

### UNDER MARY'S OAK

Book 1 in the Laura Jessop series

### by

### Tanya Carlysle

### Published by Tanya Carlysle at Smashwords

### Copyright 2013 Tanya Carlysle

### This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

### All characters in this novel are fictitious and any resemblance to a real person, alive or dead, is entirely coincidental.

### Discover other titles by Tanya Carlysle at Smashwords.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title and Copyright Page

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty Six

Chapter Twenty Seven

Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter Twenty Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty One

Chapter Thirty Two

Chapter Thirty Three

Personal message from Tanya Carlysle

Free sample of Book Two You Know What They Say About Lightning

### Chapter One

Laura Jessop was enjoying a lie-in. Her husband, Robert, was downstairs preparing her breakfast tray. It was to be a special treat for her birthday and Robert hoped he could surprise her before she got out of bed. He could hear no signs of activity upstairs, and he worked quickly and quietly. The egg was just about ready to come out of the water. Laura liked a five minute egg so the white was firmly cooked and the yolk was still runny. And a boiled egg is no good without soldiers to dip. The cafetiere was ready, butter and marmalade on the tray and a red rose was added as the final touch.

As he crept up the stairs he was confident he had been successful in his mission. But Laura had heard him. After nearly thirty years as a teacher, latterly as a headmistress, she had a good ear. The girls at school often expressed their amazement when she used information from their whispered conversation to challenge a version of events being put forward to confuse her. She also smelt the toast and smiled as she looked forward to 'the surprise'.

She and Robert had been married for ten years this coming August, a second marriage for both of them. She counted herself very lucky to have found this thoughtful and caring man after such a disastrous first marriage. As headmistress of a large girls' independent school, she led a hectic life during term time. She left the house before seven o'clock and rarely returned before seven in the evening, often much later. She tried to devote her weekends and holidays to her husband, but all too often something cropped up requiring her attention. But Robert was understanding, and the surprise breakfast was but one example of the little treats they regularly planned for each other. It was this that kept their marriage alive and they were very happy together. Laura snuggled down in the duvet, ready to be surprised.

'Happy Birthday, darling!' said Robert as he pushed open the bedroom door.

Laura stirred and looked towards him.

'You do spoil me,' she said. 'What a lovely idea. I haven't had breakfast in bed for a while.'

'No, you're usually rushing off somewhere, but as it's a Saturday it's a perfect opportunity to celebrate in style. I have the whole day planned,' Robert added.

As Laura moved to sit up, he placed the tray over her legs and poured the coffee. Laura cut the top off her egg and dipped the toasted soldier.

'Perfect!' she exclaimed as the soldier pierced the yellow yolk.

Robert helped himself to a slice of toast adding butter and marmalade. Settling down beside her with his cup of coffee he said, 'Your present will arrive later.'

'It all sounds very mysterious,' Laura said.

'Well, I hope you like it. You're almost impossible to buy for.'

'You're a fine one to talk! I suppose it's not surprising really, that by the time we reach our age we've accumulated most of what we need, and more. I would be quite happy just to spend time with you. You don't need to buy me presents, but I shall love it I'm sure.'

The letterbox clattered as the newspaper dropped onto the doormat.

'You stay there and I'll fetch the paper for you to read,' Robert said.

'No, I want to get up now and make the most of the day. Look, the sun is shining. It's going to be a lovely day, and I've really enjoyed my lie-in.'

'You don't know the meaning of the word,' he retorted playfully. 'It's not 9 o'clock yet.'

As Laura enjoyed a hot shower, the telephone rang. A minute later and Robert tapped on the shower screen.

'I'm sorry. I think you need to take this,' he said, holding the receiver towards her.

Laura wrapped herself in a towel and sat on the edge of the bath.

'Hello. Laura speaking,' she said.

'Good morning, Laura. It's Bob.'

Laura groaned inwardly. Bob Hinchcliffe was the Bursar at the school. If he rang on a Saturday morning it was because there was a problem. She hoped it could be resolved quickly.

'Hello, Bob. What's the problem?'

'I'm afraid it's bad news. Richard has been found dead this morning.'

Laura gasped. Richard was the Head Caretaker and he lived in a cottage in the school grounds.

'That's awful. What was it? A heart attack?'

In his early fifties, Richard had a history of heart problems. As Head Caretaker he could organise the work in such a way that he didn't have to do too much of the manual work himself but he and Laura had talked about whether he should take early retirement.

'No, I'm afraid it's worse than that. It looks like he's been murdered. I've called the police. They're on the way.'

'I'll be there in twenty minutes,' promised Laura.

She handed the receiver back to Robert who was looking at her quizzically. She relayed the content of the phone call, the shock making it hard for her to catch her breath.

'What happened?' Robert asked.

'I don't know any more than I've told you, but I shall have to go in. I'm sorry, I know you had plans for the day.'

'Nothing that won't keep,' Robert replied. 'Would you like me to come with you?'

'Yes, I rather think I would.'

Laura was very good at her job, and usually managed to remain calm in a crisis. But this morning she felt anything but calm. Her intestines were tying themselves in knots, she was shivering and the thoughts in her head were all shouting to make themselves heard.

### Chapter Two

Just over twenty minutes later they pulled into the school drive. There was no obvious sign of police activity but Bob was waiting for them.

The school was purpose built in the 1930s and had been well planned. The main buildings faced south so the classrooms benefited from the heat and light of the sun. The original gymnasium had been built on the north side, presumably so that the young ladies who exercised did not get too hot! And a swimming pool had been added at a later date. The former pupils, the Old Montgomerians, had many tales to tell of their fund-raising activities over the years. It had taken so long to raise the funds that they were unable to enjoy the facility themselves as they had left long before it was completed to commence their glittering careers.

The site was large, over twenty five acres of green fields and mature trees. The original owner, Mary Montgomery had died without family and had directed in her will that the grounds of her estate be used to build a school for young ladies in the north east. Laura knew they were very lucky to have such a site so close to Newcastle, where many of the girls lived. Over the years the catchment area had grown and some of the green fields had been replaced by a large car park, a necessary evil, providing parking both for staff and for parents dropping off and collecting their daughters.

And Laura had been responsible for improving many of the sporting facilities. Both she and the Chairman of the Governors, Arthur Connolly, believed in the benefits of physical fitness as well as mental agility. The Chairman was a regular supporter at sporting fixtures, and being a keen photographer he often captured the events on his camera. He really had quite an eye. Close to the school was a large sports hall and artificial pitch, both of which were leased out when the school didn't require their use providing a welcome addition to their income. At the far end of the site was the sports pavilion with its own access road and parking. Tennis courts, both hard and grass, were on one side, and grass playing fields as well as an athletics track were close by.

The school had a reputation for its sport as well as its academic success. The U16 hockey team had won the National championships twice and the tennis team regularly featured in the final stages of the Aberdare Cup. Luckily today's matches were Away and there were no girls on site.

As she got out of her car, Laura was thinking of the terrible tragedy, but also what she would have to do to ensure the smooth-running of the school over the next few weeks, weeks which included important public examinations for many of the girls. Thankfully, it was the May Day weekend and so school would not re-open until Tuesday.

'Hello, Bob,' she said. 'What's happening?'

'John came in about eight o'clock to mow the grass. He went to the tractor shed, and noticed the sports' store was open and went for a look round. There was nothing obviously wrong in the store, but he walked round the pavilion as well.'

John Grainger was the Head Groundsman, and often took the opportunity to work on a Saturday morning when the girls were playing away matches. He could work without interruption and without disrupting the use of the sporting facilities. The tractor shed was where all the machinery was stored and was alongside the Games Pavilion, as was the sports store where equipment such as goal posts, rounders posts and athletics hurdles were stored as well as many smaller items including hockey sticks and rounders bats and balls for hockey, rounders and tennis.

'That's when he found Richard,' Bob continued. 'He was lying under Mary's Oak.'

There was a large photograph of their benefactor, Mary Montgomery, in the school entrance. She was seated on a round wooden bench built around the trunk of an enormous oak tree, with her two spaniels beside her. The sun was shining, and she looked blissfully happy. Since the school began, this big oak tree at the southern edge of the estate had been known affectionately as Mary's Oak.

'What makes you think he was murdered?' asked Laura.

'There's a lot of blood. It looks like he was hit over the head with something. John rang me and I called the police, and then you. When the police arrived I came up here to wait for you.'

'That's why I couldn't see any signs of police then. They're parked at the Pavilion.'

'Yes,' said Bob. 'I'm not sure whether the Detective Inspector is here yet. Do you want to walk down there?'

'I suppose we should, although I'm not looking forward to it. It's such a terrible thing. How's Shirley taking it?'

Shirley was the school receptionist and had been married to Richard for nearly eight years. They lived together on the school site in a cottage behind the main school building. The five cottages had been originally occupied by staff employed by Mary Montgomery, and several of them were now used by school staff.

'Apparently she's away for the weekend visiting her mother. I rang Josie to find out. I'm sorry, I had to tell her what was happening as well.'

'Don't apologise, Bob. You've done a good job here holding the fort. Thanks.'

Josie Matthews had been Laura's PA since she was appointed fifteen years before. They had a very close relationship. Each was privy to knowledge about the other that meant they were much more than boss and employee, they were very good friends. Each had supported the other through difficult first marriages, and both were now in stable relationships again. Josie acted as Laura's eyes and ears, often alerting her to potential problems and allowing Laura to defuse them before they developed into anything major. Laura would need Josie's support over the next few days and she knew it would be given without question.

Laura was also so pleased that Robert was by her side. Murder was something quite outside her experience. As headmistress she had led a reasonably sheltered life with nothing more than the occasional water fight in the cloakrooms to deal with. Her main responsibility now was to make sure that the pupils were unaffected as far as possible by what had happened, although she also had to think about what to tell the parents, and she had to contact the Governors and other staff. It was going to be a busy day. So much for a quiet weekend celebrating her birthday!

Robert put a comforting arm round Laura as they walked towards the Pavilion. She could see Mary's Oak, tall and imposing against the sky line. It had always seemed a tranquil place. Things would never be the same again.

### Chapter Three

By the time they reached the Pavilion it was a hive of activity. There were several cars parked behind as well as a large white van. Police officers, both uniformed and plain clothes all seemed to be busily occupied, and a police cordon was in place cutting off the whole of the area. A uniformed officer was standing on the school side of the tape.

'Can I help you?' he asked.

'Yes,' said Laura. 'I'm Laura Jessop, the headmistress. I don't know if someone needs to speak to me, or whether I can help in any way.'

The officer walked towards a group of plain clothes policemen and, after a few minutes, one of them returned with him.

'I'm Detective Sergeant Gary Todd. The Inspector would like to speak to you later. Is there somewhere you can wait?' he asked.

'Yes, I'll be in my office,' Laura said and turned back towards the school. She wasn't unhappy to be leaving the scene of the crime. Even though she couldn't see the base of the tree her imagination was working overtime, and she could picture Richard's lifeless body surrounded by blood. She had known Richard all the time she had been at the school. He was a good worker, always ready with a cheery smile and nothing was too much trouble for him. He loved the school as did most of the staff. There was a real family feeling. Richard's death would be devastating news.

'Where's John, Bob?' asked Laura as they neared the main building.

'I sent him to get a cup of tea in the caretakers' room. I'll go and see how he's doing.'

'Yes, please do,' replied Laura. 'Let me know if there's anything I can do and ask him to be discreet until we know what's happening. If Shirley is away the police will need time to contact her. Oh, and what about Josh?'

Josh was Shirley's 18 year old son and he lived with Richard and Shirley. He had found it quite difficult to adjust to Richard initially. His real father lived in Brighton and Josh thought Shirley was betraying him when Richard moved in. Things had seemed a little easier of late.

'Oh, crikey! I'd forgotten about Josh. I'll go up and see if he's at the cottage when I've seen John.'

In spite of the circumstances, Laura had to smile inwardly at the old-fashioned expletive. She knew Bob's language could be colourful to say the least, probably as a result of his navy service, but he always remembered to temper it when he spoke to her. Many school bursars had a background in the armed forces, and some were inclined to believe a mere woman could not possibly run a school successfully. After all, a school the size of Mary Montgomery's High School for Girls had fees income of nearly £9 million pounds and a staff of over a hundred and eighty as well as buildings and grounds all requiring maintenance. Because of the financial aspects of their role, it was not unusual for bursars to believe they were the power behind the throne, and they had a direct link to the Governors. Some had been known to use this link to engineer more power for themselves.

Laura was lucky. Her Chairman, Arthur, also with a forces background, had said that there could only be one chief executive in an organisation and that was Laura. He himself was happy to be supportive and to busy himself with providing the facilities Laura needed to run one of the most successful schools in the north-east. Bob had been appointed into that setting and was answerable directly to her. He had never over-stepped the mark and he and Laura worked well together. He had day-to-day responsibility for much of the non-teaching side of the organisation, but Laura made all the decisions, subject to approval from her Board of Governors.

When they reached her office, Robert said, 'Come here. You look as though you need a hug.'

Robert enveloped her in his arms and gave her a comforting squeeze.

'I'm so pleased you're here,' Laura said. 'I can't stop thinking about poor Shirley. She'll be devastated. I suppose the police will inform her.'

'Yes, I expect so, but they might need some information about where her mother lives.'

'Of course, you're right. I'd better ring Josie.'

'I'll put the coffee on while you're doing that.'

As Robert turned to go out of the Laura's office he almost collided with Josie.

'Hi,' she said. 'I thought you might need me.'

'Oh, Josie,' exclaimed Laura. 'That's so thoughtful, but don't you have lots of other things to do?'

'I wouldn't be able to put my mind to anything else anyway. I might as well be here if I can be helpful.'

'Well, Robert's making the coffee. Let's try to work out what we need to do. I don't know any details until the Inspector gets here but we might as well start the list.'

Laura and Josie started to write down the hundred and one things that had to be done. Luckily the scene of the crime was well away from the main school buildings so, subject to police approval, there shouldn't be any problem in opening the school as usual on Tuesday. The sports hall would shortly be used as a base for the public examinations at GCSE and A Level, and again that was well away from the Pavilion. But before then Laura had to speak to her Chairman and decide what and how to tell the parents. She had no doubt the press would be keen to publish all the gory details, and she had to try to forestall that. Again, she hoped the police would be able to help her to decide what to say.

She wondered whether the police would want to set up an incident room at the school. If so, they could use the Pavilion. The separate entrance and car park would mean it would not interfere with school, and there were no neighbours near that entrance so it would not attract too much attention. Surely this terrible event couldn't be connected with school. After all, it happened over the weekend, and they didn't lock the Pavilion Gates at night so anyone could have come in. Laura really hoped they could solve the crime quickly and as quietly as possible, but she knew that was probably a vain hope.

The school had a very efficient telephone chain system used to communicate with everyone in the case of an emergency, but in this case Laura felt all the staff had to be contacted personally by one of her Senior Management Team. She would need to call them in shortly. And most of the parents had provided e-mail addresses so that would help. But, being a Bank Holiday weekend, some would have gone away and might not be able to be contacted. Well, they could only do their best.

Bob had said the sports store was open, so the police might want to talk to the PE staff who were, at the moment, accompanying the girls playing tennis and Rounders in Durham. She would have to find out when they were due back. She hoped they had remembered to fill in the office diary with the details. As Laura and Josie worked out an order of priority, the Inspector arrived accompanied by DS Todd.

'Mrs Jessop, I'm Detective Inspector Jenkins,' said this rather non-descript man. 'Perhaps we could have a word in private?'

DI Jenkins came into the room, followed by his sergeant, both showing their ID cards. 'I believe you've already met my sergeant?'

'Yes, do come in,' said Laura as Josie and Robert cleared their dirty cups from the desk. 'Can I offer you coffee?'

'No, thank you. We won't take up too much of your time just now.'

### Chapter Four

Laura eyed the two policemen before her. Detective Inspector Jenkins was unsmiling. She supposed he was in his mid to late forties and quite untidy in appearance, wearing a raincoat in spite of the warm spring weather and lack of a cloud in the sky. He looked a bit like Columbo, the American TV detective but his brisk, businesslike manner was at odds with the character Laura had in her mind. Columbo appeared to be a bit of a fool, although this was an act allowing him to gain the confidence of the villains and so outwit them. Was Jenkins as clever? She certainly hoped so.

Sergeant Todd opened his note book and the two of them sat down at the opposite side of Laura's desk. Laura tried hard to rid herself of the image of Columbo, but it was difficult. The man in front of her had untidy greying dark hair and his shirt collar was grubby, one side of the collar lifted at an odd angle, as if he had dressed in a hurry. Had it been one of her girls in front of her, Laura would have insisted she straightened up her tie. She was grateful the no smoking laws meant he could not smoke the cigar favoured by Columbo. By contrast the sergeant, a younger man, was very smartly dressed in a grey suit and rather fetching blue shirt with a navy and white spotted tie. They made an odd couple, Laura thought.

'I can't give you much information at the moment,' Jenkins began, 'but you are aware that the body of a Mr Richard Hart was found in the school grounds?'

'Yes, he's our Head Caretaker. He lives in a cottage behind the school buildings, number three.'

'We shall need to visit his home shortly. I believe he lived with his wife and son?'

'Yes. Shirley is our school receptionist. Josh is Shirley's son, not Richard's.'

'Are you aware of anyone who might want to harm Mr Hart?'

'No,' said Laura. 'As far as I know Richard was well-liked by everyone here. But it surely can't be anyone from school who did this terrible thing?'

'We have to keep an open mind, as you will appreciate. Can you tell us where you were last night?'

'I was at school until about 6.30. I drove home calling at the supermarket, Morrisons in Killingworth. I suppose I got home about eight, and Robert, my husband, was cooking the evening meal. We watched television until about 10.30 and then went to bed.'

'Did anyone see you in Morrisons?'

'No, but I've got the receipt somewhere. Won't it have the time on it?'

'How did you pay?'

'With my debit card. I'll have that receipt somewhere as well.'

'We shall need to see both of those.'

'I suppose this is where I'm supposed to say _you can't possibly think I had anything to do with it,'_ Laura smiled. 'But I know you have to eliminate me from your enquiries.'

DI Jenkins did not smile back. 'Quite so.'

So he was killed last night then. It's terrible to think of him lying there all night. I suppose if Shirley had been at home the alarm would have been raised earlier.'

'Do you know where Mrs Hart was last night?'

'I believe she was at her mother's. Josie, my PA, can probably give your more information. I'm not sure about her son, Josh.'

'We shall need to talk to anyone who might have had access to the school grounds last night.'

'As you've probably noticed, the entrance behind the Pavilion is quite secluded. We don't lock the gate, so anyone could have come in. The wall is so low at that end of the estate it hardly seems worth it. There weren't any functions on in school so there was no reason for anyone from school to be here. I would have to check whether the sports hall had a booking last night.'

'Do you have CCTV?'

'Yes, but not in that area. You're welcome to see the footage. Mr Hinchcliffe, my Bursar, will arrange it.'

'Right, well that's all for now,' said the Inspector standing.

'I do have one or two questions myself, if that's all right?' asked Laura. 'Do you have any idea how long your enquiries will take?'

'Obviously not at this stage,' replied Jenkins abruptly.

'Will you need an incident room here at school?'

'No, thank you. We're close enough to the station. But we would appreciate a room where we can interview people.'

'Perhaps the Pavilion would work? It's quite comfortable, with all the necessary facilities and you could come and go as you please. And there's a telephone link to the school.'

'Yes, that would work. Thank you.'

'Can you give me any guidance on what I can say to my staff and the girls and their parents? I need to reassure the parents that their daughters will be safe.'

'I understand. I hope that by the end of today, I can give you some information. The press haven't picked up on it yet, although I'm sure it's only a matter of time.'

By this time, the two men were standing at the door and Laura realised they were intent on leaving.

'You will keep me informed won't you? I will have to make arrangements for school on Tuesday.'

'Yes, I will. Goodbye.'

And he swept out, his raincoat belt catching on the door handle which rather spoiled the effect. Laura couldn't help but smile. There goes Columbo, she thought.

### Chapter Five

Robert re-entered Laura's office with another cup of coffee.

'Thought you might need the extra caffeine today,' he said. 'How was it? Did you find out anything?' he continued.

'Not really, other than they think he was killed last night. I had to provide my alibi,' Laura said.

'What?' gasped Robert incredulously. 'They can't possibly think you had anything to do with it?'

Laura laughed. 'You've been watching too many crime films! That's a real cliché.'

'I suppose they have to be sure,' Robert grudgingly agreed.

'I think I'm going to have to stay here most of the day. I need to get the Senior Management Team in and start contacting people. There's not a lot I can tell them, but it's better they hear the news from us rather than the TV.'

'Yes, of course you do. Do you want me to stay?'

'No. It's sweet of you to offer, but you'd be bored out of your mind. I'll ring you when I'm done and maybe we can salvage something of the day.'

'Yes, it's a pretty rotten way to spend your birthday,' Robert replied. 'We'll reschedule it to a less hectic time.'

Laura walked to the door with her husband, and as they passed her PA's office, she could see through the glass panel the two policemen talking to Josie. DS Todd seemed to be hanging on her every word. Josie was an attractive woman, and even though she was in her forties she looked much younger and regularly turned men's heads. The sergeant looked like yet another conquest.

Laura returned to her office and picked up the telephone. This was going to be a difficult call.

