Janet held up her hand. ‘No one’s even mentioned that Imogen Oliver and Sukie used to be best friends, sir. No one’s commented about Imogen’s leg, either.’
‘They’re remarkable omissions,’ he agreed. ‘But while we see them as significant, to the school, the friendship and the accident may simply be past history. Nonetheless I shall be asking Dr Scott why she thought fit not to tell us.’ He waited for a moment for further questions, before continuing, ‘Aside from a natural element of shock, the statements we have to date are uniformly bland and essentially uninformative, including those taken from the security guards and the staff.’
Dewi interrupted. ‘I’ve arranged with the guards to go over their routes, sir, to see if any memories get jogged,’ he said. ‘They reckon to vary the routes at random, but I’m not sure that means anything. They only do mobile patrols, so they’ll end up covering the same ground.’
‘And the girls no doubt know precisely where they’ll be at any given moment,’ McKenna added. ‘As they doubtless know a great deal about many other things, which is what I want teased out of them. We don’t know, for example, if Sukie had a boyfriend. Dr Scott says not, her mother thinks not, but they’d be the last to find out. We must also establish who her friends were. Matron told me she idolised Torrance Fuseli.’
‘Sir?’ Nona Lloyd raised her hand. ‘Do we treat Imogen Oliver as a suspect?’
‘We bear her in mind,’ he replied, ‘pending Dr Roberts’s findings.’
Nona held up her hand again. ‘A lot of the girls think Sukie killed herself. How should we handle that?’
‘Don’t encourage the idea,’ McKenna told her, ‘but don’t refuse to speculate about the possibility.’ After some thought, he went on, ‘Suicide devastates those left behind when they believe they didn’t see it coming, but with hindsight the warning signals can become blindingly obvious. The same can be said for murder, which also appears to be an extremely intimate event. Don’t forget that the Hermitage is as much a closed society as any prison, with a similar degree of physical and psychological isolation. Dr Scott actively thwarts the influence of mitigating factors from the outside world, and rules the roost in a possessive and even despotic manner. In such a setting emotions become exaggerated and distorted. They will run on a permanent high, and are therefore less easily resolved and dissipated, and a murder could be provoked by something so trivial or incredible that no one took any notice of the antecedents.’
‘There’s a considerable amount of spite and jealousy,’ Janet remarked, ‘and the sense of some very unpleasant undercurrents.’
‘And fear, too,’ Nona said. She turned to her colleague. ‘Did you sense that, too?’ When Janet nodded, she added, ‘I’m sure there’s a lot of bullying going on and it must be absolutely hellish for the victims. They’ve got no escape.’
Her remarks triggered discussion among the people in the room and McKenna listened for a while, following the skeins of ideas that were being drawn out. Then he held up his own hand for silence. ‘This is the largest investigation we’ve ever undertaken, we’re hamstrung by uncertainties and lack of knowledge, and we’re operating in a very complex and complicated environment. Much of what we learn will turn out to he wholly irrelevant: for instance, bullying may be well-established and endemic, but not material to Sukie’s death. Conversely, the key could be something which appears completely unimportant, or is so much a part of school life that no one takes notice of it. The potential for us to be sidetracked, either accidentally or deliberately, is enormous. Dr Scott is particularly liable to obfuscate issues because Sukie’s death may be the upshot of a level of negligence that could ruin her. So focus is crucial.’
As he waited for more questions, he thought how tired many of them looked, Janet especially. She was very pale and the shadows beneath her eyes aged her. ‘A few more things before you go,’ he continued. ‘First, think very carefully about possible motives for murder, keeping them at the forefront of your mind during the interviews. We’ve already talked about jealousy and bullying, so consider where they might lead, such as to theft and revenge. Blackmail also comes to mind. Second, you’ll be given a recent academic paper on child killers, which outlines risk factors, the trail of warning signs and the detectable antecedents to the event. It should help you to build up a profile of the possible perpetrator without falling into the stereotype trap. Third, in any large group of teenagers, some are bound, by the law of averages, to be abusing solvents, alcohol, or controlled substances and, although Dr Roberts has found nothing to suggest Sukie was a user, the issue could still be very relevant to her death. Girls who are involved in substance abuse will be particularly wary and close-mouthed, but they may also be sufficiently disaffected with school life to let a few cats out of the bag. Finally,’ he went on, ‘remember that a murderer is usually found among those closest to the victim, so while we can’t yet exclude outsider involvement, attempted kidnap — although that doesn’t seem likely — or a family connection to Sukie’s death, we concentrate on the school. Any one of the staff or pupils could know something that places them at risk of becoming the next victim.’
