with one hand tied behind my back.’

  ‘I don’t expect you to, but there’s no point in getting sidetracked over possible irrelevancies and even less point in going in with all guns firing at once. If there is something rotten at the core of the place, the way to bring it to light is through subtlety.’

  Leaving Jack to begin the huge task of collating the information that was to be put into the computers for cross-referencing, McKenna wandered back to the school. As he neared the doors Janet emerged, cradling a bundle of papers to her chest. She looked hot and uncharacteristically dishevelled.

  ‘Come out for a breather?’ he enquired.

  ‘Partly, sir. My head’s spinning.’

  ‘I’m not surprised. Where’s Dewi?’

  ‘Still in there,’ she said with a grin, ‘literally besieged by females. He probably couldn’t escape if he wanted to.’ Then she shuddered delicately. ‘Some of them were giving me the same sort of treatment. It’s not pleasant.’

  Hands in his pockets, he leaned against the wall. ‘It’s only to be expected. Is the sudden flood of hormones loosening tongues as well?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ she replied thoughtfully. ‘I’ve just spent a couple of hours with the fourth formers, who all tried to talk at once and didn’t shut up for a moment, but still managed, for the most part, to say nothing much. Then again, I got the impression that a few of them were telling me one thing but meant something quite different.’ She looked down at the papers in her arms. ‘I’ll have to think about that once I’ve read through these interviews.’ Glancing at him rather apologetically, she said, ‘I haven’t quite finished with them, I’m afraid. When I started on Daisy Podmore, my brain just switched off. The poor kid’s got the most horrible lisp and it’s almost impossible to decipher what she’s saying.’