'Hello, Arthur,' she said when the call was answered. 'It's Laura. Sorry to disturb you on a Saturday. I'm afraid we have a bit of a problem. Richard Hart was found dead this morning.'

'Oh, my word! That's terrible,' Arthur replied. 'What happened?'

Laura described the events of the morning. Arthur seemed to take the news calmly, and Laura reflected that his army background had probably given him the experience of dealing with sudden violent death. Arthur Connolly had been a decorated Colonel serving in the Falklands and Northern Ireland prior to his retirement almost thirty years before. Since his retirement from the army he had been the CEO of a company owned by his wife's family and now, completely retired, he spent his time working for the school and enjoying his great passions of gardening and photography.

Laura often marvelled at the commitment of her Governors. They received no payment for their involvement with the school and yet most of them devoted hours of their time. In Arthur's case, his wife Jenny had been a pupil there in the 1950s. She had very fond memories of her schooldays and believed it gave her the grounding for an extremely successful career. Turning her back on the family business, Jenny had studied law and trained as a Barrister making her name in the Criminal Courts. They didn't have children and Laura had never asked whether it was by choice, although she did notice what appeared to be a look of regret sometimes, when Arthur was watching the girls playing sport. Arthur's involvement with the school was an attempt to pay back something on his wife's behalf.

'We have to keep on top of this,' Arthur said. 'We can't allow it to harm the reputation of the school. Something like this could make parents question whether their daughters are safe.'

'Yes, I agree,' replied Laura. 'I'm getting the SMT in this morning and we'll sort out what we need to do.'

'And you need to keep me informed. I'd like to know everything you find out about the inquiry. If it's not going well, I can always talk to the Chief Constable.'

'I'll do my best,' promised Laura. 'Will you contact the rest of the Board and let them know?'

'Yes, leave that to me,' Arthur said.

As she replaced the receiver, Josie tapped on her door and entered.

'I've just spoken to the Chairman,' explained Laura. 'I saw you being grilled!'

'Not quite,' smiled Josie. 'That inspector is a bit of a cold fish, isn't he? But the sergeant seemed a bit more friendly.'

'Hmm, I noticed.'

'What do you mean?' asked Josie colouring slightly.

'He couldn't keep his eyes off you. I'm not sure he was writing down everything you said, but he was certainly _taking down your particulars._ ' Laura emphasised the last few words and gave Josie a knowing look. 'I think if we want to find out anything he's the one to ask, not the inspector. Maybe you need to cultivate him.'

'That won't be too difficult,' agreed Josie. 'By the way, Bob called in. He's been up to Richard's cottage and there's no-one there. It looks as though Josh was away as well last night.'

'Well, let's hope he has an alibi. I'm sure the inspector will fancy him as a suspect, particularly if he hears he didn't get on with Richard.'

'That was years ago,' Josie replied. 'I think he and Richard were actually very close. When Josh came in over Easter to help in the IT department I saw them on a couple of occasions having quite intimate chats, and there didn't appear to be any problem between them.'

Josh had a considerable talent when it came to computers. Shirley was extremely proud of her son and Laura could understand why. He was hoping to go to university in the autumn, the first in his family to do so. He wanted to study Computer Science unsurprisingly, but he had more skill already than the technicians employed by the school, and was often called in to give a helping hand when there was a problem. Computers had completely changed the way most subjects were taught in schools, and at Mary Montgomery there were hundreds of PCs and laptops linked to a server in the IT department. It seemed as though every week there was some new development, and some exciting software to be bought.

'No, I'm sure he had nothing to do with it. I just don't have a lot of confidence in the inspector, although it's early days yet,' Laura admitted.

By noon Laura and Josie had contacted the members of the Senior Management Team and all but one were now assembled round a large table in the Board Room. Jack Gibson, one of Laura's deputies, was away in Manchester for the weekend although she had spoken to him on his mobile. Bob and Josie were well up-to-date with what had happened but Laura quickly outlined the events for the benefit of Amy Winston, her other deputy, and Reena Verma, the School Development Officer. Josie wasn't a member of the SMT but she sometimes attended meetings to take notes, and this was one occasion when she would be particularly useful.

'Now,' Laura continued. 'We're in a bit of a difficult position. We need to reassure the staff and the parents but we don't have anything much we can tell them. The inspector has said he'll try to get back to me by the end of the day, but I've no idea what time that will be and I don't know how much he'll want to tell me anyway. And although I assume the police have managed to speak to Shirley by now I don't know for sure.'

'Do the press know anything yet?' asked Reena.

'I think they would have been in touch if they did, but I don't think it will take them long, so we need to be prepared. Can you start work on a press release urgently, Reena? Make sure we show our sympathies. Richard will be sadly missed, and Shirley will be devastated as will Josh. But make it reassuring as well for the parents.'

'What about Shirley?' asked Josie.

'Oh, I really can't stop thinking about how awful it will be for her, and it's only just beginning,' Laura replied, emotionally. 'She'll need to know she has our every support. She might decide to stay with her mum for a while. I think it's unlikely she'll be in school. You'll have to organise a rota to cover reception. Do you have her mum's address?'

'No, I know she lives in Gateshead, and I think her surname is Carr. The sergeant was trying to locate her. I gave him her mobile number as well, but I don't think it's the sort of news you deliver over the phone. Maybe Sue will know. I'll ask her when I speak to her later. I assume you want me to call the office staff?'

'Yes, thanks. Have we found out when the PE staff will get back?' Laura asked Josie.

'Yes, they're estimating 2.30 to 3 o'clock although I gather it's a bit difficult to predict how long tennis matches will last.'

'Right. We need to keep an eye open for them and stop them going down to the Pavilion. Bob, can you take that on please?'

'Yes,' replied Bob. 'And the inspector wants to talk to them about the sports store when they get back.'

'I expect it was just an oversight,' said Amy. 'I can't imagine why it would be connected.'

'Maybe someone was breaking in and Richard caught them in the act,' suggested Reena.

'Yes, but what would they be stealing? A few tennis balls? Hardly worth killing someone, is it?' replied Amy.

'I don't think we've got time to speculate,' said Laura. 'Let's start by splitting the staff list between us and try to contact everyone just to let them know what has happened. Then we need to draft an e-mail so we can inform parents before they hear it on the news first.'

Bob had organised sandwiches so that everyone could eat while they worked. By 3 o'clock most of the staff had been given the grim news and a draft e-mail had been prepared. Reena had completed the press release just in time as a reporter from The Journal rang wanting information. As they didn't yet know whether Shirley had been contacted she was able to put them off for a while, but promised to ring back later.

### Chapter Six

Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Jenkins and Sergeant Todd were meeting in the Pavilion to exchange the information they had gathered so far. The body had been removed, but the area was still cordoned off while it was being painstakingly searched for evidence.

'So, Todd,' began Inspector Jenkins. 'What have we got?'

'Well, sir. As you know Wainwright, the pathologist, has been and inspected the body. First indications give a time of death between 7 and 10pm last night. That's based on body temperature and the fairly advanced state of rigor mortis.'

'Yes, yes,' interrupted the inspector. 'I have been doing this job for a while, you know.'

'Sorry, sir. Anyway, he thinks the victim was killed where he was found. Probable cause of death was a single blow to the head, but you know what these pathologists are like. He didn't want to commit himself until after the post mortem.'

'Any idea when that will be?'

'He said he'll do it first thing tomorrow morning.'

'Great. That'll help. Any idea on the weapon?

'He thinks the wound looks cylindrical but, again, he doesn't really want to commit himself to what might have caused it.'

'OK, I suppose we have to live with that until tomorrow morning. No sign of a weapon, I suppose?'

'No, 'fraid not but CSI are still searching the scene.'

'I still can't get used to calling them CSI. What's wrong with SOCO? It worked perfectly well before all these American TV series.'

'Sorry, sir. Anyway they've found a few cigarette ends and discarded chewing gum, but it's a well used area and they could be from almost anyone. There's a partial footprint. It looks like the killer stood in the blood, but the heavy dew has blurred it a bit. And there are no tyre marks that will help us, the whole area behind the pavilion is tarmac. The grass is fairly well trodden under the tree, but I gather it's a favourite spot for the pupils to spend their lunch times.'

'Not any more, I suspect.'

'No, you're probably right,' agreed DS Todd.

'Has someone spoken with the wife?'

'Yes, she's pretty cut up. She left home about 6pm last night to spend the weekend at her mother's in Gateshead. She saw her husband as she left.'

'We're sure she was in Gateshead?'

'Yes. Her mother confirms she arrived just before 6.45pm, and they went to the local pub for a drink at about 8pm arriving home just before 10.'

'That seems pretty solid. What about the son?'

'That she doesn't know. She thought he was at home and was surprised to hear he wasn't. Apparently he's not answering his phone.'

'Right, we need to find him then. Get a list of his friends from his mother and see if you can track him down. Did she offer any suggestions of anyone who might want to harm her husband?'

'No. She said everyone liked him. She did say he'd been a bit down a while ago. He had some health problems and was having to think about early retirement. It would have made a big difference to their income. But apparently he was much better lately, even talking about taking her on holiday to Las Vegas and buying a new car.'

'Sounds as though he's got some money from somewhere then. Ask the other caretakers if they know anything.'

'Will do, sir.'

'And what about this equipment store that was open?'

'The groundsman found it first when he arrived this morning. Apparently it's not unusual, the PE staff sound a bit casual. They're due back from Durham soon. I'll try to find out more. There's nothing of real value in there, but you'd think they'd take a bit more care. After all anyone could sneak in the gate behind the pavilion.'

'Yes, and I suspect that's one of our problems. Anyone could have done it. Do we have any idea why the caretaker might have been down there? It's a fair distance from his house.'

'The groundsman said he used to walk the perimeter of the site most nights. He was very conscientious.'

'Sounds like an all-round good guy, then. Maybe we should dig a bit deeper into Mr Hart. Nobody's that good! This sudden change in fortunes is a bit suspicious.'

'He might have won the lottery!'

'Yes, and pigs might fly. Keep digging, Todd. I'd better get myself up to the school to see the headmistress. She'll no doubt want to get home. These schoolteachers don't know the meaning of a full day's work.'

'I don't think that's quite fair,' began Todd, but the inspector had gone, his raincoat flapping as he began to walk briskly towards the main school building.

'Is the headmistress still here?' Jenkins asked of Josie as he entered her office.

'Of course. I'll tell her you're here.'

A few minutes later he was seated opposite Laura, who said, 'Thank you for getting back to me.'

'No problem. I expect you want to get off.'

'I'm afraid that won't be for a while. We've still got to contact all the parents. I couldn't do it until I knew what I was allowed to say.'

'Oh, right.' The inspector looked surprised.

'I don't think you understand, inspector. This is a large community and the girls are going to be very upset when they find out what happened. Mr Hart was well known to them all and they liked him. And the parents will worry about the safety if there's a murderer on the loose. I have a responsibility to all of them. And I couldn't release any details until I was sure you'd spoken to Shirley.'

'I see. Well, we have spoken to Mrs Hart who was, as you said, with her mother. I'd rather you kept the details to a minimum. Leave that to us.'

'But before Tuesday morning there will be information from the media. I would like the parents to hear of the incident from me, rather than the newspapers. The Journal's already been on the phone.'

'Very well. For the time being, you can tell them Mr Hart was found dead in the school grounds and the police have been involved as the death was suspicious. By Tuesday we may have more information. Who knows, we may have caught the culprit!'

'Does that mean you have someone in mind?'

'No, I wouldn't say that. We are pursuing several lines of enquiry.'

Another cliché, thought Laura.

'I'll need contact details for you over the weekend. And if you could have details for other staff I might need to contact, it would be helpful. I expect we'll be about for the next few days. We're talking to your neighbours to see if anyone saw anything,' the inspector continued.

'There isn't anyone who lives near the Pavilion unfortunately. And the road behind is very quiet. We've always counted ourselves as fortunate in that respect.'

'Yes, I was surprised that you don't lock the gate. Aren't you worried about intruders?'

'As I said no-one lives round there, and there's nothing of real value down there apart from the tractors and mowers and they're well secured. And the wall isn't high enough to act as a deterrent. There's no access for vehicles across the fields, so the open gate doesn't really present a threat to the school as a whole. But, I take your point. Perhaps we have been a bit lax.'

'You can't be too careful these days.'

'No, I suppose you're right,' agreed Laura. 'Oh, I've checked on whether the sports hall was let out last night, and my PA, Mrs Matthews, has the details for you.'

Just then the phone on her desk rang.

'Excuse me, inspector. Hello?'

'Laura, it's Bob. The mini-buses have just pulled into the school grounds, and there are quite a few parents waiting to pick up their daughters.'

'Thanks, Bob.' Turning to the inspector, she said, 'The PE staff are just returning. I presume you want to speak to them?'

'Yes, thanks. If you send them to the Pavilion that would be helpful.'

'Will you keep in touch with me over the weekend?' Laura asked. 'I'll give you my mobile number, or I can ring you or come in to see you if you prefer. I'll be in on Monday anyway.'

'I'll see you on Monday morning then. 9.30.'

And he turned to go, this time gathering the belt of his raincoat to make sure it did not catch on the handle again.

### Chapter Seven

Laura went out to the car park just as the girls were disembarking.

'Hi, Mrs Jessop,' Sarah, one of the older girls, called out. 'We won!'

'That's great,' replied Laura. 'I bet Durham weren't very pleased!'

There was intense rivalry between the two schools and Durham's tennis players were very strong. It wouldn't have been an easy victory.

Jen Smythe, the Head of PE, laughed as she replied, 'No, they most certainly were not. And the U13 and U14 rounders teams both won as well. We've had a good day.'

'Well done, I'm very pleased,' said Laura. 'When you've seen all the girls off will you and your staff pop in to have a word with me? And don't let any of the girls go down to the Pavilion or the PE store. We've had a bit of trouble down there.'

A few minutes later three young and energetic PE staff presented themselves at Laura's door.

'Is there a problem?' asked Jen.

'Come in and close the door,' said Laura. 'Yes, I'm afraid there is. This morning, John Grainger came in to mow the field and he found Richard Hart's body.'

The three young women all gasped.

'How terrible,' said Jill Cox. 'What happened?'

'I'm afraid it looks as though he was murdered.'

'Murdered?' Jen was the first to recover from the shock of the news. 'Who would do such a thing? He's... was such a lovely man.'

All three looked close to tears as Jackie Buxton made the connection. 'So was he found in the Pavilion?'

'No, he was actually found under Mary's Oak, but the police have cordoned off the whole area, while they search for clues.' Laura watched as the three processed the information. 'I'm afraid they want to speak to you this afternoon. It appears the sports store was left open. That's what alerted John in the first place.'

Jen looked at Jill. 'You were down there yesterday, weren't you? Did you remember to check it was locked up when you finished?'

A red colouration spread up Jill's neck and into her cheeks, as she tried to recall. 'I think so, but it was a bit hectic at the end. Gemma Dyson twisted her ankle and I had to help her up to school. Then I went back and made sure the Pavilion was all locked up,' and then she remembered. 'I looked across to the store and it looked as though it had been locked. I thought one of the girls had done it. The key was back on the hook. No, I'm sorry. I didn't actually go and check. I can't be sure.'

'But is there a connection?' asked Jackie.

'I don't know,' replied Laura. 'But the police need you to tell them what you've just told me. Don't worry about it. Just tell the truth.'

Jill burst into floods of tears, and Jackie put her arm round to comfort her friend.

'Jill, you're not in trouble. These things happen. At the moment all that's going on is that the police are trying to make sense of the scene they found this morning,' Laura said reassuringly. 'They're not going to lock you up just because you left the store unlocked,' she added in an attempt at levity.

The attempt failed, and Jill continued to sob.

'Jen, why don't you all three go down to the Pavilion and see the inspector?' encouraged Laura. 'The sooner you get it over with the better. It won't do Jill any good to brood over it.'

When they had gone, Laura called her Senior Management Team together again.

'Right, where are we up to?' she asked.

'Assuming you've just told the PE staff, all of the teaching staff with the exception of Kate Greenwood have been contacted. I've left my number on Kate's mobile and asked her to call me back,' said Amy.

Bob and Josie confirmed that between them they had contacted all of the non-teaching staff. Josie had also managed to discover the address of Shirley's mother in Gateshead and offered to drive over there that evening.

'I think it will be easier to talk to her face to face,' she said. 'But I don't know what I'm going to say. She'll be heartbroken and it's so much worse because of the circumstances.'

'Yes, it is,' agreed Laura. 'Thank you for that. Will you tell her we're all thinking of her, and to take as much time as she needs? I'll be in touch with her over the weekend. Did you sort out cover for the reception desk on Tuesday?'

'Yes, that's all organised.'

'I've spoken to the inspector this afternoon but I haven't learnt much more,' reported Laura. 'He doesn't want us to give any details of the murder. I suppose they don't know much yet anyway. He says we can refer to it as 'suspicious' and say the police are involved. How are you doing with the press release, Reena?'

'I was just waiting till I knew whether Shirley had been informed, and what the inspector said. I'll bring it in for you to approve, and then I'll contact The Journal and the Northern Echo who've already rung. The local radio has been on the phone as well as Look North and North East Tonight so I'll get back to them as well.'

'Well done, everyone. That's really great. Amy, you and I will finalise the e-mail for parents while Josie sets it up to send. Have you got the list of those parents who haven't got e-mail addresses, Josie?'

'Yes, it's only twenty three of them now.'

'That's good. Bob, can I ask you to ring those parents and give them the news. Just give them the details as in the e-mail and say you don't know any more if they try to ask for more information. I'm really very grateful to you all. It's been a dreadful day and we've all had a terrible shock. Let's just get through this last bit and we can go home and try to come to terms with it all.'

After she and Amy finalised the e-mail and Reena had shown her the press release Laura picked up the phone to call Arthur again.

'Hello, Arthur. I'm just ringing to let you know what's happening.' And she proceeded to give him a summary of the day's events.

'So do the police have any leads?' Arthur asked.

'Not that they're telling me,' Laura replied.

'Well, that's not good enough,' said Arthur. 'We have to know what's happening. Do they seem as though they know what they're doing?'

'It's a bit soon to tell,' Laura began. 'The inspector reminds me of Columbo, that American detective that used to be on the television.'

'You mean that bumbling fool?' spluttered Arthur.

'Well, yes that's the impression he gave. But he always got his man, or woman, in the end. But I mean visually rather than actually. It's quite uncanny.'

'This has to be sorted out quickly. You know how badly something like this could affect us. There are other schools in the area, and if they think they can steal a march on us they'll have no qualms about taking our pupils.'

Laura knew that this was true. Not only were there other very good girls' schools in the Newcastle area, there were also several co-ed schools. These had been boys' schools originally but had turned co-ed in an attempt to keep their numbers up. They were especially keen to attract clever girls. Competition was fierce and the whiff of scandal could cause serious damage. A school in the south had a scandal involving a suspicious death which later turned out to be a tragic accident. But, during the period of uncertainty, several parents took their children out and placed them in neighbouring schools because they didn't think the school could protect them. The whole business dragged on for several weeks and was very bad news for that particular school.

'You must steer this inspector chap in the right direction. He needs to widen his search. It can't be connected with the school.'

Laura tried to calm her Chairman down. He could be a bit unreasonable at times. She knew he was only thinking of the school, but the likelihood of her influencing the investigation was remote to say the least.

'I'll do what I can,' she promised. 'If I hear any more, I'll be in touch with you.'

As she replaced the receiver she breathed out slowly. What a day it had been. It was hard to believe that only a few hours ago she had been looking forward to celebrating her birthday with Robert. He would have gone to so much trouble to organise the day for her. What a great shame. She really was lucky to have him in her life.

She picked up the receiver again and dialled home.

'Hello, darling,' she said. 'I think I'm just about ready to come home.'

'You sound exhausted,' replied Robert. 'Has it been bad?'

'Not the best day of my life,' admitted Laura.

'Poor you. I'll be there in a few minutes to pick you up. See you soon.'

Laura went to look for her team and discovered them sitting in Bob's office nursing cups of tea.

'Do you want one?' asked Josie.

'No, I'm fine thanks. Have we finished? Is it time to go home?'

'Yes, I think so,' Amy replied. 'I don't think there's any more we can do today.'

'Right. Get yourselves off then, and thanks once again. You've all been marvellous. I'll be in touch if I hear anything. And Josie, give my love to Shirley please.'

### Chapter Eight

As they drove home Robert said, 'You just lie back and relax. I thought you might prefer just to have a quiet night in tonight, so I've rearranged our dinner reservation.'

'Thank you, darling. You're right, the last thing I really want to do tonight is to celebrate. Did they mind?'

Robert had booked a meal at a favourite eating house in Newcastle overlooking the Tyne which was renowned for its fish menu. They both enjoyed the ambience of this intimate restaurant, and were well known to the maitre d'.

'No, Henry was very understanding. I didn't give him any details of course, but I said you had a problem that you had to sort out. I've re-booked it for a fortnight's time. You can have a proper 'birthday' then.'

'Mmm, that'll be lovely,' Laura said drowsily.

All too soon they were home, and Laura kicked off her shoes as soon as they were inside. Going through to the living room she saw the table laid for two, complete with candles and a bottle of champagne chilling in an ice bucket.

Oh, this looks perfect,' sighed Laura. 'You are good to me.'

