‘
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 organisation,’ 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.’
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.’
‘B
ut 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, want 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.’
McKenna
remembered the lush-looking teenager Dewi had pointed out. Then he recalled the flaxen-haired American and Daisy’s thin, dark friend. ‘Dewi was supposed to supervise evening stables,’ he said.
Janet
nodded. ‘He did. He said nothing unusual happened, except that Torrance told all the horses that Sukie was dead and that they must look after her mare. She’s called Purdey, apparently,’ she added. ‘After that character in
The
Avengers
.’
A
shiver ran up his spine. ‘“Purdey” is also the name of a very expensive make of shotgun.’ After that, he said nothing more for several moments, then asked, ‘What did the girls have to say about Sukie?’
‘
Not many outside the sixth form actually seemed to know her,’ Janet replied. ‘Those who did admit acquaintance said she was “lovely”, “warm”, “sweet”, “pretty”, “a super rider”, and various other positive and complimentary things. In short, no one had a useful word to say.’
He
pushed himself off the wall and began to walk away.
‘
Before you go in there, sir,’ Janet said, ‘I should warn you that I’ve just seen Dr Scott. She’s most unhappy about what she calls our “unseemly occupation of the school” and intends to call in the chairman of the governors, who, according to the
Who’s
Who
which naturally has pride of place in her study and which she insisted on showing me, has got pots of money and lots of connections, and is not, therefore, someone our chief constable would want us to upset.’ She grinned again. ‘I think she’s hoping you’ll shoot the messenger. I’d gone to ask her why the alarms on the top-floor fire exits had been disconnected and if she knew about Sean O’Connor’s conviction for criminal damage,’ she went on. ‘The top floor gets very hot because it’s right under the roof, so she allows the fire doors to stand open to air the place, and she of course knows about Sean. He’s constantly supervised and has yet to put a foot wrong, so she wants to know why we’re creating such a fuss when Sukie clearly committed suicide, which is distressing enough in itself. Needless to say,’ she finished, ‘the suicide theory’s gaining ground by the minute.’