Eifion Roberts telephoned the moment McKenna returned to his office. ‘I’ve had a visitor,’ the pathologist announced. ‘The girl’s mother turned up almost at the crack of dawn, wanting to see her. I spent nigh on half an hour trying to persuade her to go but she wouldn’t budge. She said she had a right to see her daughter and if I didn’t let her, she’d get her father to get the coroner to make me.’
‘She was in a dreadful state last night,’ McKenna said. ‘Perhaps she can’t grasp Sukie’s death without seeing the body again. You let her, I take it?’
‘I couldn’t, could I?’ Roberts sighed. ‘I’ve got the lass’s skull in pieces.’ He fell silent. ‘In the end,’ he went on eventually, ‘I had no choice but to tell her I hadn’t finished the post-mortem, at which point she literally collapsed.’
‘And where is she now?’
‘Next door in casualty, waiting to see the psychiatric registrar. I rang the hotel where she’s staying but her husband was still abed. I’ve left a message for him.’
‘In the couple of hours he was here last night, Melville consumed almost a whole bottle of whisky and he was drunk when he arrived. I’m not surprised he’s still “abed”. He must he comatose.’
‘You sound like a prissy old virgin at times, McKenna. Puritanical venom literally drips from your mouth. For God’s sake, have a bit of compassion! The poor sod’s just lost his only child!’ With that he disconnected the call.
*
Expecting to have the benefit, albeit unofficially, of local knowledge and personal opinion from Berkshire police, McKenna was amazed, as well as deeply chagrined, to be told that John Melville was generally well-regarded. ‘Doesn’t he have a drink problem?’ he asked.
‘No more so than a lot of others. And he’s never made a public nuisance of himself.’
‘What about his wife?’
‘Considering her mother’s a bit of a tartar, Lady Hester’s very pleasant. Quiet, mind, but always pleasant.’
‘She must he good at putting a brave face on things, then,’ McKenna commented. ‘Her marriage seems to be a disaster.’
‘Her sort are well-trained to keep up appearances and not to frighten the horses.’
Exasperated, he asked, ‘What do you know about them?’
Not much, and that only courtesy of Lady Hester’s parents. This government didn’t invent spin-doctoring, you know. The aristocracy’s been at it for centuries.’
‘So you can’t say if Sukie’s death might be connected to something her parents or grandparents have done or been involved with?’
‘No, I can’t, but we’ve asked our financial people to sniff around. It occurred to us that John Melville could’ve upset somebody in his many business dealings, even though he always comes out of them the poorer. On the other hand he could have something on somebody, but then you’d expect him to
be dead, not his daughter.’
‘What about inheritance?’ asked McKenna. ‘Was Sukie in line for a title and fortune that someone else might want?’
‘No. Lady Hester’s got three older brothers, all of them married with heirs of their own. The title goes to the eldest male, as these things always do. Still, there’s no harm in asking her father about the disposition of the estate. He can only tell me to sod off and mind my own business.’
‘We’ll be grateful for anything you can dig up,’ McKenna said.
‘I’m sorry we can’t tell you more about the car smash. Believe me, we’d like to know ourselves what really happened. In my opinion the Oliver girl’s amnesia was just a bit too convenient, bearing in mind she didn’t even get knocked out. We questioned her doctor about it and he said the psychiatrist reckoned it was down to shock. Can’t argue with that, can you?’
Not very easily,’ McKenna agreed. ‘Did you know the Melvilles paid her over six hundred thousand?’