'Well, just sit down and I'll pour you a glass of bubbly while you open your present.'

He handed over a large parcel, tied with a big red bow. It was the size of a very large box of chocolates, but thicker and heavier. Laura undid the bow carefully, and then ripped at the paper as she couldn't contain her excitement any longer. Underneath the paper were layers of bubble wrap which she hastily pulled apart to reveal a painting.

'Oh, it's just lovely! When did you do this?' exclaimed Laura.

Robert was an artist who enjoyed considerable success. The watercolours he painted sold through a local gallery and several of them had been used for limited edition prints which proved popular with the many visitors to the area. The landscapes in the north east provided him with enough inspiration to last more than a lifetime. This particular one was of a favourite spot of Laura's, St Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay. The sea was angry, and the sky was menacing with the whiteness of the lighthouse a stark contrast to the dark greys and blues.

'I did it earlier in the year and decided to have it framed as a surprise for your birthday. I know you love the view towards the lighthouse, and this sea was so magnificent I just had to capture it.'

Robert and Laura loved living close enough to the coast to be able to enjoy the sea. The coastline was truly sensational and they had numerous spots which they frequented to just sit and stare at the ever-changing sea. The car park at St Mary's Lighthouse afforded fantastic views not only of the lighthouse, but also the bay leading round to Tynemouth. They had spent many happy Sunday mornings sitting on one of the benches looking out to sea. It was a popular spot and they recognised other regular visitors walking their dogs or just taking a leisurely stroll.

'Well, I love it. You couldn't have given me anything better. Thank you, my darling.'

While they enjoyed their evening together, Laura told Robert about her day.

'I think we've managed to contact everyone, and hopefully to reassure them. I'll have to log in tomorrow and see if we've had any response to the e-mail, but other than that I don't think I need to do too much until Monday. Oh, and I must speak to Shirley tomorrow. Josie was going over there this evening.'

'It was good of Josie to just turn up this morning,' said Robert.

'Yes, wasn't it?' Laura replied. 'She's been really helpful all day. And I think I'm going to need her to tease out some information from the sergeant. Arthur was quite insistent that I should try to get involved somehow, although the inspector won't want that, I'm sure. I think Arthur's really worried about how the school might suffer if there's any scandal, and of course, he's right.'

'But, you can't do anything, can you?'

'No, of course not, but the sergeant seemed to take quite a shine to Josie. Maybe she can at least find out what they're thinking, and Arthur might be satisfied with that. He said he'll talk to the Chief Constable if he thinks the inspector isn't doing a good job.'

'Oh, that'll go down well.'

'Yes, won't it just? Did I tell you the inspector reminded me of Columbo? Not his manner as much as his features.'

'No, you didn't, but I can see exactly what you mean. Well, if he's anything like him he should be pretty successful at catching his man.'

'Or woman,' added Laura.

'Yes, I suppose so, although hitting someone over the head isn't a very feminine thing to do.'

'No,' agreed Laura. 'But we do keep telling the girls they can do anything a man can! Although heaven forbid it was one of the girls!'

'I don't suppose there's any suggestion who might have done it?'

'Not that the inspector is revealing. But Josh seems to be missing.'

'But surely it couldn't be him?'

'I do hope not. I don't think Shirley could bear to have her husband killed and then discover her son was responsible. Anyway I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation.'

***

The following morning Detective Inspector Jenkins and DS Todd met at the mortuary. Jack Wainwright, the Home Office pathologist who was conducting the post-mortem examination was very experienced and well respected by the local detectives. Like all pathologists he had a very matter of fact way of dealing with death and often gently mocked those police officers who found the sight of an open cadaver distasteful. To him it provided a wealth of information about how the person, who had until recently inhabited the body, lived and more importantly died.

Jenkins was an old hand at post-mortems, and whilst he could never say he enjoyed the experience he had got past the stage when he felt the urge to regurgitate the contents of his stomach. Todd, on the other hand, was feeling decidedly queasy and only survived without making a fool of himself by fixing his sights firmly on the far wall, and trying to pretend he was somewhere else. He had a smear of Vick under his nose to mask the smells, and had foregone his breakfast that morning as an added precaution.

Finally, Wainwright turned to the two policemen. 'Well, gentlemen, it seems as though our victim did indeed die as a result of blunt force trauma, a single blow to the back of the head. TOD is, as I thought initially, sometime on Friday evening, probably between 7.30 and 9.30.'

'Any idea about what was used?' asked Jenkins.

'We found a splinter of wood in the wound. I'll have it analysed to see what sort of wood. And the wound was cylindrical, just over 2 inches in diameter.'

'You mean like a baseball bat?'

'Yes, that's possible.'

'Anything else?'

'Yes, he was hit from behind, the weapon striking the right side of the skull. It suggests the killer was right handed. There are no defensive wounds, no scratches or abrasions, meaning he was probably taken by surprise.'

'Haven't we had a couple of other bodies recently with the same sort of injuries?' asked Jenkins. He recalled two other murders in different parts of the city.

'Yes, I'll dig out the details and send them to you, but off-hand I can say both were male, two separate incidents one last week and the other about six weeks ago.'

'OK, thanks. Is that all?'

'Well, I suppose that's all you need to know. There was nothing suspicious in the contents of the stomach. Some evidence of damage to the heart, and he was well on the way to cirrhosis of the liver, quite a lot of scar tissue, but that didn't kill him. I'll get the full report to you by tomorrow. I've just got to sew him up and then I'm going home for my Sunday lunch.'

Surprisingly that was what did for Todd, and he rushed past Jenkins to head for the gents'. Wainwright looked at Jenkins and they exchanged a knowing smile.

### Chapter Nine

Jenkins was waiting for Todd outside.

'Sorry, sir,' apologised the sergeant. 'I keep thinking it'll get better.'

'It will eventually,' replied his boss in a surprisingly sympathetic voice. Jenkins wasn't known for his compassion. 'Let's get back to the station. I want to look at those other cases.'

The station had the benefit of a number of large rooms which could be used as incident rooms, and Jenkins had commandeered his favourite first floor room, overlooking green playing fields. The northern edges of the city were peppered with green open spaces. Area Headquarters in Westerhope was surrounded on three sides by houses, but to the rear it was open and Jenkins believed he gained inspiration by focussing on the tranquil view from the windows.

His team consisted of himself, his DS and three DCs. DC Sally Walker was the most experienced of the three and Jenkins knew she was looking for promotion. It would only be a matter of time before Sally became DS Walker, and he really valued her input into investigations. He would miss her when she moved on. John Nugent had been with him for a couple of years and was a solid worker, but he wouldn't ever set the world on fire and he was a bit of a clock watcher. The third DC, Jaqui Spense, had only joined the team three weeks before. Moving north from Leicester, Jaqui was still finding her way round and hadn't yet had time to impress her boss.

The room had the customary board centre stage, and Sally had already fixed photos of the crime scene, and had drawn a timeline of the known events. For an investigation of just over 24 hours they had a pitiful amount of information, but if they could link it to other crimes in the city it would help.

Jenkins was desperate to turn this case round quickly. His boss, Chief Inspector Philip Manton, was a hard task master and always had his eye on the targets. If he could solve three murders he would be the boy wonder of the station, and he might just get his own promotion. It was a source of irritation to Jenkins that he had been passed over for promotion. Twice other less experienced officers had been given the chance of a senior post. He just needed the right case, with the right outcome. Maybe this was the one.

He had called a team briefing for one o'clock, and before then he wanted to see what he could discover about the other two bodies found with similar injuries. He pulled up the files.

Jason Burton was 31 years of age and his body was discovered at the end of March near the fish quay in North Shields. Jason had a history of gambling and it was believed his gambling was linked to his murder. He owed a lot of money at the time of his death, and whereas his murder would make it impossible to collect the debt, it could be sending a message. Again a single blow to the head was the cause of death, the wound probably caused by a baseball bat.

Harry Westbury's body was discovered ten days ago in the City centre in an underground car park in Lisle Street. It looked as though he had been killed somewhere else and dumped but they hadn't found the site of the murder yet. With the same MO and the same background of gambling it was likely that the two murders were linked, but nothing had been found so far. Was there a link to Richard Hart? Certainly he seemed to have come into money recently if he was talking about taking his wife on holiday to Las Vegas and buying a new car. And, after all, Las Vegas was the gambling capital of the world. Jenkins started to believe he was onto something.

Just before one o'clock the team was assembled. Jenkins started the briefing by outlining the case thus far, and inviting contributions at the appropriate points. All of his team had visited the scene of the crime. Sally had been the officer to visit Shirley, and the two other DCs had spoken to neighbours and checked over the CCTV footage. Sally Walker and Gary Todd had also spoken to the groundsmen and caretaking staff at the school.

'So,' began Jenkins. 'At 8.20am yesterday morning we received a call to say that the body of a man had been found in the grounds of Mary Montgomery High School for Girls. Walker, you spoke to John Grainger?'

'Yes, guv,' Sally said putting down her mug of tea. 'He intended to mow the playing fields, it being a Saturday morning and with no sports fixtures planned he hoped to have a quiet morning without interruption. The ride-on mower is kept in a garage alongside the Sports Pavilion at the south end of the school site. He noticed that the sports store alongside was unlocked and the door was open. He thought he'd better have a look round, and that's when he found the body. He called the Bursar, Bob Hinchcliffe, and the Bursar phoned it in. Grainger was quite cut up about it.'

'Right,' continued Jenkins. 'Todd and I attended the scene. The body was lying under a large oak tree just to the west of the Pavilion. There was a lot of blood, and it looked like he'd been hit on the head with something which we now know was cylindrical, just over 2 inches in diameter and made of wood.'

'Like a baseball bat?' asked Sally Walker.

'Yes, that seems favourite at the moment,' agreed Jenkins. 'There was a wood splinter in the wound which they have yet to analyse. The pathologist gives the time of death somewhere between 7.30 and 9.30 on Friday evening. No weapon has been found, and there's not much evidence of anything else. A few cigarette ends, some used chewing gum and a partial footprint from where it would appear the killer stepped in the victim's blood and then started to walk away, but the print is not much use to us. It was on grass and heavy dew caused it to deteriorate and forensics haven't been able to find out much. The cigarette ends and chewing gum could have come from a number of sources. It's a popular spot for the pupils, and I'm sure some of them smoke when they think no-one's looking. And the school don't lock the gate behind the pavilion so anyone could have got in.

The victim, Richard Hart, is Head Caretaker at the school and lives in a cottage behind the main school building with his wife, Shirley and her son, Josh. Walker, you spoke to the wife?'

'Yes, guv. She last saw her husband at about 6 o'clock when she left home to visit her mother for the weekend. Her mother lives in Gateshead and confirms that Mrs Hart arrived at about 6.45. They chatted and then went for a drink to the local pub, returning home just before ten. I've checked with the landlord and he remembers the two of them in there, so she's out of the picture.

She can't think of anyone who would do him any harm. She did mention that he'd been ill and a bit worried about money if he had to take early retirement – he had a heart attack about a year ago. But he seemed happier recently. He'd even suggested he would take her to Las Vegas in the summer, and he was thinking of buying a new car.'

'Right, we'll come back to that,' said Jenkins. 'Todd, you went up to the Hart home, looking for Josh.'

'Yes, sir,' replied Todd. 'He wasn't at home, and as no-one else was there I don't know if he had spent the night there or not. One of the other caretakers lives next door and didn't see or hear anything. However his mother certainly expected him to be at home, and she couldn't get hold of him on his mobile. We checked his friends but so far we've drawn a blank.'

'Do we know anything about the relationship between Josh and his stepfather?' asked Jaqui Spense.

'According to John Grainger they got on well. Apparently they had a rocky start, but now were the best of friends,' Sally replied.

'Did we find out anything from those who worked with him?'

'Not really,' said Todd. 'They all said he was a nice guy, and they couldn't think of anyone who would want to kill him. No one knew anything about where he might have got money from, but apparently John is the one most likely to know. I'll follow up on that today.'

'Right, we'd better chase that up then. Nugent, anything from the neighbours, or the CCTV?' continued Jenkins.

'Nothing helpful, I'm afraid. The CCTV doesn't cover the bottom of the school site. There is a camera from the Sports Hall which points that way, but it's too far away to be of any use. There's activity round the sports hall during the evening, but no sign of anyone making their way across the field. Nobody reports seeing or hearing anything suspicious.'

'So, we have a fifty-two year old man who was well-liked by everyone who turns up dead with his head bashed in. Come on people, we need a motive.'

'You said we would come back to the holiday in Las Vegas,' Jackie Spense remembered.

'Indeed I did,' agreed the inspector. 'I'm pleased someone is paying attention. Where has he suddenly got the money to buy a new car shell out for a holiday in Vegas? It wouldn't come cheap. And what do we know about Las Vegas?'

'Gambling!' exclaimed Sally Walker.

'It's certainly a possibility,' said Jenkins. 'And there have been two other murders in recent weeks which might have a link. So, we need to know if he gambled, if he won or lost, and if anything changed recently. Check the bookmakers, the casinos. Go over the files of the other two murders and see if there are any links.'

'Who's running the other enquiries? Should we talk to them?' asked Gary Todd.

'Leave that to me. I'll talk to the Chief.' Jenkins wanted to handle this quietly at the moment. He didn't want anyone stealing his thunder. If he could get to the killer first he would get all the glory.

'What about the stepson, Josh?' asked John. 'Is he still in the frame?'

'We need to follow up on him certainly. We can't rule him out until we know whether he has an alibi. So we have to keep looking for him. Contact the mother again, and see if she has heard anything.

Right, we've had a busy couple of days and a late night last night, so get yourselves off home now and be back here at 8am sharp.'

The team didn't need to be told twice, especially John Nugent who was despairing of getting home in time to watch the football on TV. Newcastle were playing Manchester City at home and it promised to be a lively match. The inspector wasn't usually so generous, but he had a good feeling that he could crack this case, and he wanted his team on top form tomorrow.

### Chapter Ten

On Monday morning Laura drove into the school grounds with a heavy heart. The place would never be quite the same. It had always seemed tranquil, almost an oasis and yet so close to the bustling city centre. Now the savagery of the murder, and the emotions it would unleash in the school community had changed that for her.

She had tried to relax on Sunday, knowing that the demands of the coming week would be considerable, but her mind kept returning to the events of the previous day. So much had happened, and so many lives would be affected. She had rung Shirley. That was a difficult phone call. Shirley was in floods of tears and totally distraught. Her husband was dead and her son was missing. She couldn't fail to link the two, and yet she couldn't make sense of it.

'Josh would never hurt Richard,' she had said through her tears. 'They got on really well, and Richard was so proud of him. He kept telling people what a computer whiz kid he was. And he was. I don't know where he gets it from, certainly not from me.'

Her Senior Management Team were due in at ten o'clock. There were arrangements to be made for the following day, and Laura wanted to be sure that every 'i' was dotted and every 't' crossed. But before that she had her meeting with DI Jenkins. She hoped DS Todd would accompany him and she needed to see Josie first.

Josie was already at her desk.

'Good morning,' said Laura. 'What time did you arrive?'

'I've only been here about half an hour. I thought I'd check the e-mails before the meeting.'

'Yes, good idea. I had a quick look yesterday from home and there was nothing too bad. Is there anything new?'

'Not really. Mr Walsh is asking what arrangements we are making to ensure his daughters are not in any danger, but surprisingly that's the only one so far. The others are all expressing concern and sympathy.'

Mr Walsh was one of those parents who was always on the phone or on the doorstep. He believed that the money he paid to educate his two daughters, Sophie and Charlotte, gave him unlimited access to any member of staff day or night. And he was seen by one or two of the other parents as someone in the know; that was certainly the impression he tried to give. Recently he had been elected as Chairman of the Parent Teacher Association, and Laura had no doubt he wanted information that he could then send on to other parents. She needed him on her side.

'See if he would like to come in and see me this afternoon,' she instructed. 'Maybe by then we'll know more. Especially if you can talk to your friend, Sergeant Todd.'

'I wouldn't call him my friend exactly.'

'Well maybe not, but remember we need to cultivate him. The inspector is coming to see me at 9.30. Hopefully the sergeant will come with him. See if you can find out anything about the case, maybe see if they have any suspects or leads.'

'He's hardly going to tell me anything important, is he?'

'Just do your best. I have every faith in your feminine wiles!' laughed Laura.

9.30 on the dot, the inspector was being shown into Laura's office.

'Good morning, Mrs Jessop,' he said.

'Good morning, inspector. How are you?'

'Fine, thank you. I've come to update you on the enquiry.'

'Please sit down. I hope it is going well?'

'Well, these things always take time,' he replied cautiously. 'We've confirmed that he was hit over the head and that is what killed him. There's very little forensic evidence of any use, and we've finished searching the grounds round the Pavilion. We'd like to keep it cordoned off though for the time being.'

'That's fine. I can't think anyone will want to go down there anyway. What about the sports store and the equipment shed? Can we have access to them?'

'It would be better if you could arrange to remove what you need rather than going in and out all the time. I can arrange for one of my officers to supervise if you let me know when.'

'Yes, of course. Have you managed to speak to Josh yet? I know Shirley, Mrs Hart, is very concerned about him.'

'Not yet.' The inspector seemed unwilling to expand. 'I believe you spoke to Mr Hart about his possible retirement?'

'Yes,' agreed Laura. 'He had a heart attack last year and although he had recovered quite well, he wasn't able to do as much as he had before. You'll realise that caretaking can be quite a strenuous job. We had managed to rearrange his duties so that he took more of a supervisory role but he was worried he wasn't pulling his weight. He asked to speak to me about it, and wanted me to look into what benefits he might be due. Bob Hinchcliffe had a word with him, but Richard was worried he wouldn't be able to manage financially.

I did reassure him that he could still live in the cottage because, of course, Shirley would still be an employee. Anyway, the last conversation I had with him on that matter was about a fortnight ago. He said he had managed to sort out his finances, and he was seriously considering retirement on the grounds of ill health. Of course, we didn't do any more because he never confirmed it with me.'

'He didn't give you any details about how he had sorted out his finances?'

'No, and it wouldn't have been appropriate for me to ask,' replied Laura.

'Quite so.'

'The girls will be back in school tomorrow, and we can make sure they don't go down to the south edge of the site. Are there any special arrangements you want us to make?' Laura asked.

'No, I don't think so. We'll continue to use the Pavilion if we may.'

'Of course. Did you manage to speak to the PE staff on Saturday afternoon?'

'Yes, thank you.'

Laura realised she was going to get nothing more form him and he left, shouting to his sergeant as he went, 'Come on, Todd.'

Laura went through to her PA's office.

'Well?' she asked.

'Well,' replied Josie. 'It seems as though Richard's death is not the only one the inspector is interested in. There are two other cases which are similar and they're looking for links. Apparently they were all hit with a baseball bat.'

'That is interesting, and that would mean Richard's death wasn't connected with school. Let's hope the inspector can solve the case quickly. I wonder if that's why he asked me about Richard's finances?'

'Gary didn't give any more detail,' said Josie.

'Gary?' questioned Laura.

'Well, you did ask me to cultivate him,' said Josie with a smile.

'Yes, I did, didn't I? Well done. The inspector wasn't forthcoming at all. In fact, I don't think he told me anything I didn't already know. Have the SMT arrived?'

'Yes, they're all here. They're waiting in Jack's room. Shall I ask them to go the Board room?'

'Yes, thanks. And will you join us again? Have we got coffee in there?

'Yes, it's all organised.'

Five minutes later and all were assembled. Jack Gibson had been brought up to date by the others, and apologised for not being there on Saturday.

'Don't worry about it,' said Laura. 'We managed quite well without you.'

'Yes,' laughed Amy, 'but you get the lion's share of the work today!'

'We've got quite a lot to do,' agreed Laura. 'The e-mail we sent to parents seems to have done the trick. There's been no real response except from Mr Walsh.'

'Surprise, surprise!' interrupted Amy.

'Yes, well, I've invited him in this afternoon,' continued Laura. 'By then we should have worked out our strategy for tomorrow. But I want a personal reply to every e-mail from either Jack or Amy. It will show we're on top of things. Split them between you, and keep an eye on it as the day progresses.'

'Reena, well done with the press release. You seem to have contained it well. Be prepared for future contact, but we won't initiate anything ourselves. Josie, make sure that anyone who answers incoming calls has a copy of something simple to say, and don't let them elaborate. And we might have press on the doorstep tomorrow morning, trying to get comment from the girls and parents so we'd better be out there in force to control that. Bob, make sure the caretakers are on the main gates. We don't really want reporters on the site, but we can't stop them from being in the road outside.

We'll have a staff briefing first thing tomorrow morning and I'll take assembly. I don't suppose that will be a very pleasant occasion! Richard was quite well-liked by the girls. Some of them are bound to be very upset, and the last thing we need is any kind of mass hysteria, especially as some of them are close to their GCSEs or A levels. Jack, do we have any speaking tests planned?'

The language examinations tested speaking, reading, writing and listening skills and the girls seemed to find the speaking tests very stressful. It was surprising really as most of them spoke very fluently and had a good command of the languages taught in the school. Speaking was always the first thing to be tested, and perhaps it was this fact that added to the stress. It made the long anticipated examinations finally arrive and become a reality.

'Nothing till Thursday,' said Jack. 'We've got Spanish first, and then French and German.'

'That's good,' said Laura. 'Perhaps by Thursday things will have become a little easier. Jack, will you contact the examination boards and let them know what has happened, just in case anyone throws a real wobbly in their exams?'

Jack nodded to signify his assent.

'Amy, will you contact Sara and see if she can come in tomorrow?'

Sara Jackson was a freelance counsellor used by the school, and Laura wanted someone extra available if any of the girls or staff needed support. It was so difficult to predict how people would react, but Laura really wanted to be well prepared. If just one girl or teacher became very emotional it could start them all off!

'Right, then,' said Laura. 'Let's get started. Jack and Amy, can we meet at 12 to think about what we're saying at the staff briefing? Does anyone have any questions?'

Amy looked up. 'It's not really a question. I had a phone call last night from Stella. She was a bit on edge, and asked if she could see me tomorrow morning.'

Stella Carstairs was the Head of Science at the school. She was an attractive young woman who related well to the pupils. In an all girls' school science was seen as a subject just like any other and many of the girls chose to pursue at least one of the sciences at A level. But there was no doubt that Stella had been personally responsible for the rapid rise in popularity of Physics, her main subject. She was the perfect role model, pretty, young and with a bubbly and infectious personality. The girls loved her, and she was a fantastic teacher always willing to go that extra mile to make sure they understood the difficult concepts associated with her subject.

'Did she say what it was about?' asked Laura.

'Not really,' Amy replied. 'Other than to say it was connected to Richard.'

'OK,' said Laura. 'We'll have to wait and see then.

### Chapter Eleven

'Todd,' said the inspector, 'let's see all the caretakers and groundsmen again and see if we can put flesh on our theory about Richard Hart. If he was a gambler, someone will know.'

'Yes, sir,' replied Todd and went off to organise the interviews.

The inspector sat on the decking outside the Pavilion looking over the school fields towards the main school buildings. It really was a very pleasant environment. If he had a daughter he wouldn't mind sending her to school here, although he knew he wouldn't be able to afford it in a month of Sundays. Luckily it wasn't something he had to worry about. His wife had long gone taking his son with her, fed up of the long hours and the bitter resentment that was growing inside of her husband.

As a young copper, Dave Jenkins had been so full of enthusiasm. His future was bright, and he quickly transferred to CID, on his way to the very top. Only it didn't quite work out like that. His first two sergeants were real pieces of work, keen to prove to the inspectors that they did all the work and taking credit for anything Dave came up with. When he became a sergeant himself he made sure he let his DCs take their own credit, but a couple of them had even passed him on the promotion ladder.

He eventually made it to inspector but that now looked like the end of the road for him. And it had not come without pain. The loss of his marriage and family life caused him to seek solace in the whisky bottle, and although he mostly managed to keep it under control he suspected it was one reason why any further promotion always seemed to be blocked.

But maybe, just maybe this case would be his salvation. It surely couldn't be a coincidence that three men had died in similar circumstances in a matter of weeks. And the gambling link looked more and more likely. He hadn't yet shared the information with his Chief for fear of alerting the other teams, but he couldn't keep it from him any longer. He was due to meet him that afternoon and would have to come clean then otherwise the withholding of information would be held against him whatever the outcome.

The only worry was the disappearance of the son. It didn't fit his preferred solution. They needed to find him and eliminate him from their enquiries if they could. And the sooner the better.

By lunchtime he had the desired information about Richard Hart. John Grainger and he had worked together for a long time and often shared a pint or two at the Masons' Arms. It had all started innocently enough with the odd flutter on the horses. Apparently they often used to joke that they would make their fortunes after an outsider won against the odds. John kept his involvement with the odd bet here and there, but Richard became more addicted after a couple of big wins, and as is typical his fortunes oscillated. For a long time he had just enough wins to break even, but then about a year ago, just before his heart attack, he had a really bad run of luck and was down quite badly.

'He said he knew he could turn it round,' said John. 'He only needed one win, but it didn't seem to happen. Then his mate Tony introduced him to some sort of loan shark.'

'Who's Tony?' asked the inspector.

'Tony Banks. He lives in Gosforth. He and Richard go way back, and he'd meet up with us in the Masons'. I think they might have gone to school together. Tony's a bit of a loser, in and out of work, but he always seems to have money.'

'What happened then?'

'Well, it was all right for a while, and Richard started winning again, enough to pay back the first loan anyway. And then he started to gamble a bit more seriously. Now he was winning again he decided to join that new Casino, The Crazy Lady, in town. He and Tony would go there once a week. Shirley didn't know. She thought they were still going to the Masons'.'

'And did he keep winning?'

'Well, he became a bit more secretive, I suppose. He kept things more to himself, unless he won and then he'd tell us. So, I don't really know about him losing, but gamblers never win in the long run, do they?'

'You said 'first loan'. Did he borrow again?'

'I don't really know. But it's a mug's game, isn't it? He was never going to win enough to stay out of trouble so, yes, I expect he did.'

'Did he talk to anyone else?'

'No, only Tony, I think. He seemed worried that someone would find out and he would lose his job. Quite paranoid at times, he was. And he didn't want to mess up with Shirley. She didn't know anything about his gambling. Well, she probably thought he still had the odd flutter on the gee-gees, but she didn't know about the casino.'

'Did you know he was thinking about retirement?'

'Yes, he told me that. He didn't think he could afford it, and then a couple of weeks ago, he said he'd come up with something and everything would be all right.'

'He didn't say what?'

'No, he didn't.'

'Why didn't you tell us all this on Saturday?'

'Well, I didn't think it was connected, and I was a bit shocked what with finding the body and all that. I wasn't thinking straight. Is that what you think, that there's a connection?'

'We're pursuing all lines of enquiry at the moment,' said the inspector pompously.

Jenkins could hardly keep the glee out of his voice. It was all starting to come together. And then, to crown it all, Sally Walker phoned.

'Yes, Walker. What have you got?'

'Hi, guv. Mrs Hart has just called in. Josh has been in touch. Apparently he's been away with a mate to a gig in London. It was all a big secret from his mum, and from everyone else it seems. Richard knew but because Mrs B. would be away for the weekend they decided not to bother her with it. They've just got back to his mate's house and Josh found out about Richard from the local paper.'

'So, why didn't we know about this mate? I thought we'd checked up on them all?'

'Yes, this wasn't a regular. It was someone Josh had met through some internet thing.'

'And why didn't he answer his mobile?'

'He left it at his mate's house by mistake.'

'Right, well you'd better check it all out, but it looks as though Josh might be in the clear.'

'Looks that way, guv,' agreed Sally Walker.

Jenkins smiled at Todd.

'Right, Todd. We'd better find this Tony Banks, and see what he has to say for himself. You chase him up and get him back to the station while I go and see the Chief.'

### ***

Chief Inspector Philip Manton was not in a good mood. He had just been hauled over the coals by his Super for failing to meet targets for solving crimes in his area. Targets had suddenly become the main topic of conversation. It was almost as if they were the only thing that mattered. Manton understood that a good clear-up rate was important but sometimes it wasn't that simple. It wasn't surprising therefore that when Jenkins arrived in his office his first question was:

'So Jenkins, when will you have this all wrapped up then?'

'Well, sir we're doing quite well. It seems as though our Mr Hart had a bit of a gambling problem. That coupled with the MO might link it with two more murders in the area.'

'Have you spoken to the other teams to work with them?'

'Not yet, sir,' admitted Jenkins. 'I wanted to get a bit further with ours first and then tie theirs in with ours rather than the other way round. That way, we get the credit.'

'Good thinking, Jenkins,' agreed Manton. 'It would do us no harm to clear up three murders for the price of one, would it?'

'That was what I thought,' said Jenkins.

'Right, well you'd better get moving then. If you've made the connection they won't be far behind you. And we can't keep this quiet for long. And, of course, it goes without saying that if anyone asks I shall deny that you told me anything about a possible connection.'

'Of course, sir,' said Jenkins.

### Chapter Twelve

Laura sat back in her chair, and exhaled slowly through her mouth. She had once been told that she should imagine all her bad thoughts being expelled from her body with that breath, and she closed her eyes as she visualised a large black cloud leaving her mouth. Mr Walsh had just gone, and it had been a difficult meeting. It was as if he expected her to take over the enquiry and solve the crime before tomorrow morning. Anything less and she wouldn't be doing the job she was paid to do, and of course, he made it perfectly plain that her salary came from the fees he and other parents paid, and so of course they could dictate what she did.

'Mr Walsh,' she had said. 'You pay fees to ensure your daughters receive a first class education, and that you most certainly get. You only have to look at Charlotte's GCSE results last summer to know that. In addition we take enormous care over the safe-guarding of your daughters as well as the rest of the pupils. In short, we are the experts when it comes to education. I am not trained to be a detective, although I sometimes think I could be one when I delve into the misdemeanours of some of the girls.

But I do have faith in the police to get it right, and to do so sensitively. The inspector and I have spoken at length,' she said with her fingers crossed under the desk, 'about the enquiry and how to minimise the impact on the girls. I haven't let you down yet. Why would I do so now?'

'I suppose so,' Mr Walsh grudgingly agreed. 'But Sophie is taking her GCSEs in a few weeks and Charlotte has her AS exams. It couldn't have come at a worse time.'

'I expect Mr Hart would agree with you about that, not to mention his wife Shirley.'

Mr Walsh managed to look a little shame-faced, and he left feeling that everything possible was being done.

The telephone on Laura's desk rang telling her there was an internal call. The display said it was from Josie.

'Hi, Josie.'

'How was that?' asked Josie.

'As expected,' said Laura, 'but I think he left a little happier.'

'Well, your afternoon continues to get better. I've just seen the Chairman pull into the drive.'

'Oh great!' exclaimed Laura. 'You'd better bring in some strong coffee.'

Arthur was a tall man, with a balding head and a ruddy skin. He was an imposing figure and well respected by the staff and the parents. They saw him as a man who got things done. Over the years he had managed the school's finances well to provide outstanding facilities. He had many contacts in the local business community and had persuaded several of them to donate very generous sums to a scholarship fund, and to a fund for the artificial playing surface. He could be a very persuasive man.

And the teaching staff liked the fact that he showed an interest in their work. He often came in and walked round the school. He would pop into classrooms, especially if the girls were doing something practical like science or drama and he would chat to them. He had a really soft spot for the new entrants each year. It was a source of satisfaction to him that another cohort of pupils would be working their way through the school, his school.

As far as the education was concerned he let Laura get on with it, saying 'We employed you because you know what you're doing. I'm a business man and I'll do my thing. You're an academic. You do your thing.'

But in this matter, Laura knew he was going to push for results. He was keen for the whole matter to go away, and to go away now.

'Hello, Arthur,' Laura said as he was shown into her office. 'I was just about to ring you.'

'Yes, well I was passing so I thought I'd call in. I've just taken Jenny to her yoga class, so I've got about an hour.'

'On a Bank Holiday?' she asked.

'Yes, they're very keen.'

Laura hoped the frustration didn't show in her eyes. She needed to prepare her assembly for the following morning and it would take her some time to find the right things to say and to strike the right tone. Chatting to the Chairman for an hour didn't feature in her agenda at all.

'How are they getting on? Have they cracked it yet?'

'They seem to be linking it to other murders in the area. I expect that will make it easier to solve.'

'So they've ruled out any connection with school?'

'I'm sure the inspector would tell me they're keeping an open mind,' Laura replied. 'But I don't think they've found any connection so far.'

'Oh, that's good news,' said Arthur. 'I was sure it couldn't be connected.'

'All they've said is that he was killed on Friday night and was hit over the head.'

'Do they know what the weapon was?'

'The sergeant told Josie it was a baseball bat.'

'Oh, what makes them think that?'

'I don't know. Their examination of the body I assume.'

'And have they found anything else? Any fingerprints or anything?'

'The only thing the inspector said was that there wasn't much forensic evidence and they've finished searching the site. It's still cordoned off though.'

The Chairman looked relieved that a scandal had been averted, and his beloved school was safe. Laura was very grateful for his support for the school, but still found it slightly odd that he was so involved. Even if he was paying something back for the education his wife had received all those years ago, the debt had surely been paid ten times over.

'Has there been any reaction from the parents?' asked Arthur.

'Not too much,' Laura replied. 'Our e-mail seemed to do the trick, and we've had lots of responses expressing sympathy for Mrs Hart. I did have Mr Walsh, Chairman of the PTA, in just now and he was a bit difficult, but I think he went away reassured.'

'Well, it looks as though you've handled it well so far,' congratulated Arthur. 'Let's hope this Columbo chappie keeps looking elsewhere.'

Laura laughed. 'His name's Jenkins. Please don't call him Columbo if you meet him.'

'I don't suppose I shall need to do that,' said Arthur.

'I think we shall have a difficult day tomorrow. The girls are going to be upset, and I'm sure the press will be on the doorstep,' continued Laura. 'But we'll get through it.'

'Are you still having your sports' thing?'

The following afternoon a mini sports day had been planned for the younger girls, and parents had been invited to attend. Although the weather would have permitted an outdoor event, it was scheduled to be indoors.

'Yes, it's in the sports hall, so it shouldn't be affected,' Laura replied. 'And we really need to carry on as normal for the sake of the girls.'

'Yes, I'm sure you're right,' agreed Arthur. 'What time does it start?'

'Two o'clock.'

'I thought I'd come along and support you, and take some photographs.'

'That would be helpful. Thank you. You know some of the parents will be there, don't you? It's years 7 and 8.'

The hour passed slowly and Laura was very relieved when Arthur finally stood up to take his leave.

'Right, I'll go and see if Jenny's survived her class. She seems to enjoy it and says it's doing her good. I think she's just trying to prove she can still bend and stretch.'

'Yes, well I'm impressed,' said Laura. 'The only exercise I get is walking, and not much of that most days.'

### Chapter Thirteen

'So, Mr Banks,' the inspector began. 'I gather you knew Richard Hart.'

Tony Banks was a wiry looking man with grey hair thinning on top. His clothes smelled of damp as if they were never dried properly, and they had certainly never seen an iron. His skin was badly wrinkled and pallid. He didn't look a well man, and he looked nervous.

'Yeah,' agreed Banks. 'I've known him since we were kids. We went to school together.'

The inspector reflected on that fact. Richard Hart was 52. The man in front of him looked at least ten years older.

'And were you still in touch?'

'We'd meet up most weeks.'

'What did you do together?'

Banks shifted in his chair and started to move his fingers nervously.

'Oh, you know. This 'n' that.'

'No, I don't know, Mr Banks. That's why I'm asking.'

Banks started to relax a little. The inspector 'didn't know'.

'We'd have a drink. We went to the Masons' sometimes and into the Toon sometimes.'

'Where in town?' Jenkins wasn't a Geordie and refused to use the colloquial expressions of the locals.

'Lots o' places. You know what it's like,' he laughed nervously. 'A pint here 'n' a pint there. It all blurs into one.'

'So you haven't been to The Crazy Lady then?'

Banks tensed again. The inspector did know something! But how much was the question. Banks wondered how little he could get away with telling him.

'Yeah, now and then,' he agreed and then stopped. It was no good giving away too much.

'When were you last there?'

'Thursday night.'

'And before that?'

'The previous Thursday.'

'So would it be fair to say this was a regular haunt on Thursdays?'

'I suppose so,' Banks grudgingly agreed.

'There, that wasn't too difficult, was it?' the inspector continued. 'Just think how much easier it would have been if you'd told me that in the first place. So you and Richard liked a little gamble then?'

'I suppose so,' repeated Banks.

'Did you win?'

'Sometimes. I'd say I broke even. Sometimes I'd win and sometimes I'd lose, but it was never much.'

'And what about Richard?'

Banks' fingers tightened and he rubbed his thumb across the side of his curled index finger. It was obvious the inspector knew about Richard's little gambling problem. Well, not so little really.

'Yeah, he liked to gamble.'

'So, you said. Did he win?'

'Sometimes.'

'Did he lose?'

'Sometimes.'

The inspector decided he had to move it up a gear. This was a bit like pulling teeth and they'd be here all day.

'So we've heard he went through a bad patch about a year ago and had to borrow some money.'

'Yeah.'

'And you arranged the loan for him.'

'Who told you that?' Banks was now definitely nervous. 'I just told him I'd heard of someone who helped people out from time to time. I didn't have anything to do with it other than that.'

'And who was this _someone_?'

'Andy Logan.'

Andy Logan was well known to the police in Newcastle. Originally from Edinburgh he had moved down to Newcastle ten years before and was the owner of a nightclub in Tynemouth. _Sparkle_ had a reputation with the youngsters in the area for wild, no-holds barred nights out, and was a favourite venue for stag parties that sometimes got out of hand. Andy Logan professed to run a clean establishment and had made one or two high profile appearances on local TV about the dangers of drug abuse. He employed a team of well-built henchmen dressed in black suits and brown boots who ensured unsavoury characters were refused entrance. On the surface Andy Logan was an honest man trying to make a decent living, but the police were not convinced.

There had been suggestions of illegal gambling, of prostitution and, of course, drugs. None doth protest their innocence and all that. Nothing had ever been proved, and it had been rumoured Logan had inside information to make sure he was always clean when raided. He was one slippery character, and Jenkins started to salivate as he imagined being the one to catch him. That would be a feather in his cap!

As far as Jenkins knew there had been no suggestions of loan sharking, but it wouldn't surprise him. It fitted with the rest of the activities. Jenkins imagined the accolades that would come his way if he solved not only three murders, but a whole host of other illegal operations. He would be an overnight media sensation! Hell, they might even ask him to be mayor!

'And how do you know Andy Logan?' he asked calmly.

'I told you. I just heard he helped people out.'

'So Richard went to see him?'

'I suppose so. He got enough money from somewhere to pay his debts. Then he had a couple of wins so everything was fine for a while.'

'Was that when you started going to The Crazy Lady?'

'Yeah, about then.'

'And you said 'for a while', pressed Jenkins. 'Did he continue winning?'

'No, he started losing badly, and he had to borrow more money. I think he must have gone back to Andy.'

'Why do you think that?'

'Well, I don't know where else he would get it.'

'So why are you so nervous?'

'Whadya mean?' asked Banks nervously.

'Come on. It's obvious. You're twitching and sweating and trying to avoid giving me straight answers. Something's got you spooked.'

'Don't know what you mean?'

'No, of course you don't. We understand Richard was planning a trip to Vegas?'

'Yeah, he told me. I just thought it was one of his fantasies.'

'Where would he get the money from?'

'Dunno. He didn't say.'

Jenkins didn't think they'd get any more out of Banks today. At least he had confirmed some of their information and he had given them Logan. He was itching to start investigating Logan.

'Show him out, Todd, but we might want to talk to you again. Don't leave town.'

Jenkins always liked saying that. It reminded him of the westerns he had watched as a kid when the sheriff would eye up the villains and say 'Don't leave town'. He could imagine himself with a bright shiny star and a pair of six-shooters in large leather holsters slung round his hips. He had been born out of his time!

Todd returned a few minutes later, and Jenkins was continuing his daydream of solving the majority of the crime in Northumbria. Todd jolted him out of his reverie, by asking:

'Do you really think Andy Logan might be mixed up in all of this?'

'Well, stranger things have happened, Todd. At least there might be a motive tied up in all of this. We need to get hold of Hart's bank statements and such. See what you can find out.'

'But if he's borrowed money, loan sharks don't usually kill. They'll never get their money that way.'

'No,' agreed Jenkins. 'But there's lots of possible explanations. Maybe Banks had borrowed money as well and Logan was trying to send a message to him. He was certainly very nervous about something. Or Logan sent one of his heavies to frighten Hart and it got out of hand.'

'So what about the other two murders? Did they all get out of hand?'

'OK,' said Jenkins impatiently. Todd was very annoying at times! 'So maybe Hart got more involved with Logan in some of his other business interests. We have a lot to do, but let's keep this Andy Logan connection between the two of us for now. See what we can uncover first.

### Chapter Fourteen

By 9.30 on Tuesday morning Laura thought she'd already done a day's work. As predicted there had been reporters and television crews outside the school gates and everyone had to run the gauntlet to get into school. More parents than usual had chosen to drive their daughters into school and the car park was exceedingly busy. Those not rushing off to work themselves stood around in small groups discussing the weekend's events. Laura had noticed Mr Walsh holding court and trusted that her conversation with him the previous afternoon had done the trick. She, Jack and Amy had wandered amongst the parents chatting and reassuring them that everything was under control.

The staff briefing had gone well; although Laura noticed that Sally Cox looked very pale and probably still believed she had somehow been responsible by leaving the sports store unlocked. She would have to speak to her later. Mary Lewson, the Head of Drama, appeared to be auditioning for some highly emotionally charged role as she sobbed bitterly in the corner of the staff room. Laura took the opportunity to remind them that they had to put their own emotions on hold as their major responsibility today was to look after the girls. Mary looked disappointed but then, remembering she was a trooper and that her role now called for stoicism, she put on a brave face.

The assembly was as emotional as Laura had expected, and she had to let it happen. Telling the girls not to cry wasn't going to do any good at all. She always remembered when her own father died, her mother-in-law told her not to cry. Something to do with the British stiff upper lip she supposed. She knew it was just one of those phrases people use when they can't think of anything else to say, but really it was such a stupid comment and not at all helpful. There's nothing wrong with a little grief. Keeping things as normal as possible from now on would be the sensible way to proceed, but she had to let them express their sadness and distress during the assembly.