‘We heard they’d forked out, but I didn’t know it was as much as that. She had another fortune off the insurers, too, which, if she was driving, means there’s been a massive fraud. So, if you do find you’ve got a murder on your hands, you won’t have far to look for a motive, will you?’
2
Mealtimes at the Hermitage were always heralded by the stamp and shuffle of hundreds of feet and the noise of the benches being scraped back and forth as the girls took their seats. Because Dr Scott insisted on group cohesion, the girls were banned from changing places at table and so, at breakfast, Alice had to press her skinny thighs against those of the girl on her left in order to put some inches between herself and the monster Daisy had become overnight.
On the way to her own table, Nancy saw that tiny gulf. ‘Lovers’ tiff?’ she smirked, breathing down Alice’s neck.
Fists clenched, shoulders rigid, Alice muttered, ‘Bog off, Holmes.’
Laying her right hand on Alice’s head and her left on Daisy’s, Nancy grabbed a hank of hair from each before taking a step hack. ‘What did you say, Derringer?’ she demanded.
‘You heard,’ Daisy whimpered. ‘Let go of us before I scream.’
‘“Let go of uth befow I thcweam,”’ Nancy taunted.
Her neck wrenched almost sideways, Alice struggled to her feet, the bench cutting into her legs. ‘Yeth, Nanthy,’ she sneered, ‘do what Daithy thayth, or elth!’
Ignoring the gaping audience, Nancy held fast, but then she noticed the rapidly bruising weal on Daisy’s face. Releasing Alice, she gouged her knuckle into Daisy’s cheek. ‘What’s this, Shitpants?’
Tears of pain sprang to Daisy’s eyes. Distraught, Alice launched herself at the sixth former.
3
When McKenna arrived at the school, Matron was the first member of staff he encountered. She was hurrying along the administration corridor as fast as her corsets permitted, mumbling to herself, her face reflecting her inner turmoil.
When she saw him she stopped short. ‘Oh!’ she panted. ‘Oh, it’s you. I don’t think Dr Scott’s expecting you so early.’ Making a point of consulting her fob watch, she went on, ‘She’s very busy and the girls aren’t in class yet. Breakfast isn’t long done with.’ Then she glanced at him, her distress obvious. ‘And what a mess that turned out to be! Some of the girls were actually fighting!’
‘Over what?’
‘I don’t know. I doubt if they know themselves. Everything’s in such a dreadful ferment!’ She put her hand on his arm. ‘How long will you be here? We can’t get back to normal with policemen all over the place.’
‘Whether we’re here or not,’ he said, ‘I think you’ll find getting back to normal isn’t possible. You can’t restore a disturbed situation to its former tranquillity any more than you can suppress something that’s burst free.’ He began to move in the direction of Freya’s study and Matron turned back on herself to follow.
‘I don’t understand what you mean,’ she fretted.
‘Sudden death releases turbulent and often violent feelings in those it touches. You can’t screw back the lid.’
‘Like an evil genie, you mean, don’t you?’ Trotting beside him, she shook her head sadly. ‘Something like that got into those girls at breakfast.’
‘Which girls?’
‘Young Alice Derringer and her best friend Daisy Podmore.’ She was still clearly worried. ‘And Daisy’s got a bruise on her cheek. She said she slipped when she went to the toilet in the early hours.’
‘She may have done.’
‘Well, I didn’t hear her and I was up most of the night, what with one thing and another. I had to put several girls in the infirmary because they were that upset, then just when things were settling down, Grace Blackwell came screaming out of the dorm saying Sukie’s ghost was about. I tell you,’ Matron said, white-faced, ‘she fair made even my blood run cold.’
Suddenly Freya’s study door was yanked open with such violence that McKenna expected it to fall off its hinges. Torrance plunged into the corridor, glared at Matron and him, and strode off. The flash of rage in her eyes was unmistakable.
‘Well!’ Matron breathed, watching her retreating hack. ‘Well, really!’
Then Freya herself emerged, a dark, shapely figure, with sunshine streaming through the window behind her.