But now for a few minutes Laura could relax. Josie brought her the morning's mail and her second cup of coffee of the day.

'I spoke to Shirley again last night,' she said.

'How is she?'

'Better now that Josh has turned up.'

'What was that all about?'

'Apparently he'd met this lad through some internet chat room. Seemingly they both had some interest in new bands. Anyway this other lad managed to get some tickets for something called the Bushstock Festival in London. Josh knew his mother wouldn't be keen on him going, but she was going to be away for the weekend and he persuaded Richard to cover for him.'

'Well, I'm pleased there was an innocent explanation. Shirley must have been going through torment wondering whether he was involved.'

'Yes, I think so. She's coming back home today, and would like to come into work tomorrow.'

'Is that wise? Is she ready for it? There'll be so many reminders as they both worked here.'

'She knows it's going to be difficult, but she said she'd like to try. I'll rearrange things so she doesn't have to be on reception. She can work in the general office, and then if it's too much for her she can easily go home.

'OK, then. I'm sure everyone will be very protective of her, but keep Mary Lewson away from her. That woman can turn any crisis into a drama!'

There was a knock at the door.

'So much for five minutes peace and quiet,' Laura said as Josie returned to her office. 'Come in!'

Amy put her head round the door.

'I've got Stella here. Can we come in for a few minutes?'

'Yes, of course.' Laura remembered that Stella had asked to speak to Amy.

When they were both settled, Laura looked expectantly at Stella but she seemed unwilling to talk.

'It's all right, Stella,' said Amy reassuringly. 'Mrs Jessop won't bite.'

'It's not that. I feel such a fool.'

'Do you want me to tell Mrs Jessop what you told me? Maybe if I start you can join in?'

'Yes, all right.'

Laura was intrigued. Stella had told Amy it was something to do with Richard, and all sorts of possibilities flitted through her mind. She couldn't imagine it was anything like an affair between the two of them. Stella was so young and attractive and surely not short of boyfriends of her own age and Richard, well Richard wasn't young and attractive! So what could it be?

'Stella, like any young graduate, has quite a lot of debt from university,' began Amy. 'She tried to keep her student loan down by working.'

'Not unusual,' said Laura.

'Perhaps the work she took on was a little unusual,' said Amy.

Stella looked embarrassed. 'I didn't think at the time I was dong anything wrong, and I didn't think about how it could affect me later. I really love my job here, and I love all the girls. I would just hate it if I had to leave.'

'Whatever is the matter?' Laura asked bewildered.

As Stella had clammed up again, Amy continued. 'She joined an escort agency.'

Laura searched in her mind for the right question. The words 'escort agency' conjured up all sorts of images in her mind. She needed to know just how bad this might be, but she didn't want to frighten Stella. And she certainly didn't want to lose one of her best teachers.

In the end she settled for 'What sort of escort agency?'

'It was very high class. I was at Oxford, so it was easy enough for me to travel into London once a week. The agency dealt with foreign visitors mostly. I would usually meet them to go out to some function or to dinner.'

Laura started to breathe more easily, but she knew if that was all it was, Stella would not be so concerned.

'And then?' she pressed.

'Sometimes I went back to their hotels,' Stella admitted, her eyes firmly fixed on the floor.

'And how long did this last?' asked Laura.

'About six months,' replied Stella. 'I suddenly realised what I was doing and I didn't like myself much. I earned a lot of money, but suddenly that didn't matter any more. It was like I'd been living in some sort of dream world. It wasn't real. I'd been so concerned about paying off my debts I hadn't really thought about the consequences.

I'd started to think about what I wanted to do after my first degree and I was considering teaching. The two lifestyles didn't match at all. I knew I'd made a terrible mistake, but I thought I could stop and everything would be all right.'

Stella started to cry as she realised there was no going back now. She had admitted her past and she might lose her job. Teachers are role models for their pupils and this was hardly the role the school would want her to promote. Her fate was now in the hands of her boss.

'So what has this to do with Richard?' Laura asked.

'He found out somehow. I think there might be some old pictures still on the internet.'

'And?'

'And he threatened to tell you. I was so worried that you would sack me. Well I still am. I'm so sorry. I'd never do anything to hurt the school, or you. You've been so good to me. What a mess!' and her crying turned into sobbing.

Amy squeezed Stella's arm in a comforting way, and looked at Laura. Laura was quite shocked, but it never did to admit that. She knew that student loans caused real heartache for some students and she also knew that youngsters were much more adventurous in their sex lives than she had been, but this? Stella had now realised just how one's past can come back to haunt you.

Laura knew she had to think carefully about what she had been told. If Richard had found out, then presumably others could and the school's reputation could be harmed. But she had sympathy for Stella and this had all happened several years ago.

'Do you know where the pictures are on the internet?' she asked.

'Not really. Richard just said he'd seen them and I believed him.'

'So he might have been lying?'

Stella paused to think.

'But how else would he know? I mean, what he was saying was true. I just assumed he had also seen pictures.'

'Were there pictures when you worked for the agency?'

'Yes,' Stella said. 'We all had our own page on the agency's site.'

Laura despaired that youth could be so innocent. They had grown up with the internet and yet didn't understand that it really was a world wide web. Anything posted on the internet was very public knowledge. It was like telling the world all the details about your personal life on Facebook. So stupid!

'You'd better give me the details then and I'll see if the pictures are still there. Somehow it seems a bit unlikely. Is there any other way he could have known?'

'Not that I can think of.'

Amy prompted Stella. 'You've told Mrs Jessop that Richard threatened to tell her about you. Tell her the rest.'

'He asked me for money not to tell you.'

'You mean he was actually blackmailing you?' Laura asked in astonishment. 'Did you pay him?'

'Yes.'

'How much?'

'£200 a month for the last four months.'

'Oh, you silly girl,' Laura said. 'Why on earth didn't you speak to someone? I suppose you didn't think of going to the police?'

'No, I was so ashamed. But then when Richard was killed I was worried. If the police found out they might think I did it, and I didn't, I really didn't!' And Stella dissolved into floods of tears again.

A flood of thoughts and emotions ran through Laura's brain. She really was not sure what to do, but she needed to get Stella back in control again.

'Right, Stella. You need to get yourself tidied up. Are you teaching this morning?'

'I've got the sixth form period 3.' She looked at her watch. 'Oh, gosh. That's in ten minutes.'

'Will you be OK?'

'Yes,' said Stella, putting on a determined expression.

'Right, well I don't want you to worry about this for the moment. Let me think about it and then maybe we'll chat again. I promise I won't say anything to anyone until I've spoken to you again.'

'Yes, all right,' said Stella. 'And thank you.'

'Well, don't thank me yet. It's a mess and I'm not sure what I can do, but I will think about it.

### Chapter Fifteen

Laura's mind was in a whirl. She hadn't been expecting anything like that. Richard had seemed such a good man. As a worker she could find no fault. He always worked hard and was loyal. Even when he was ill he continued to take an interest in what was going on, and he returned to work as soon as he possibly could. When he'd come to talk to her a few weeks ago about retirement he said he wanted to do what was right for her and for the school. He was finding it hard, and the manual side of the job was a challenge. He didn't think it was fair to pass all the manual jobs to the other two caretakers.

But he was concerned about how he and Shirley would manage financially. He was only in his fifties and it was too soon to retire really. He wasn't sure they would manage on just Shirley's income. And then a couple of weeks later he told her he had sorted out his finances and he probably would retire.

And of course, nobody knew what went on between husband and wife in the privacy of their home, but to the outsider everything looked fine. When he and Shirley were together they smiled a lot and touched each other tenderly. When they were apart they talked about each other in gentle terms. He seemed to care for Shirley in a very genuine way, and she for him.

Maybe that was it. Maybe he cared so much for Shirley that he would do anything to safeguard her future. It must be worrying for an active man to have a heart attack at the age of 51. It must go through his mind that he might not be around to look after her in person, so he would make sure she was well provided for financially.

But, if that was his motive, £200 a month wasn't going to solve it. What if Stella wasn't his only victim? What if there were others and one of them killed him? Now she really was worried. And she had promised Stella that she wouldn't share the information with anyone, but she did need to talk it through.

She telephoned Amy.

'Amy, are you able to come down for a few minutes?'

'Yes, I'll be right there.'

And five minutes later Amy was sitting opposite Laura at her desk. Amy Winston had been Laura's second deputy for three years. She had come very highly recommended from a similar school on the edge of Manchester where she had been Head of English. She had a real way with the girls. They saw her as firm but fair, and they knew they couldn't pull the wool over her eyes. Laura liked Amy, and saw something of herself in the eager young face staring at her. Amy was intelligent enough to understand fully the implications of what had been said this morning. Perhaps between them they could work something out.

'Well,' said Laura. 'That was quite a surprise.'

'Wasn't it just?' Amy replied. 'It seems so out of character for both Stella and for Richard. I feel as though I've stepped onto a film set by mistake. None of this seems real. It's the sort of thing that happens to other people, not to me.'

'You're exactly right, but that feeling started on Saturday morning. And I don't think we're going to wake up from a dream any time soon, so between us we have to work something out. I've promised Stella I won't discuss this with anyone else, and I assume you won't either.'

Amy nodded her acquiescence.

'So that just leaves us. What are your first thoughts?' asked Laura.

'Well, they're a bit disjointed,' Amy began. 'First of all, Stella. I know what she did was wrong and stupid, but she's a really good teacher and she's got a fantastic following in school. You only have to look at the number of girls opting for Physics now. It's not the easiest subject in the world. So, I feel really sorry for her and for us. I don't know if there is a way of keeping her on, but I really hope there is.

And then Richard. I'm quite shocked that he was blackmailing Stella. He didn't seem to have a bad bone in his body. He was always willing to help, and never malicious. Something must have made him do this.

And, of course, the fact that he was murdered is just terrible. Do you really think the police would suspect Stella?'

'Well, she does have a motive. Let's hope she has a good alibi as well. I didn't want to ask her, it didn't seem quite appropriate. She would have thought we believed she was guilty as well.'

Amy nodded. 'She was terribly upset when we left your room earlier. I think the biggest thing on her mind was that she had let you and the school down. She's very loyal.'

'Yes, I know she is,' Laura agreed. 'Now, if you're going to be able to help me to work out what we have to do, I need to give you some more information. But, I must stress this is all totally confidential. It must go no further.'

'Of course,' said Amy earnestly.

'First of all, the police seem to be linking Richard's murder to two other murders in the area. I don't know any details, but it seems as though his death might not be connected with school.'

'Well, that's good news.'

'Yes, but what isn't so good is another thought I had. Richard was thinking about taking early retirement because of his heart problems, but he was worried about money.'

'That could explain the blackmail,' interjected Amy.

'Well, yes it could,' agreed Laura, 'but it was only in the last few weeks that he told me this and Stella says she's been paying Richard for four months.'

'Oh, right.'

'But you have a point. Blackmail could have been his answer, but he wasn't going to get rich on Stella's £200.'

'You mean, he was blackmailing others as well!' Amy caught on quickly.

'Well, it's a thought. And if he was, it does mean that there could be a lot of people out there with a motive; people who are probably connected with school.'

Laura could see Amy taking it all in.

'So,' continued Laura, 'do I tell the police about Richard's activities?'

Amy looked thoughtful, and Laura could see she was weighing it up in her mind.

'Ooh, that's hard,' she said after a while. 'Of course, it's the right thing to do. And if, for the sake of the argument, Stella did do it you'd get into all sorts of trouble for not informing them.'

'Absolutely right.'

'But if the police are right and the murder has nothing to do with school what good would it do to bring it all into the open? The publicity would be dreadful for no good reason, and loads of the girls would probably leave because they wouldn't want to be connected with such a place. My mum would say we were hanging out our dirty washing. There would be a time when people would think Stella was a murderess as well as a prostitute. You wouldn't be able to save her then because it would all be public knowledge and you couldn't be seen to condone such action when you're headmistress of a girls' school and responsible for their moral education,' said Amy almost at a gallop.

'And if the murderer is someone in school shouldn't I be helping the police to catch him, or her, to safeguard the girls physically, instead of withholding what might be vital information?'

They both thought for a while.

Eventually Amy said, 'Couldn't you do both?'

'What do you mean?'

'Couldn't you solve the crime and then tell the police, if you have to?'

Laura considered the idea.

'Well, I don't think I can solve the crime if it's connected to two other murders. It's just unrealistic to think I can do that without knowing everything about all three murders,' she began.

'But, maybe you could look into the blackmail side of it and see if it might be related or not,' said Amy.

'But I'd still be withholding information.'

'Then we'd better get on with it,' said Amy. 'The sooner you solve it, the better.'

'The sooner **we** solve it, you mean.'

'I'm game, if you are.'

Laura took a deep breath, and thought hard for a few moments.

'OK, let's do it but if we haven't got anywhere in 24 hours I need to talk to the inspector. If they're right in their line of enquiry I'm doing no harm. And if not, I can convince myself that there's no danger to the girls because if Richard was killed by someone he was blackmailing, that's the end of it. It's not just some random act, so the murderer won't be going round looking for other victims. And you're right about the effect all this could have. I have to give it a try if it saves the school's reputation.'

'What do we do first then?' asked Amy. 'Other than cancelling tonight's sleep that is!'

'Is there any way of finding out if anyone else was being blackmailed? Is anyone on the staff looking edgy? Are there any dark secrets that you know and I don't? How did Richard find out? Stella seemed to think he had seen internet pictures but you don't suddenly come across them, do you? And was Richard as computer literate as all that?'

'Maybe not, but Josh is.'

'True, but I can hardly accuse him of finding the information for Richard to blackmail half the staff without more evidence.'

'There is someone I need to talk to,' said Amy. 'It just might be another of Richard's victims.'

'Well, be careful how you tackle it. We don't want it to become public knowledge just yet, especially if it doesn't have to. Let's meet back here after school. I've got this thing in the sports hall this afternoon, and I need to catch up with one or two people before then. I'm afraid we're in for a long night. Did you have anything planned?'

'No, only a night in front of the TV with Bart.'

'Who's Bart? I thought you were seeing someone called Greg?'

Amy laughed. 'Bart is my cat. He's a magnificent ginger tom, named after Bart Simpson. When I first got him he was a little bundle of fur, but the hair on top of his head was really spiky.'

A mental image of a kitten with Bart Simpson's head superimposed flashed through Laura's mind. 'Well if you can tear yourself away from Bart I'll get Robert to cook us a meal. We can't think properly on an empty stomach.'

'Sounds good to me.'

### Chapter Sixteen

Inspector Jenkins and Sergeant Todd met for breakfast on Tuesday morning in the staff canteen at Headquarters. Neither had anyone at home with whom they could share their first meal of the day, nor any other meal for that matter. Jenkins had tried and failed and Todd had never found anyone willing to put up with the unpredictability of the job. He had tried his luck with Sally Walker a while back but there was no chemistry between them, and they parted amicably. Just as well, really. A difficult break-up would not have helped their working relationship. Luckily Jenkins hadn't known about it as he would most certainly have frowned upon it. Relationships between colleagues were not encouraged but how else do you meet someone when you work all hours God sends?

Jenkins took a bite out of his bacon roll, as Todd poured milk over his Weetabix. A bacon roll or stottie as the locals called it, was a bit of a luxury for Jenkins. Boiling the kettle was as much as he could do some mornings. Occasionally the remnants of the pizza or the Chinese takeaway from the night before provided the necessary sustenance, whereas Todd rarely departed from his Weetabix, with cold milk in the summer and hot milk in the winter. It was what he had eaten for breakfast for as long as he could remember.

'I went to Sparkle last night,' said Todd. 'Thought I'd suss it out a bit. Took my cousin who's just been dumped by her boyfriend after two years. I told her it would cheer her up and, of course, it provided a bit of cover for me.'

'Did you?' Jenkins said taken by surprise. He was impressed that Todd had taken the initiative. 'Anything interesting?'

'Well, it was noisy, very noisy! I was surprised just how many people there were there on a Monday night, although I suppose it was a Bank Holiday. And the drinks were twice the price I'd normally pay!'

'Yes, well, you're paying for the atmosphere!' laughed Jenkins.

'Hmm,' replied Todd. 'Well, there was plenty of drinking going on, in spite of the price. Where do these youngsters get their money from? I was just thankful they've banned smoking now. It would have been unbearable. It was bad enough with all the fake coloured smoke they had going on the dance floor.'

'You're getting old, my boy!' said Jenkins.

'Logan was there, strutting around. He really is quite a character. He looked like a Mafia Godfather with two beautiful young women on his arms and his henchmen following him about two feet behind.'

'Oh, and how many Mafia Godfathers have you seen?'

'You know what I mean.'

'Yes, I get the picture.'

Andy Logan was an imposing figure. He was well over 6 feet tall and well-built. He was probably in his late thirties but already had a reputation that you didn't mess with him. He wore handmade leather shoes and expensive suits. He was never seen without a large diamond encrusted signet ring on his right hand and one of the most expensive Rolex watches on his left wrist, and more often than not a couple of thick gold chains round his neck. His jet black hair framed his clean-shaven face, his tan regularly topped up by frequent visits to the beauty salon he owned next door to Sparkle. Yes, Jenkins knew exactly what Todd meant.

'He has to be bent, sir.'

'I think we all agree. We've just got to try and prove it.'

'Well, we might do worse than have another word with Tony Banks,' Todd said with a triumphant smile.

'Right,' said Jenkins. 'Any particular reason?'

He could see that Todd was very pleased with himself.

'He came into Sparkle about midnight.'

'Did he? I hope he didn't see you.'

'No, I'm sure he didn't. He looked really nervous and went straight up to Logan's table. The two young women were hustled off by the henchmen when Banks arrived. He said something to Logan and then they both went off into the back. I didn't see them again. I left about 1am.'

'Well, that is interesting. Seems as though we rattled his cage yesterday and he went straight to Logan to tell him about it,' said Jenkins. 'And it seems as though he's well known to Logan and his henchmen if they let him interrupt his evening. Come on, Todd. Now we need the rest of the team working.'

Jenkins picked up the remainder of his bacon roll and strode off leaving Todd desperately spooning the last of his cereal into his mouth.

When they were all assembled in the incident room Jenkins began.

'So, what have we found out then?' he asked.

'Jaqui and I checked out the local bookmakers and discovered Richard Hart had been a regular customer for a number of years,' John Nugent replied. 'He spread his business around several of them, and the size of his bets had grown from the odd tenner here and there to bets of up to a hundred.'

'I don't suppose Mrs H knew about that,' commented the inspector.

'He was barred from a couple of the smaller bookmakers, and it was rumoured he was doing some online gambling as well,' added Jaqui.

'And I looked at the other two cases to see if there were any possible links,' said Sally. 'Both men were gamblers with a history of losing more than they won. Jason Burton was involved in one or two shady deals and had a record for burglary. He served two years in Durham. His juvenile record shows an involvement with drugs as well. Harry Westbury had a more respectable background. He was an accountant who was obviously looking for a little excitement in his life. He was a regular at The Crazy Lady casino in town.'

'That's interesting,' said Jenkins. 'Todd and I interviewed Tony Banks yesterday. He's an old school friend of Richard Hart and they used to go to The Crazy Lady together. And Harry Westbury's body was found not far from The Crazy Lady.'

'So it looks as though you were right, guv,' said Sally Walker. 'There are links between the three men.'

'Yes, and even more interestingly we might have a link to Andy Logan.'

Jenkins was rewarded by the expressions on the faces of his team. Sally and John had worked for the Northumbria force for long enough to know that Andy Logan had proved an elusive character in many previous enquiries. Even Jaqui had heard the name. All three of them looked at Jenkins expectantly.

'Tony Banks suggested to Richard Hart that Andy Logan might loan him some money to pay off his debts. He says that's all he knows, but Todd found out more last night.' He turned to Todd, encouraging him to continue.

'Yes. I went to Sparkle last night and Banks turned up to talk to Logan.'

'It seems as though we worried him,' said Jenkins. 'And it looked as though Logan and he were very friendly. Certainly he was known to Logan and they continued their conversation in the back out of sight.'

'Do you really think Logan might be involved in all of this,' asked Sally.

'I think it's a strong possibility,' Jenkins replied. 'I've spoken to the Chief and told him the murders might be connected. At the time I didn't know about the Logan connection and I'll have to let him know that fairly quickly. If Logan is involved it's a big case and he'll want to keep a close eye on it. He's quite keen that we should get the credit for it if we can, and so we're working on our own for the time being.'

'You mean, we're not sharing our information with the other teams?' asked John.

'That's exactly what I mean,' said Jenkins. 'We need to be sure of where we're going with it first. Todd, chase up those bank statements and phone records as well. Let's see if there's anything interesting in those. And Walker, see what you can find out about The Crazy Lady. Do we know who owns it, whose money is behind it, have there been any problems in the past? You know the sort of thing. Nugent and Spense, get me all the files on Andy Logan. Let's see whether we can nail him for this. I'd better go and let the Chief know what's happening. And Todd, let's get Banks back in.'

As Jenkins left the room, Sally moved closer to Gary and quietly said, 'You never took me to Sparkle.'

'I only went because of work,' said Gary blushing slightly.

'Oh, yeah? What's it like?'

'Well, the inspector said I was too old for it and I think he's right.'

Sally laughed out loud and John and Jaqui looked at her enquiringly.

'I was just teasing Gary about going to Sparkle,' she said.

'I'm impressed,' said Jaqui. 'I hear it's _the_ place to go.'

'Well, I don't think I shall be going back,' said Gary. 'Unless it's to arrest Logan.'

'That'll be the day,' said John.

### ***

When Jenkins arrived at the Chief's office he had to wait as Manton was on the phone. His secretary, Mollie, smiled at him.

'You put him in a good mood yesterday,' she said.

'Did I? Let's hope he stays that way.'

Manton shouted, 'Come in, Jenkins.'

Jenkins went in and closed the door. Manton did look to be in a good mood.

'Well, have you come to tell me you've solved it?' Manton asked.

'Not quite, but there have been some developments. We might have a link to Andy Logan.'

'Might you indeed?'

Jenkins outlined what had happened since they last spoke. The Chief looked impressed, and Jenkins knew he would have an eye on his targets. If Logan could be tied in with this the clear-up rate would soar!

'The other teams haven't made the connection yet?' asked Manton.

'Nobody's asked for information from me,' replied Jenkins.

'Good, let's hope it stays that way for a while then. And be careful. Logan's a slippery character but he's likely to be dangerous. If he's responsible for half the things we think he is, he has some very shady contacts. And, keep it close to your chest. He does seem remarkably well informed about what we're doing. Keep me in touch.'

### Chapter Seventeen

By the end of the morning the team had gathered a lot of information and Jenkins pulled them together to share it.

'Right,' he said. 'Let's start with Logan. What do we have?'

John Nugent began. 'He came to Newcastle from Edinburgh about ten years ago. Although he's kept clean as far as a police record is concerned since he's been here, there are a couple of things from before. He had a suspended three year sentence for ABH in 1998, and was charged with possession with intent to supply in 1999. It was reduced to just possession and he got 6 months, but of course he had to serve the suspended sentence as well. Story is he learnt his lesson and went straight.'

'He often refers to it when he talks about the dangers of drug abuse,' added Jaqui.

'Yeah. He's a real pillar of the community,' scoffed Todd.

'So, if we want to get him we have to break that façade. What about the beauty salon next door to Sparkle?' asked Jenkins.

'He bought that six years ago and spent a lot of money doing it up, and re-branding it. It had been owned for years by an Italian family called Grimaldi. They had a good reputation in Tynemouth and a good clientele, but Logan wanted more. He re-named it Dazzle.'

'I suppose that matches Sparkle,' said Nugent scathingly.

'Well, I think it's quite clever,' said Jaqui. 'Anyway downstairs it does the usual hair and manicure appointments. Upstairs he has lots of separate treatment rooms for aromatherapy, reflexology and massage rooms and tanning booths.'

'Are we sure it's legit?' asked Jenkins.

'Well, it's like everything else. There are rumours, but nothing concrete. The vice squad went in a couple of years ago after a tip-off and there was nothing untoward. It was as though he knew we were going. Even Councillor Crosby's wife was having an aromatherapy session.'

'Sounds a bit too convenient,' said Jenkins. 'Right let's deal with the rumours about him then. What about drugs?'

'Well, as we know he makes a big play about how he learnt his lesson, and wants to help other youngsters to kick the habit,' said Nugent. 'He even goes into schools to talk to the kids. The drug squad have done a couple of raids and come up empty apart from the odd Ecstasy tab, nothing that could be termed dealing. Logan called them in about three years ago because he said he was suspicious of one of his regular customers, and they arrested him outside the club with some gear on him, but nothing to tie him to Logan.'

'He's a sly bastard,' said Jenkins with venom. 'There has to be something.'

'It's the same story with illegal gambling. Just rumours and no substance,' said Spense. 'There must be someone tipping him off.'

'Tony Banks told us Logan was into money-lending, presumably at extortionate rates of interest,' added Todd. 'It's always the most vulnerable people who get themselves into hock like this and the debt keeps growing. Maybe Hart was paying off his debt by working for Logan, and something went wrong?'

'Evidence! Evidence! Evidence!' shouted Jenkins. 'It's a plausible theory but we need Evidence! Walker, have you done any better?'

'Well, I have found something very interesting,' she began. 'The Crazy Lady is owned by Eileen Carter, through her company Carter Casinos. They opened twelve years ago and it's now big business. She's opened two more, one in Gateshead and one in Sunderland. Eileen Carter came to Newcastle, from Scotland. In fact, from Edinburgh!'

'Just like Logan!' exclaimed Jenkins.

'Yes, guv,' said Sally Walker with a smile. 'And guess what her maiden name was.'

'Surely not Logan?' asked Jenkins incredulously. 'Why hasn't anyone made this connection before? Is he her brother?'

'Yes, he's her younger brother,' said Sally. 'I suppose there's never been a case linking the two establishments before.'

'I find that hard to believe, but stranger things have happened,' said Jenkins looking bemused.

Jenkins tried to control the growing excitement. There were so many coincidences in this case, it had to link back to Logan. But, how was he going to crack it? Nobody else had and many had tried. Maybe this set of circumstances would be the winning combination, like three Lucky 7s on the slot machine.

'So, we've got three murders, all with the same MO. All three were gamblers. We've got links to The Crazy lady and to Logan. But we're missing that final piece. Why were they killed? We still need a motive. Did we get anything from Hart's bank statements and phone records?'

Todd opened up his note book. 'His mobile phone shows calls to bookies on a regular basis. Other than that it's family and friends, with the odd Chinese takeaway thrown in for good measure. But his bank statements are quite interesting. He has a joint account with his wife which is very straightforward. They each have their salaries paid in and the normal household bills go out. But he also has a personal account as well with a savings account linked. I assume this is the one he uses for his gambling. He took it out about thirteen months ago, and at first it was a bit up and down and small balances, and the savings account had next to nothing in it, But now it's quite a different story. He's got a balance of nearly £22,000. Lots of cash deposits, several hundred at a time. And two recent deposits of £5000 each.'

'Very interesting,' said Jenkins. 'So he's got another source of income. It could be gambling winnings. Walker, see if you can check that out. It could be what you suggested, Todd. He's working for Logan. I'm sure he doesn't put it through any books. Maybe Tony Banks can help us with this. Did you get him in again?'

'Yes, I sent uniform for him. I'll just check,' and Todd picked up the phone on the desk.

'Well done, everyone, but no slacking. I think we're getting closer but we still need motive. Let's concentrate on Hart for that. The other murder teams will presumably have been working on their own motives, but I'm sure they're all connected. Do we have any informal links anywhere we can use without giving too much away?'

'I worked alongside Bob Pickard from North Tyneside when we were DCs at Area Command in Wallsend,' said Sally Walker. 'I know which pub he used to use. Do you want me to drop in tonight and see if he's there? He'll know about the Jason Burton murder.'

'Yes,' said Jenkins. 'But remember to keep it close to your chest.' Jenkins realised that comment was perhaps a little politically incorrect when addressed to a well endowed young DC, but it was too late to retract it now.

'Will do.'

### Chapter Eighteen

Meanwhile Laura was making her way down to the Sports Hall. Arthur Connolly had arrived a few minutes before and had asked if there were any more developments. Laura did not tell him about Stella. She knew it would put him in the same difficult position that she herself was in, and until she knew more she thought she'd keep it to herself. Arthur had proudly shown her his new camera, a Sony SLT which apparently meant single-lens translucent, whatever that might be.

Laura listened politely as they walked. When she was younger she had toyed with photography as a hobby and had even set up a dark room in the spare bedroom. It was, of course, in the days of 35mm film and she had been frustrated in her attempts to produce colour prints that were not all blue and purple. Eventually she had given up and now she owned a very simple point-and-click digital camera which served her purposes perfectly well. Robert, of course, sometimes used a more complex camera in his work to help him to remember the detail of some fleeting images.

'And it takes ten pictures a second, so I'll always be able to get a perfect shot of the girls scoring goals and such-like,' Arthur continued. 'And I got it for a bargain price, just over a thousand.'

Laura gulped, 'A thousand pounds?'

'Yes, they retail for nearer fifteen hundred.'

Laura was quite pleased she had given up photography as a hobby. Her little digital camera did a perfectly good job. It was so much easier now that you could see instantly whether you had taken a decent picture instead of remembering to take the film into Boots and wait for it to be developed, or even worse, develop it yourself and end up with very strange colours! The only problem was not having hard copies of the results, but Robert had bought an electronic photo frame and that had solved the problem.

Several parents had arrived and Laura and the Chairman took the opportunity to chat to them. On the whole they seemed reassured by the fact that the place was not swarming with policemen and school seemed to be proceeding as normal. Laura was relieved Mr Walsh was not in attendance. This was an event for Years 7 and 8 only and his daughters were older.

Laura had taken the opportunity to talk to Jill Cox earlier and she was pleased to see that she was chatting animatedly to some of the girls, and looking quite relaxed. Jen Smythe picked up the microphone and encouraged the parents to take their seats. It was time to begin.

Laura and the Chairman had seats on the front row, and Arthur snapped away happily throughout the afternoon. He really did enjoy these occasions, and Laura had to admit his photographs were very good, if somewhat numerous! But a photographic record of school life was very important. Each year the school hosted reunions for former pupils, the Old Montgomerians, and the photographic archives always drew large crowds, in particular the large panoramic photographs of the whole school population. When Laura was a pupil herself in Lincolnshire she recalled having to stand very still for several seconds as the camera panned from left to right along the serried ranks of pupils. There were always tales of how someone had been standing at the left hand edge, and had then run behind the tiered staging to reach the other end before the camera did, and so ended up in the picture twice. But the digital age had removed that pleasure!

This year was particularly important for the school as they were due to celebrate their 75th anniversary next year and intended to publish a CD showing the activities of the pupils throughout the year. Some of Arthur's photographs would undoubtedly make their way onto the CD.

The girls really enjoyed themselves. Jen Smythe had organised an old-fashioned sports day with egg and spoon races, and indoor hurdles and relays. It was good to have such a fun activity to take their minds off the horrors of the weekend. Afterwards, as the girls drank squash and ate ginger biscuits and the parents enjoyed scones and cream, Jen Smythe approached Laura.

'Could I have a quick word?' she asked looking terribly embarrassed.

'Yes, of course,' Laura replied.

'Can we go somewhere private?'

'Why don't you come up to my office when everyone has gone? The Chairman is leaving now, so I shall be free.'

'Yes, I'll do that.'

### ***

Fifteen minutes later, Jen tapped on Laura's door.

'Come in and sit down,' said Laura. In the past fifteen minutes she had wondered what Jen wanted to say. She thought nothing would surprise her given what had happened in the last few days. But she was wrong.

'I'm really sorry, and I'm sure it's all perfectly innocent,' Jen began and then paused.

Laura remained silent, not wanting to interrupt what Jen had obviously geared herself up to say, but she smiled encouragingly.

'Some of the girls were a bit upset this afternoon,' Jen continued.

'Well, that's understandable,' Laura said.

'Not because of Richard.'

'What then?'

'They were getting changed after the races, and the Chairman came into the changing rooms to take pictures.'

'Oh, dear. That's not right,' said Laura, a little flustered herself now. 'I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. He would just be getting carried away with the occasion. It's seems to be the in-thing now to have photographs of the whole event including before and after. A friend of mine who was mother of the bride was mortified when the photographer came into her bedroom as she was getting ready, but apparently the bride and bridesmaids all thought it was fine.'

Laura was aware she was babbling a bit. If truth be told, she was shocked, but she knew it would be innocent.

'I'm sure he would be mortified to think he had caused offence. What happened?' she continued.

'I didn't hear about it until after he'd left the changing room. I'd been in the next door changing room with year 7 and Tilly Broadbent from year 8 came through and said several of the girls were upset, and she'd been elected to come and talk to me.'

'Yes, I can imagine that. I think we'll see Tilly in number ten one day.'

'She asked me if I thought it was right?'

'What did you say?'

'Well, more or less, what you said. That he was trying to get some candid shots and that he would be very selective in the ones he used. That he was concentrating on their excited faces, and nothing else. That he was a bit like an enthusiastic grandfather supporting his granddaughter at her first sports day.'

'And how did she take it?'

'All right, I think, but it will be interesting to see if we get any complaints tomorrow from parents.'

'Yes,' agreed Laura. 'I'll have a word with him. It won't happen again. I know he took some photographs a few weeks ago of the drama group in their dressing room, but Mary had staged it and made sure everybody was decent. He probably just got over-excited with his new camera.'

'Thank you,' said Jen as she took her leave.

When she had gone, Laura sat down and breathed out all her bad thoughts again. It was getting to be a habit, but it really did seem to work. What was the world coming to? How could he be so stupid? This photography lark was going to his head. He must think he's David Bailey or somebody like that, she mused. It wouldn't be an easy conversation. Why did this have to happen today of all days, with everything else she had to deal with? Well, at least, she could leave it for another day.

### Chapter Nineteen

Tony Banks was looking decidedly nervous as Jenkins and Todd entered the room. He had been kept waiting for about twenty minutes in a deliberate ploy to undermine whatever confidence he had left.

'Well, Mr Banks, we meet again' said Jenkins breezily.

'I told you everything I know yesterday. Why am I here again?' asked Banks in a display of bravado.

'Just one or two things that have surfaced,' said Jenkins. 'You told us that you suggested to Hart that Andy Logan would lend money to him.'

'Yeah.' Banks continued his strategy of giving the briefest of answers until he could work out how much the inspector actually knew.

'When was this?'

''Bout a year ago.'

'And Hart paid it off?'

'Yeah, he had a big win and cleared it a few days later.'

'Did Hart tell you anything about the loan? About the arrangements, the interest?'

'No, not really.'

'Come on, Mr Banks. 'Not really isn't a proper answer. Either he did or he didn't.' Jenkins didn't want a repeat of the previous day's interview when he had to extract each answer painfully.

'No, then,' said Banks, the sweat starting to show on his forehead.

'And how did you know Logan would lend him the money?'

'I'd just heard it. Maybe a mate mentioned it. I can't remember.'

'So have you borrowed money from Logan?'

'No.'

'You've never had any dealings with him then?'

'No, I've told you.'

Jenkins made a show of searching through his notes and looking pensive.

'And you said Hart borrowed money again?'

'Yeah.'

'From Logan?'

'I suppose so, but I'm not sure.'

'Did he pay that loan back?'

'Dunno.'

'Well, was he winning or losing?'

'Mostly losing,' admitted Banks.

'So it wasn't likely that he could pay it back then,' concluded Jenkins. 'I don't suppose Logan was very pleased about that.'

'Look, I've told you I don't know,' Banks said. 'I don't even know if he borrowed the money from Logan the second time.'

'And Hart didn't tell you he was worried that he couldn't pay it back?'

'No.'

'He didn't talk about any other ways he could repay the debt?'

'Like what?'

'You tell me, Mr Banks.'

'No, he didn't.'

'Do you think Logan might have been involved in the death of Richard Hart?'

Banks moved nervously in his chair, and the bead of sweat grew on his forehead and started to move down to his eyebrow. He licked his lips, and rubbed the palm of his right hand on his trousers.

'No, why would he have anything to do with it?' he asked.

'Your body language is telling me a different story,' said Jenkins. 'I believe the thought has crossed your mind. I believe it's more than crossed your mind. I believe you think he did it.'

'I've told you. I don't know anything about it.'

'Of course,' said Jenkins slowly as if the thought had just entered his mind, 'Logan wouldn't do it himself would he? He wouldn't get his hands dirty. He'd get someone else to do the deed.'

'Dunno,' repeated Banks.

'Maybe one of his henchmen. Or somebody else. Maybe somebody who knew Hart,' and Jenkins leant across the table for the kill. 'Maybe you!'

'But I wouldn't,' spluttered Banks. 'Richard was my mate. We'd known each other since we were kids.'

'Stranger things have happened,' said Jenkins. 'Did you murder Richard Hart?'

'No,' said Banks adamantly.

'Do you know who did?'

'No,' he repeated.

Jenkins decided to change tack.

'Do you know who owns The Crazy Lady?'

Banks blinked nervously, the question taking him by surprise.

'Er, no.'

'Would it surprise you to hear it's Logan's sister?'

'What's that got to do with anything?'

'What indeed, Mr Banks? What indeed?'

Jenkins looked through his notes again, taking his time to increase the pressure on Banks.

'Do you know a Harry Westbury?'

'No.' Banks looked genuinely puzzled.

'Or Jason Burton?'

That one hit home. Banks looked like a startled rabbit caught in the headlights of a car.

'No,' he lied.

'Right, then,' said Jenkins. 'That's all for now. We might want to see you again.'

'I've told you all I know.'

'So you say, Mr Banks. Todd, see him out, will you?'

When Todd returned a few minutes later, he said, 'Why have you let him go? He obviously knows something.'

'Yes,' agreed Jenkins. 'But I want Logan, and I need Banks to give him up. The only way he'll do that is if he's more worried about me than Logan. I need him to think about our conversation today and to start to wonder just how much I know. If he's implicated in all of this he might try to save his own skin.'

'Clever!' said Todd, genuinely.

'And,' said Jenkins. 'He might go back to Logan to report on today's conversation. Let's get Nugent and Spense to put him under surveillance and we'll talk to him again tomorrow morning.'

### Chapter Twenty

Amy pushed her chair back from the dining table.

'That was delicious, thank you,' she said to Robert. 'I wish I had someone at home like you.'

Robert laughed. 'Well, it works quite well. As I work from home it makes sense for me to cook during the week. Laura more than makes up for it at the weekend.'

'Not last weekend,' said Laura ruefully.

'No,' Robert agreed.

Over the meal they had shared their dilemma with Robert. Laura had no qualms about involving him. He was the soul of discretion. In previous situations he had proved himself invaluable because his distance from the people involved had allowed him to be more objective. In this case, he was as surprised as Laura had been, and other than offering his moral support he had no other observations.

'We'll take our coffee through to the study, shall we?' Laura said to Amy.

'Good luck!' said Robert as he started to clear the table.

'We'll need it,' said Laura.

Laura's study overlooked the garden, and it was a lovely May evening. The birds were still busy feeding from the seed holder hanging under the wooden bird table. The sun was just disappearing behind the trees at the back of the property, and long shadows were cast across the lawn.

'This is a peaceful spot,' said Amy, standing at the window.

Laura and Robert had bought their home in Backworth when they first married. The village was certainly peaceful and they enjoyed the location, close enough to school, and to the centre of Newcastle and its many attractions, but also within striking distance of their beloved coast and the fantastic scenery of the Northumbrian countryside.

'Yes,' agreed Laura. 'We love living here. Robert has his studio over there behind the garage, and the garden is quite secluded. We're not really overlooked by anyone.'

'Not like me,' said Amy, with feeling. 'I feel as though I live in a goldfish bowl. I've got no privacy at all. The neighbours seem to know everything I do!'

They were reluctant to begin, knowing they had a difficult job to do, but at last they sat down and Laura asked, 'So did you find out anything?'

'Yes, I did,' replied Amy. She seemed a little hesitant about continuing.

'I know this is difficult and you think you're betraying a confidence. Can you tell me what you've found out without giving me a name? Would that help?'

Amy seemed relieved. She had discovered another of Richard's blackmail victims but, of course, blackmail can only be successful if the victim doesn't want the truth to be told. Neither Laura nor Amy really knew if blackmail was the reason Richard had been killed, and if it wasn't Amy felt obliged to keep the secret she had been told.

'Yes, it would. Thank you.' Amy smiled weakly. 'It isn't that I don't trust you.'

'You don't have to explain. I know there are lots of things my staff don't want me to know, and if it doesn't affect their ability to do the job or impact on the school it's none of my business,' Laura said reassuringly.

'I'll call her Juliette.'

'As good a name as any,' said Laura. There was no-one on the staff called Juliette.

'When Juliette was a teenager, she was raped and she became pregnant. She was only fourteen and she had a baby girl. Luckily for her, her mum and dad were very supportive of her and they brought up the baby as their own. The baby is now ten years old and she thinks Juliette is her sister.'

Laura was saddened that a member of her staff had been so cruelly treated. 'And you're saying Richard found out?'

'Yes. I remembered she'd been really upset a few months back and she wouldn't say what was bothering her. She said it was personal and she didn't want to talk about it, but on several occasions it was obvious she'd been crying overnight and not sleeping. After our conversation yesterday I went back to her and asked her if it had anything to do with Richard?'

'And what did she say?'

'She was in her classroom at the end of the day, and Richard had come in. He asked her how her daughter was.'

'That must have been a shock.'

'Yes, Juliette thought she might have misheard, but it became obvious she hadn't. Juliette's mum and dad moved a couple of times around the birth so that neighbours didn't know it was Juliette's baby, but the birth certificate gives Juliette as the mother. Juliette is an only child and it's a small family so it was quite easy for them to pretend that the baby was Juliette's sister. Juliette was a teenager with a bright future and her parents didn't want this terrible event to ruin her life so they chose to let her continue with her education and she went on to university and qualified as a teacher.'

'Did they catch the rapist?'

'Yes, it was her violin teacher.'

'Oh, the poor girl!' exclaimed Laura. Laura knew that catching the rapist meant there would have been a trial and that the ordeal of giving evidence could be just as traumatic as the rape itself.

'And what did Richard say?'

'He threatened to tell Juliette's sister that she was really her daughter.'