‘Good morning, Superintendent,’ she said, inclining her head gracefully. ‘Please take no notice of Torrance. I’m afraid everyone’s feelings are running a little high at the moment.’
‘So I hear,’ he replied.
She frowned at Matron.
‘I just told him about the fight at breakfast,’ Matron mumbled.
‘Hardly a fight,’ the headmistress commented. ‘Simply a ripple in the water.’ She looked again at the other woman. ‘We won’t keep you, Matron. I’m sure you’re very busy.’ Dismissing her as she would a child, she beckoned to McKenna and closed the door. ‘Do take a seat.’ He received another of those calculatedly seductive smiles. ‘I won’t be long.’
‘Why was Torrance so angry?’ Refusing the offered chair, he leaned against the window ledge.
‘Because, despite appearances, she’s arrogant and hot-headed,’ Freya replied, shuffling papers, ‘and while she has a certain amount of charm, I’m afraid she has little else to commend her. When I pointed out that the fracas at breakfast was her fault, she had a tantrum.’
‘I didn’t know she was involved.’
She stopped what she was doing and, leaning on the desk, gave him her full attention. ‘If you must have a blow-by-blow account of a very trivial and wholly commonplace incident, you may.’ Her breasts swelled under the coffee-coloured silk shirt. ‘Nancy Holmes noticed Daisy Podmore’s bruised face and, naturally, asked her what had happened. Daisy wouldn’t tell her — she was afraid of getting into trouble with Matron for not having told her already — so there was a little argument. Alice Derringer, the girl you saw in Matron’s room last night, took it upon herself to intervene, and told Nancy to mind her own business and go away. Or rather,’ she added, a little smile playing with the corners of her mouth, ‘she told her to keep her “fucking ugly snout” out of other people’s busines, and to “piss off”. I’m afraid the girls can match their less privileged peers obscenity for obscenity when the mood takes them.’
‘And where does Torrance fit in?’
Angling her arms to display her body more temptingly, she said, ‘She was very misguided in asking Alice, in full view of the school, to help with evening stables last night. Alice can be wayward and, like Torrance, she’s arrogant. She felt sufficiently privileged to insult Nancy without fear of comeback.’ She stared at him. ‘Sadly, Alice is also weak and given to hysteria, so please bear that in mind when you talk to her.’
‘Have you punished her?’
‘Naturally. I put the horses out of bounds.’
‘For how long?’
‘For as long as I think necessary.’
‘In the current climate, wouldn’
t it be sensible to temper discipline? As I told Matron, Sukie’s death has released very turbulent feelings.’
‘And if I let those feelings prevail the girls will feel even more threatened.’ Suddenly she abandoned her provocative pose and sat down. ‘I was preparing a letter for the parents. Let me finish, then we’ll talk.’ She looked up, offering another smile. ‘At the best of times I suffer from paper overload, as I’m sure you do. I need to respond to the media, too. We’ve been inundated with enquiries from far and wide.’
He moved away from the window to the chair by her desk. ‘I would most strongly advise you to direct all such enquiries to our headquarters.’
‘I’m perfectly capable of making a simple, reassuring statement, if only to say you and your team are very much in control of the situation.’
Her nerve was admirable, he thought, but her parrying was intensely tiresome. ‘The media has a very, very sharp nose for scandal and you, it seems, have a lot to hide. Why didn’t you tell me about Sukie and Imogen Oliver?’
Her face was unreadable. ‘Yes, I should have done,’ she admitted quietly. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Then why didn’t you? You must have known we’d find out.’
Chin on hand, she gazed at him for some time, before saying, ‘That accident was indescribably traumatic for both those girls, but I don’t believe it has any bearing on Sukie’s death.’ She paused and when she next spoke there seemed to be genuine emotion in her voice. ‘Hester’s forced marriage exacted a hellish price, of which her daughter paid the most. For six years I’ve watched her caught in the crossfire of the dreadful war of attrition her parents wage against each other. If Sukie thought she were pregnant, suicide would be her only option. Don’t you realise she could see her whole future staring her in the face?’
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