Laura realised that she didn't know Richard at all. The man who was being described was no-one she knew. He was a monster intent on destroying other people's lives, for money.

'But how did he know?' she asked.

Amy shook her head. 'Juliette doesn't really know and she didn't ask him. It was enough that he knew, but apparently it was in all the papers at the time, and even though Juliette's identity was not released one of the local papers hinted at it.'

'So what did she do?'

'She paid him £200 a month to keep quiet. She knew her sister would find out some time because of the birth certificate, but Juliette's mum is really ill at the moment and if it all came out now it would cause real heartache for the whole family.'

Laura stood up and went to the window. She had also had a conversation with a member of staff, which she didn't need to share with Amy. Amy now knew that Richard was a blackmailer and that he had at least two victims. Laura knew there was a third. Nine months before, she had interviewed for a post in the geography department. On the day of the interview, references for one of the applicants had failed to arrive and she had asked Josie to chase them up. When Josie had asked to speak to the Headmaster of the applicant's previous school it became apparent that the woman, Lucy, who had turned up for interview was in fact a man undergoing transgender change.

Laura and Josie did not share that information with anyone else so that the decision about who to appoint would be unaffected. And at the end of the day all those involved in the interview process wanted to appoint Lucy. Lucy was the best qualified, and had the personality that would best match the other two in the department. Laura always took the view that a person's private life was just that unless it spilled over into school, and was happy to appoint her. Lucy had asked for her background to remain secret. The reason she had chosen to move schools was so that she could have a fresh start. As all the personnel records were kept in Josie's office keeping it a secret should not be a problem.

Laura had spoken to Lucy before coming home with Amy this evening. Lucy had confirmed that Richard had discovered her secret and that she was paying him £200 a month. It seemed to be the going rate for Richard's silence. But how was he finding out all of this information?

'Did Stella give you the details of that website?' she asked Amy.

'Yes,' said Amy, opening her diary to find the address she had scribbled down.

Laura switched on her computer and typed in the website URL. Annoyingly she discovered that she could not access the individual escort's pages without registering and paying the sign-up fee of £125! She chose not to do that, and was about to close the site when she noticed something.

'Amy, look at this,' she said, pointing to the banner behind the headline on the home page. The banner was a collage of photographs of some of the escorts in different settings with their 'clients' facing away from the screen. One of the photographs showed a happy couple enjoying an intimate candlelit dinner for two.

'Who is that?' she asked of Amy, pointing to one of the shots.

Amy looked closely. It was a small image and it was not well-lit. 'Oh, gosh,' she said. 'Is that Stella?'

'I think it is,' agreed Laura. 'I didn't think they would still have Stella's page on their site, but they obviously haven't changed their home page for some time or they've just re-used this image.'

'So Richard could have seen this?'

'Yes, he could. I'll make us some coffee while we think about the next step.'

When Laura returned a few minutes later, Amy was sitting staring out of the window.

'What I can't work out is how Richard got all of his information,' she said. 'I can understand it was all there, probably on the internet, but Richard's a caretaker and he doesn't seem interested in computers, and some of this information would be really well hidden.'

'I was thinking along the same lines,' said Laura. 'I think Josh must have been involved.'

'That's what I was coming up with as well,' said Amy. 'The other thing that bothered me was that this might be the tip of the iceberg. Richard could have had lots more victims.'

'Yes,' agreed Laura. 'And any one of them could have killed him, or maybe the police are right and it wasn't anything to do with this.'

'So what do we do?' asked Amy despondently.

'I need to talk to Josh', said Laura. 'But I'm not sure how to engineer that. I think I need to sleep on it.'

### Chapter Twenty One

In fact Laura didn't sleep on it. She struggled to sleep at all. So many thoughts were going round and round in her head. If anything she was more shocked by the revelations of Richard's life than by his death. She had always considered herself to be a good judge of character but she had got this one badly wrong. The only thought that consoled her was that Richard had done this in an attempt to provide for Shirley, but she realised that she was probably wrong. He had seen a way to make a quick buck and had gone ahead without a thought for the consequences. Poor 'Juliette' had suffered so much already at the hands of her attacker. How could anyone with an ounce of compassion make her live through all of that again?

And, if one of his victims did kill him, it was probably someone Laura knew, and that meant she knew a murderer. Who could it possibly be? Who could wield a baseball bat and kill another human being? She couldn't think it was an accident. They'd said a single blow, so it was obviously a massively powerful attack. To think that only a few days ago her biggest worry had been whether she would manage to appoint a good mathematician before next September.

If she was to find out any more, she knew that she had to talk to Josh. He had to be involved, but she had no good reason to speak to him, let alone question him about a crime that possibly led to Richard's death. And poor Shirley. If Laura felt that she hadn't known the real Richard, how was Shirley going to feel? Unless she knew, of course? She had computer skills. But no, Laura dismissed that thought. It was just too preposterous.

And then, on top of everything there was this business with Arthur. She was so cross with him. How could he be so foolish? She knew what it would be. He would be so wrapped up in his own importance as 'school photographer'. Perhaps she had let him become too involved. How she was going to tell him, she didn't know. He would be mortified, and so embarrassed. But she had to tell him. There was no doubt about that. And he had been so concerned about how the parents would react to the news of Richard's murder, surely he should have thought how they would react to this. She really hoped that Jen had done a good job with Tilly, and that none of the parents complained. That would be almost too much to bear at the moment.

In the half-light as the dawn started to enter the bedroom, she looked at Robert, sleeping peacefully. An occasional snort interrupted his breathing and he turned to find a more comfortable position. She was so lucky to have found him. He was an absolute rock. She knew he would be there for her, no matter what. And the next few days were going to test that to the limit.

### ***

In another bedroom three miles away, Dave Jenkins was also struggling to sleep. He was on the verge of solving the biggest case of his career, and was so excited. He would finally have something his son, Jamie, could be proud of. He bitterly regretted not making a better job of his marriage. He had loved Susan so much, and he'd worked hard to provide for her. When the baby came along he thought all his dreams had come true, and he really thought she was happy. Yes, he worked long hours, and he supposed he'd let her down a couple of times when they were supposed to be celebrating something or other. But she'd been a bit unreasonable about that. After all, he was a copper and he couldn't control when some idiot would take it into his head to murder another human being.

And if he wanted promotion he couldn't afford to upset the top brass. Except, of course, he had done. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but he gradually realised he was being passed over when it came to promotion. He knew he would have made a better Chief than Manton, instead of which he was still just a DI. But now all he had to do was to crack this case, and everything would be all right.

He imagined himself calling to pick Jamie up the next time he saw him. He couldn't remember when that was, but he was sure it must be soon. He wouldn't have to tell Jamie about the case, because it would have been all over the papers and the television. Jamie's dad would be famous. And Susan would be smiling at the door, seeing once more the man she had married and she'd invite him in for a drink.

Dave Jenkins pulled himself back to reality. First he had to solve the case. He knew he was on the right lines. There were too many links for it just to be a coincidence. And Logan was the key. Tony Banks was a friend of Richard Hart, and also knew Andy Logan. Banks had suggested Hart should borrow money from Logan, in other words he had engineered their meeting. Banks and Hart were regulars at The Crazy Lady, owned by Logan's sister. Harry Westbury was also a regular at The Crazy Lady. And mention of Jason Burton had caused Banks a real problem. Jenkins smiled as he recalled Banks' reaction. He was looking forward to pursuing that tomorrow. He glanced at the digital display of his alarm clock, and he corrected himself. He was looking forward to pursuing that later today.

### ***

Tony Banks wasn't sleeping either, but he wasn't in bed. As dawn broke he was sitting in his favourite leather chair with a glass of whisky in his hand. He'd been there all night, and the contents of the bottle of whisky had gradually diminished. Tony was a worried man, and he didn't really know what to do.

The inspector had been right in his earlier assessment. He did wonder just how much Jenkins knew. And he did want to save his own skin. He should never have got involved with Logan. If the police knew half of what Logan was up to, they'd lock him up and throw away the key. He was an evil man. How he managed to persuade people that he was so honest and above board, Tony would never know. But Tony could set the record straight. The question was, was he brave enough to do it?

Logan had links everywhere. Even if he was locked up he could arrange for someone else to pay a visit. Tony Banks knew that if he grassed up Logan he would have to leave the country. Luckily he did have his nest egg. He hadn't been entirely honest with Inspector Jenkins. He'd done more than break even with his gambling, he'd won a lot of money, and he'd salted it away knowing that one day he would have to disappear. And one thing that could be said about Logan, he paid his people well. Logan knew he was as vulnerable as anyone, and the last thing he wanted to do was to upset the sort of people who worked for him. Banks had saved most of the money Logan had paid him for doing the jobs no-one else wanted to do. And he'd worked for Logan since he first arrived in Newcastle.

Tony had never been a big spender. He lived a very frugal life. He knew that the life he was leading was dangerous, and that he might need money in the future. And it was his retirement fund. He had always dreamed of living out his days in a better climate than the one he had endured in the north-east for the past fifty odd years. A friend had helped him to set up a bank account abroad and most of the money was in that. He also had cash in a security box in a bank in Amsterdam with close on eighty thousand pounds and he had a few thousand in cash at home for emergencies. All told he had nearly half a million. Amsterdam was a convenient location with its daily ferries. Schipol airport gave him access to most of the world, and he could reach most of Europe by car. So, yes, he could live very comfortably if he could just get to Amsterdam.

Richard was his friend, and Richard's death would have to be avenged. If that meant putting himself in harm's way, so be it, but if he was clever he could do it and then just vanish into thin air. He didn't know if Logan had killed Richard, but he knew he, or his men, were more than capable of it. When he'd been to see Logan he'd denied it but he would, wouldn't he? He'd gone to Sparkle to warn Logan that the police were asking questions and that they knew there was a link because of the loan Logan had given Richard. Logan had said it was good of Banks to let him know, but he wasn't worried because he wasn't involved. But he wouldn't admit it, would he? Not knowing Richard and Banks were friends.

Tony knew that the police would want to see him again, and he knew what he had to do. He had to show them the video. After he'd taken the video he'd paid a visit to Frankie Lessing. He had to prepare his escape route. Frankie had provided him with a couple of fake passports and identities that would pass muster with the most stringent security checks. He knew that Frankie's work was good because Andy Logan had used him for years. Andy had two or three IDs that Banks knew about, so if Lessing was good enough for Logan he was good enough for Banks.

And when the police had finished with him he would head for the ferry to Amsterdam. He was not worried that the police would hold him. After all they couldn't prove he had done anything wrong, and they would be keen to get after Logan. He reckoned he would have a good 24 hours. But he needed to make himself scarce because Logan would not be a happy man. And he was sure Logan would finger him for the jobs he'd been involved in.

He would catch the Metro to the Meadow Well. His mate Pete lived in Meadow Well, and he had put a holdall in Pete's shed after the first police interview. Good job really as he'd seen that car parked outside his house all last night. They were obviously watching him now.

The holdall contained all he needed for his new life, the remainder of the cash and his new identities. He daren't have them on him when he went to the police station, but he did risk keeping the security box key in his wallet. Then it would be a quick walk past Wet 'n Wild to the 5 o'clock ferry. He hoped the police would make an early start. He really wanted to catch that 5 o'clock ferry. He'd get to Amsterdam as the banks opened the following day to collect the contents of the security box, and then Tony Banks could disappear for ever.

### Chapter Twenty Two

Of the three of them, Jenkins was the only one looking forward to the day. The lack of sleep did not affect him as he showered and dressed. He struggled to find a clean shirt and ended up wearing the same one as the day before, and he splashed on plenty of cologne to mask the slight smell of body odour. If the day played out as he hoped it would he might have to find time to nip out and buy a couple of new ones. He'd want to look his best on camera!

As there was nothing in the fridge he went straight to the station and ordered himself a bacon sandwich in the canteen. Twice in three days was unusual, but this was a bit of a celebration. He had telephoned Todd before he set off and told him to bring Banks in again. There was no point in hanging around, was there?

And half an hour later he and Todd faced Tony Banks for the third time in three days.

'Good morning, Mr Banks,' said Jenkins cheerily.

'This is getting a bit much,' said Banks. 'People will start talking about us.'

'Very funny. If you'd been upfront with us the first time we wouldn't need to keep bringing you in.'

'Do I need a brief?'

'Have you done anything wrong?'

'No, but you lot might fit me up.'

'We just want to talk to you about Andy Logan. It's your choice.'

Tony Banks knew that Logan would get him a solicitor but he didn't want anything to get back to Logan. He hadn't done anything criminal, this time. In spite of his nerves he had seen the glint in Jenkins' eye as he thought he might get Logan for Richard's murder. Banks reckoned he was safe enough at the moment. He could always stop it later if things got out of hand.

'No, I'm fine.'

'OK then. Let's pick up from where we left off,' Jenkins said settling down in his chair and taking his time to peer at his notes.

Eventually he continued, 'Did you kill Richard Hart?'

'No, I told you. He was my friend.'

'But you do know who did, don't you.'

'No, I don't,' replied Banks. That much was true. He didn't know, but he had his suspicions.

'And did you kill Harry Westbury?'

'I don't know any Harry Westbury. Who is he?'

'He's a regular at The Crazy Lady.'

'I suppose I might have seen him there, but I don't know the name and I certainly didn't kill him.'

'Do you know who did?'

'I don't know this guy. If I knew who killed him I'd know the name, wouldn't I?

'And did you kill Jason Burton?' Jenkins continued.

Banks hesitated slightly before replying, 'No, I didn't.'

Jenkins realised Banks had not denied knowledge of Burton. 'So you did know him then?'

Another hesitation before Banks said, 'I came across him a couple of times.'

'Where?'

'I can't remember.'

'Was it at Sparkle, perhaps?'

'Why would it be there?'

'Why not?' asked Jenkins. 'Look, Mr Banks, we know that you went to Sparkle on Monday night to speak to Logan. We know that it was obviously not your first acquaintance. Why don't you save us all a lot of time and tell us what you do know?'

Banks considered his options again. It looked as though this inspector knew more than he thought. Unless he spoke now it would be too late and he might get caught up in Burton's murder, and he wasn't involved. Not really.

As he continued to think, Jenkins asked, 'Do you know Andy Logan?'

'Yeah,' agreed Banks.

'Do you work for him?'

'I have done. Once or twice,' Banks replied being a little economical with the truth.

'Doing what?'

'Delivering stuff.'

'Stuff is a lovely word, isn't it?' said the inspector. 'It covers a multitude of sins. What stuff?'

'Dunno. I didn't ask.'

'Where did you deliver to?'

'Once to The Crazy Lady, and once to a bar in Amsterdam.' Banks was saying as much as he thought he needed to, without admitting too much.

Jenkins ears pricked up and he looked across at Todd, who seemed to have picked up the same idea.

'Amsterdam? What did you deliver?'

'It was a brief case. I don't know what was in it?'

'And did you bring anything back?'

'The same brief case.'

'How do you know it was the same one?'

'It looked the same.'

'And what did you deliver to The Crazy Lady?'

'A brief case.'

'The same one?'

'Maybe.'

'Was it at the same time?'

'No, a couple of weeks apart.'

'And you've no idea what was in it?'

'No, I told you.'

'But weren't you suspicious? You know what Amsterdam's famous for.'

'Drugs and diamonds.'

'Precisely.'

'I just got paid to deliver. Mr Logan wouldn't have taken kindly to me prying into his business.'

'No, I bet he wouldn't,' agreed Jenkins. 'So, why did you go and see him on Monday night.'

'I told him you'd been asking about him and Richard.'

'And what did he say?'

'He said he wasn't worried because he didn't do it.'

'And did you believe him?'

Banks hesitated again, 'Dunno.'

'Do you think Logan killed Harry Westbury?'

'I told you I don't know Harry Westbury.'

'But you do know Jason Burton. Did Logan kill Burton?'

This was it. This was the crunch, the point of no return. A knot grew and twisted in Banks' stomach. Beads of sweat ran down his face. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

'Yeah,' he said eventually.

When the answer came, Jenkins wasn't prepared for it. He had expected Banks to prevaricate further.

'Yes?' he repeated giving himself time to think. 'That was a very definite answer. Why are you so sure?'

''Cause I was there.'

Jenkins suddenly realised his dream had come true. He had a witness to a murder, a murder committed by Logan. He was going to put Logan behind bars for a very long time.

'You realise if you were there you're an accessory?' Jenkins asked.

'Well, I wasn't really there. I mean Logan didn't know I was there.'

'So, you'd better explain.'

'Burton was a bit of a gambler and he lost a lot of money. He went to Logan for a loan, but Logan offered him work instead.'

'What kind of work?'

'Same as me, deliveries.'

'So why did he end up dead?'

'He was more curious than me. He found out what he was delivering and went to Andy asking for a bigger cut.'

'What was he delivering?'

Banks hesitated. If he told them they would know what he had been doing as well, but he still had his escape plan. And he was doing this for Richard.

'It was diamonds.'

Jenkins hadn't expected that. He had been almost sure it would be drugs.

'And then what happened?' he asked.

'He came into Sparkle late one night. Not long before Easter, a Thursday I think. I was talking to Andy and a couple of the other guys were there. Jason had had a few drinks, Dutch courage I suppose.'

Jenkins smiled as he linked Dutch courage to Amsterdam, knowing that Banks hadn't intended the pun.

'Jason came over to our table and said 'I know what I've just delivered and it's worth more than the grand you paid me'. Andy told me and the others to disappear and Jason sat down with him. They were obviously having a go at each other, you could tell that but I couldn't hear any more. Then Andy called Jock over.'

'Who's Jock?'

'He's worked for Andy for years. He drives for him. I suppose you might call him his bodyguard.'

Or just a thug, thought Jenkins. 'And then what?'

'Well, it looked as though Logan and Jason were going somewhere, so I decided to follow.'

'That was a bit risky, wasn't it? What did you think was going to happen?'

'I didn't know, but I knew Jason was doing the same job as me, and I wanted to know what was going on. I went out and got into my car and waited. A few minutes later, Jock brings Logan's BMW to the front of Sparkle and Jason and Logan got in.'

'Did Burton look anxious? Was he being manhandled?'

'No, he looked fine. It was just as though they were going for a ride together.'

'And then?'

'I followed. They turned left out of The Arcade and then went towards North Shields. They turned down Tanners Bank towards the fish quay. It was late at night and no-one was about and I switched off my car lights so I could follow without being seen. They went past Caley's and then turned left towards the car park on the water's edge and then carried on towards the old warehouses.

When I saw their brake lights, I stopped. I was a couple of hundred yards behind them. They pulled in and all three got out. Logan and Jason went first and Jock got something out of the boot, and then followed.'

'Did you see what it was?'

'Well, I saw later that it was a baseball bat. I moved a bit closer to see if I could hear what they were saying. There's a big stone wall and I could keep out of sight by keeping close to it. Logan and Jason started to argue. Then Logan pushed Jason and he fell over. Jason turned over onto his knees to try and get up and Jock started to swing the bat, but Logan took it from him. Logan swung the bat and hit Jason, and he went down and didn't get up again.'

Banks paused.

'And then what?' prompted Jenkins.

'Logan and Jock went back to the car. Logan gave the baseball bat to Jock and he put it back in the boot, and then they drove off. I waited for a while and then went across to see if Jason was alive, but it was obvious he wasn't. So I just got out o' there.'

'And you're sure they didn't see you?'

'I don't think I'd still be around if they did. Anyway they drove off the other way, towards Shields.'

'And you're prepared to say all of this?'

'Even better, I've got it on film,' said Banks and pushed his mobile phone over the desk. 'I've been keeping it as security.'

'Or withholding evidence,' said Jenkins grimly. 'Let's take a few minutes break while we look at the video then. Todd, get someone to bring Mr Banks a cup of tea.'

Banks reflected on how things were going. Although Jenkins had thrown in that comment about withholding evidence, he didn't think it was too bad. He hoped they got on with it. He wanted to catch the afternoon ferry.

### Chapter Twenty Three

Todd joined Jenkins in the incident room a few minutes later. Jenkins was sitting beside the murder board staring into space.

'Sir?' prompted Todd.

'I was just thinking, Todd. I think we've got him. I've asked Sally to get the video onto her computer so we can all have a look at it. If it's any good it'll nail Logan good and proper.'

'Did she manage to speak to Bob Pickard?'

'No, he wasn't there last night. Maybe we shan't need his input, after all,' replied Jenkins.

Nugent and Spense entered the incident room. Having spent the night outside Banks's house they had showered then grabbed a quick breakfast in the canteen whilst Jenkins and Todd interviewed Banks.

'Did Banks go anywhere last night?' asked Jenkins.

'No, guv,' replied Nugent. 'He didn't go anywhere and nobody visited him. It was all very peaceful.'

Sally Walker called them over. 'I've got it ready, guv.'

'What's this?' asked Jaqui Spense.

'This is what we hope is going to nail Logan,' said Jenkins with a smile.

As they gathered round Sally's monitor, Jenkins felt large butterflies beating their wings against the wall of his stomach. Was it really going to be this simple?

As the video began to play, Jenkins could make out three characters, two of them obviously arguing with violent gesticulations. The third was standing alongside with what appeared to be a long stick in his hand. One of the two went down to the ground, pushed by the other and the third lifted the stick. But the other grabbed the stick from him and swung it down on the head of the man on the ground. The audio was very poor and nothing sensible could be made of it.

'This is no good,' he said with obvious disappointment in his voice. 'We can't make out who they are at all. It could be anyone.'

The two shadowy characters began to walk towards the camera, obviously heading back to their car. As they did so, the one who had wielded the stick gave it to the other man, and as he turned towards him the camera caught his face in the moonlight.

'Freeze it there, Walker,' shouted Jenkins.

They all peered at the screen.

'That's Logan,' said Todd excitedly. 'I'm sure of it.'

'I think you're right,' said Jenkins. 'Walker, see if the techies can improve the image at all.'

Sally Walker set the video to continue playing and Jenkins whistled as he drew air in over his teeth.

'You crafty beggar, Banks,' he said, as the camera moved to record the registration number of the car as the boot was lifted and the stick was put in.

Jenkins and his team looked at each other not able to fully comprehend the enormity of what they had just witnessed. Andy Logan, who had proved so elusive for so long, had been caught on camera laying into a man who was later found dead at the scene!

'I think I'd better go and see the Chief,' said Jenkins as calmly as he could.

He didn't feel calm. He wanted to punch the air. He wanted to jump up and down. He wanted to pinch himself to be sure he wasn't dreaming. This was the best day of his life.

### ***

Mollie smiled at Jenkins as he entered her office.

'Is he in?' Jenkins asked.

Ten minutes later Jenkins had brought his boss up to date and the two police officers were sitting looking at each other hardly daring to believe the news.

'Right,' said DCI Manton. 'We need to co-ordinate this. If we alert Logan he might be able to hide evidence. We've got diamond smuggling and Jason Burton's murder. We suspect Harry Westbury and Richard Hart are connected. We might have links to dodgy goings on at The Crazy Lady. And who knows what else we might find.

Let's get warrants and hit them all at the same time. We go in to Sparkle, The Crazy Lady and the beauty salon at the same time as you pick up Logan, but given the problems we've had before we need to keep it close to the chest till the last minute. You sort the warrants, and get one for the car whilst you're at it. I'll make sure we've got the manpower to deal with it all. We'll get Logan in on suspicion of a connection to Richard Hart, as that's our case, and then I'll take great pleasure in informing North Tyneside that we've solved their Jason Burton murder for them.

And well done, Jenkins.'

'Thank you, sir.'

Back in the incident room, Dave Jenkins brought the rest of the team up to date.

'We've got a busy few hours ahead of us,' he said. 'Todd, get started on the warrants while I go back to Banks. We need to go in there this afternoon before the nightclub and the casino get busy. You can come with me, Walker.'

'What are you doing with Banks?' asked Todd.

'Well, we need to get his statement and then I suppose we can let him go for the time being. I'll hang on to his mobile phone so that we've got the original video. I think he'll want to lie low until we've got Logan in custody.'

'Do you want us to follow him?' asked Jaqui Spense.

'No,' said Jenkins. 'We need everyone on this now.'

### Chapter Twenty Four

While Jenkins was busy, Laura was working on her own problems. She decided Arthur could wait. Luckily there had been no repercussions from the parents following his indiscretion yesterday. She would make sure he did not come into school today.

Shirley had turned up for work, but was very fragile.

'Are you sure you want to be here?' Laura asked.

'No, I'm not sure of anything, but I wouldn't be any better at home, would I? If you can put up with me I'd rather be here,' answered Shirley. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked exhausted.

'Well, let me know if there's anything I can do,' Laura said. 'And if it gets too much for you, just say.'

'Thank you,' said Shirley. 'Everyone has been so kind.'

'How's Josh?' asked Laura.

'He's really quite upset,' replied Shirley. 'He's stayed off school today. He says he'll do some revision.'

'Well, I gather he and Richard were quite close,' said Laura. 'He'll miss him.'

'Yes, we both will,' Shirley replied and Laura kicked herself for making such a stupid comment.

'You must have been very relieved when he turned up.'

'Yes, I was,' agreed Shirley. 'I knew he couldn't have had anything to do with it but you still worry, don't you? And someone had killed Richard, so they might have killed Josh, too.'

Laura had to admit she hadn't thought of that scenario. Shirley must have really been worried sick. An idea was starting to form in her mind of how she might talk to Josh.

'I'm just going for a walk round,' Laura said to Josie.

Josie knew this was code for 'I need to think.' Laura often wandered round the grounds taking the opportunity for fresh air and a bit of exercise. And when she needed to sort out a problem it was good to get away from her office, although she did take her mobile with her in case Josie needed to be in touch.

It was another lovely day. April had been cold and showery, much as expected really. She recalled the saying 'April showers bring forth May flowers' and that was certainly true this year. The school had an internal quadrangle with a lovely garden in the centre of which was a massive flowering cherry tree. It was in full bloom at the moment and looked magnificent. The pink blooms were complemented by a couple of pink camellias and some Montana clematis trailed over the door frames. As she walked past she reminded herself how fortunate she was to work in such a pleasant environment and how lucky the girls were to attend a school such as this.

She exited the school buildings on the north side and wandered towards the cottages. With a bit of luck Josh would have emerged from his bed and be revising as his mother thought. She knocked on the door of number three.

After a few minutes, the door opened slightly and Josh peered round.

'Hi, Josh,' Laura said brightly. 'I thought I'd just drop in and see how you were. I'm doing my daily walk round.'

Laura knew Josh quite well. For the last four or five years he had spent much of his school holidays in the IT department, initially getting under their feet but latterly proving himself invaluable in dealing with problems they encountered. He really was very talented and Laura knew he would go far.

'Hello, Mrs Jessop,' he replied.

As he didn't ask her in, Laura took the lead. 'Can I come in for a few minutes?' she asked.

'Oh, yes. Sure,' he replied and stood aside to open the door wide.

'Your mum is very brave coming into school today,' Laura continued. 'It can't have been easy for her.'

'No,' he agreed. 'But she likes to keep herself busy.'

'It can't have been easy for you either, coming home and reading about it in the paper.'

'No.'

'I understand you were in London at a gig.'

'Well, it was this festival. They have different bands at several venues. You just wander round really.'

'Was it good?'

'Yes, it was great,' with very little emotion in his voice.

Laura could see Josh was struggling and the last thing he wanted to do was to talk to her, but she had come this far and she really needed to carry on.

'So, how are you doing, Josh? Your mum said you weren't going into school today.'

'No.'

'You and Richard had become very close, hadn't you?'

'Yes.'

'He was very proud of you. He used to tell everyone how good you were with computers.'

Josh didn't answer, but Laura noticed a single tear start to make its way down Josh's cheek. She steeled herself and continued.

'I expect you could teach us all a thing or two,' she said trying to find the words to ask the questions she needed to ask. She was looking for a clue that she was on the right lines before she plunged in.

A second tear joined the first, and Josh brushed it away as it tickled his cheek.

'I was reading the other day about that teenager in America who hacked into the banking system and caused havoc. Did you see it?'

Josh nodded.

'You'd wonder how a teenager could cause so much trouble. Is it easy to hack?'

Josh didn't answer, but the tears were flowing freely now. Laura remained silent and waited. Her patience was rewarded.

'It's all my fault,' he said finally.

'Don't be silly,' she said. 'How can it be your fault?'

Josh hesitated.

'Richard showed me a picture of Miss Carstairs,' he said. 'One of his mates was going to London. He'd had a big win on the horses and wanted a night to remember, so he was looking for a friend to share it with. He found this escort agency and he and Richard were looking at it to choose which girl he should pick. Richard recognised Miss Carstairs.'

'You mean she was one of the escorts?' asked Laura.

'No,' said Josh. 'Well, I mean I don't know. It was just a photo of her. Anyway, Richard was laughing about it and said he bet she wouldn't want anyone to know she was a.. a hooker.'

Josh was embarrassed to use the word to Mrs Jessop, but that was what Richard had said. He seemed to be gaining some relief from talking about what had happened.

'Go on,' said Laura encouragingly.

'Well, that was that for a while, and then he asked me to help him.'

'Help him how?'

'He said there must be other people on the staff with things to hide. He said I must be able to find out their secrets because everything was on the internet. And he knew I was coming in to school over the Christmas holidays so he said I could get into the school records. He made it sound like a game, and he was sort of challenging me to see how good I was. He said he bet in a staff of nearly two hundred people there must be lots of secrets.'

'And did you take him up on his challenge?'

'Yes, I did,' said Josh looking embarrassed. 'I started with the school records, and then I widened my search on the internet. It's amazing what you can discover and it all sort of snowballed. But I didn't know what he was going to do, and then when I found out it was too late.'

'What was he going to do?' asked Laura.

'After I found out a couple of things he told me Miss Carstairs was paying him to keep quiet. And he said the others would pay as well, and that he could make a lot of money.'

'What did you say?'

'I was a bit shocked,' admitted Josh. 'It had all seemed like a bit of fun. I didn't know he was going to use the information to blackmail people. I tried to tell him it was wrong, but he just laughed at me. And he said I was involved as well, so I couldn't tell anyone.'

'But you could have done, at that point,' Laura said gently. 'You didn't know you were doing anything wrong at the time.'

'No, but he said if I told anyone he could go to prison, and mum would never forgive me.'

More like, Shirley would never forgive Richard, thought Laura. Oh dear, what a mess!

'Do you think Richard was killed because of this?' Josh asked.

'I don't know,' Laura admitted. 'It's possible, although the police have other leads as well.'

'What do I do?' Josh asked. He looked frightened and a lot younger than his eighteen years. 'If I hadn't helped him he might still be alive.'

'Well, I think we shall have to tell the police,' Laura replied. 'Do you think you could bear to tell me everything first. If some of my staff are affected I'd like to be prepared to deal with it.'

### Chapter Twenty Five

Josh was reluctant to share all the information and to admit the extent of his wrongdoing. Laura knew that he might well have to suffer the consequences, but he had come this far. She gradually persuaded him to continue.

In addition to Stella and the other two staff she knew about, Josh had uncovered three more secrets. Philip Johnson, a member of the mathematics department had a conviction for shoplifting. Laura already knew this as Philip had come to tell her about it at the time. He was a bachelor who lived with his mother and he had been very badly affected by her death a couple of years before. He was prescribed medication for depression and Laura believed that this had been responsible for his behaviour which was so totally out of character. Philip had driven to Carlisle and walked out of Debenhams, the department store, with a duvet cover and two fitted sheets. He told Laura that he didn't need new bedding and he didn't know why he had picked them up. He had admitted his crime immediately but had not mentioned his medication preferring just to take his punishment and put it all behind him. He was mortified when he spoke with Laura, and she had admired his courage. To the best of her knowledge no-one else knew of the incident apart from Arthur, with whom she had felt the need to share.

Pauline Stokes, one of the science technicians, had a record for driving while under the influence. This was tragic because her sister had been badly injured as a result of the accident Pauline caused. Again Laura knew because Pauline had told her about it when she joined the school knowing that she would have to submit to a criminal records background check. Laura couldn't believe that Richard would use this information to extort money, when Pauline was so full of guilt already and she was relieved when Josh told her that Richard hadn't actually blackmailed Pauline.

'And then,' said Josh, 'there was Mr Connolly.'

Laura's heart missed a beat. Arthur? Surely Richard couldn't have been blackmailing Arthur?

'Do you remember he left his laptop after the Governors' meeting?' Josh asked.

Laura remembered that two weeks before Arthur had telephoned first thing the morning after the Governors' meeting in a bit of a panic as he had mislaid his laptop. When she asked Richard if it had been left in the Board room he said that he had found it and locked it in his store for safe-keeping until he could give it to her to return.

'Richard found it and brought it home that night. He asked me to see if there was anything interesting on it.'

Laura's heart was in her mouth as she asked, 'And was there?'

Again Josh hesitated. Laura could see him struggling to find the right words. After all, Arthur Connolly was the Chairman of the Governors. He was an important man. What could Josh have discovered?

'There was a big file that was password protected. It took me ages to get into, but eventually I did. It was full of photos.'

'Oh, yes,' said Laura. 'Photography is his big hobby.'

'They were photos of young girls.'

It still didn't sink in and Laura said innocently, 'Yes. He takes a lot of photographs in school.'

Josh took a deep breath. 'Mrs Jessop, I don't think he took these photographs in school. In fact, I don't think he took them at all.'

From the look on Josh's face and his obvious distress, Laura started to realise what he was trying to say.

'You mean pornography?' she asked, trying to keep the panic out of voice and not succeeding.

'Yes,' said Josh. 'There were hundreds of them.'

Laura swallowed hard. Her Chairman of Governors was a paedophile! In a few short days her world had suddenly expanded to include all manner of dreadful content. First Richard's brutal murder, the discovery of his blackmailing activities, Arthur's indiscretion of the previous day and now this! Amy had been right. This was a dream, it couldn't all be happening. She would surely wake up soon. Please, let it be a dream.

'What did you do?' she asked weakly.

'Richard was very excited. He said this was the jackpot. He told me to close it all down, and said he would take it back to school the next morning. I don't know what he did then.'

Josh looked much more at ease now that he had unburdened himself. Laura reassured him that she would help him as much as she could and set off back to her office. She took the long way round to try to calm her nerves.

As she arrived back, Josie met her with a cup of coffee.

'You've been gone a while,' she said. 'You look a bit distressed. Are you OK?'

'Yes, I'm fine,' Laura replied. She couldn't share this awful news just yet. But she knew she couldn't put off talking to the police any longer.

'Amy's been asking if she could see you,' said Josie.

'Yes, ask her to come down. And Josie, see if you can get the inspector to come in to see me.'

When Amy arrived at Laura's office, Laura waved to the seat opposite saying, 'Sit down. How are you feeling this morning?'

'A bit tired. I couldn't sleep last night. There was so much going on in my head.'

'Yes, I know what you mean,' agreed Laura. 'I've managed to speak to Josh this morning.'

'Have you,' said Amy excitedly. 'What did he say?'

'Well, he confirmed what we thought. He was the one who found out most of the information. The bit about Stella seems to have been the first thing Richard discovered and that was a bit of an accident, by all accounts. I think he realised he could make some money and set about trying to find other targets.'

Laura was not going to share everything Josh had told her, and certainly not the information about Arthur although that would undoubtedly come out in the open soon enough.

'Were there others?' Amy asked.

'Yes, there were. They'd been quite busy.'

'So what are you going to do?'

'I've got no choice. I shall have to tell the police now. I've asked Josie to see if the inspector will come in this afternoon.'

'Right,' said Amy, a little dejectedly. 'It all seems a bit of an anti-climax. I was hoping the police would discover it was someone else who murdered Richard and we wouldn't have to tell the police all our secrets.'

Little do you know, thought Laura.

'Well, let's hope they will be as sensitive as they can be,' she said.

Laura knew she couldn't do anything other than tell the police about Arthur. She still hoped that the inspector would find the murderer elsewhere, but she knew the school could not avoid the scandal that was about to be unleashed.

As Amy left, Laura picked up the phone to speak to Josie.

'Did you get through to the inspector?' she asked.

'No, I managed to speak to Gary, though,' Josie replied. 'He says it's a bit manic there. He sounded very excited and said it might all be wrapped up very soon. Anyway, he thinks it will be tomorrow morning before the inspector can come. Will that do?'

'Yes, I suppose it will have to?' said Laura.

She was a bit disappointed. She would have to live with the dreadful secret for a little longer, and she knew she would have another sleepless night tonight.

'And Robert rang while you were with Amy,' Josie continued. 'He said it's nothing urgent, but can you call him back when it's convenient?'

'Yes. Thanks,' Laura replied.

She dialled home.

'Hello, darling. Did you want me?' she asked when he answered.

'Only to tell you I love you,' he said, and Laura burst into tears.

Robert had some sort of sixth sense and knew when she needed him. He often sent her a text, or even a bunch of flowers to cheer her up if he knew she would be having a bad day. But even Robert could not imagine how bad today had just become.

'I don't suppose you could call in, could you?' she asked.

'Of course,' he said. 'I'm on my way.'

Just like that. He dropped everything and arrived twenty minutes later. Having checked with Josie that Laura did not have anyone with her, he walked in and enveloped her in his arms. For a few minutes nothing was said, and Laura relaxed into his embrace. She knew she would survive this horrible time, because she had him, her rock.

Eventually she said, 'It's so awful, so shocking!' and proceeded to tell Robert what Josh had revealed.

'Oh, that is bad,' agreed Robert.

'You don't seem very shocked,' Laura said.

'No, I am. It's just that I always wondered why Arthur spent so much time here,' said Robert.

'Well, yes,' agreed Laura. 'But I told you about Jenny and how much she thought she owed the school.'

'Yes,' said Robert. 'And I wouldn't have thought anything of Jenny being a Governor. But Arthur is one step removed.'

'Yes, but he's the business man, and he knew he could use his influence to help the school,' said Laura.

'I suppose so,' agreed Robert. 'But they always say paedophiles can be the least expected members of society.'

When Robert had gone, Laura went online and typed ' _paedophile characteristics_ ' into her search engine. She discovered that paedophiles are often, but not exclusively, male. They are usually single and if married there are no sexual relations. They put themselves in a position to be with children, often volunteering to do volunteer work. Paedophiles are popular with both children and adults, appearing to be trustworthy. They are often well-respected within the community. Not all paedophiles physically abuse children, for some looking is enough, sometimes sharing images over the internet. And paedophiles often realise their activities are criminal and operate in secrecy.

Laura realised how difficult it was to recognise a paedophile, and how many must never be discovered, managing to keep their activities in check. Certainly what she read could apply to Arthur, but equally it could apply to many other people she knew and they weren't all paedophiles.

Laura felt sorry for Arthur, and especially for Jenny. Maybe they had a platonic relationship but she was sure they loved each other. This would be such a blow for her.

### Chapter Twenty Six

Andy Logan was in the interview room awaiting DI Jenkins. The operation had gone without a hitch. Logan had just been leaving his club, Sparkle, when Jenkins and Todd arrived. They told him they wanted to talk to him about the murder of Richard Hart, and surprisingly he readily agreed to accompany them to the station. He had, of course, requested his solicitor and Jonathan Darby of Darby, Swinton & Sons had turned up ten minutes ago.

In the meantime search warrants had been executed on Sparkle, The Crazy Lady and Dazzle and officers were swarming all over them in an attempt to find incriminating evidence. The magistrate had been a bit sceptical about The Crazy Lady, but was persuaded that its owner was connected to Logan who could certainly be linked to one murder and possibly two others, and eventually issued the warrant. The warrant for the car had not yet been used, as it related specifically to Jason Burton.

Logan displayed no anxiety at all. The police had tried to make a case against him before and failed. He was not worried. Tony Banks had warned him the police were trying to make a link because of a loan he'd given to Hart, but if that's all they had he'd be out of here in no time. Of course, had Logan known about the extent of the operation he might have been a little more worried. He'd arrived at the station before the search warrants were executed.

Jenkins was keen to tie Logan to Richard Hart's murder. That, after all, was the case he was trying to solve. The fact that he had stumbled across Jason Burton's killer was a bonus, and one he would fully exploit. But he wasn't going to tell Logan that just yet. And if he could uncover a diamond smuggling operation and tie in Harry Westbury's murder somehow he would be a very happy man. But he had to get to the bottom of Hart's murder.

'Come on, Todd,' he said. 'Let's make a start.'

The two police officers walked towards the interview room. Jenkins was aware this could be make or break for him.

'Good afternoon, Mr Logan,' he said. He nodded towards the solicitor and added. 'Good afternoon, Mr Darby.'

'Inspector, my client strongly rejects the suggestion that he had any involvement in the murder of Richard Hart. He wishes to make it perfectly clear that he is here voluntarily in an effort to help you with your enquiries,' said Jonathan Darby pompously.

'That is understood, Mr Darby. Shall we begin?'

Jonathan Darby inclined his head to signify assent, and Jenkins opened the file in front of him.

'So, Mr Logan,' he began. 'Were you acquainted with Richard Hart?'

'I don't recollect the name.'

'Our information suggests that you loaned him money.'

'As I said, I don't recollect the name.'

'Are you acquainted with The Crazy Lady Casino?'

'I have heard of it.'

'Have you ever been there?'

'I might have been once or twice.'

Jonathan Darby whispered in Logan's ear. The inspector looked enquiringly at the pair, but nothing was forthcoming. He continued.

'Do you know who owns The Crazy Lady?'

'I'm not sure how this is relevant,' said Logan.

'Mr Hart was a regular visitor to The Crazy Lady,' replied Jenkins.

'Even so,' replied Logan.

'It's a simple enough question,' Jenkins said reminding himself to keep calm.

'Then I'm sure you've done your homework, inspector,' and Logan smiled. 'My sister Eileen owns The Crazy Lady.'

'Do you know a man called Harry Westbury?'

Jenkins looked closely at Logan. Was there the merest suggestion of a nervous tic? Jenkins had often marvelled at the TV programmes where suspects who lied were identified with ease because of their body language. He knew people did give themselves away if they were nervous, but this was Andy Logan, a man who had avoided being captured for at least ten years and who was well practised in the art of lying.

'I don't recollect the name.'

'He was found murdered a few hundred yards from The Crazy Lady.'

Again a whispered conversation between Darby and Logan interrupted the interview.

'I'm sorry to hear that,' Logan replied eventually.

'Mr Westbury was a regular visitor to The Crazy Lady,' said the inspector.

'I'm sure there are a lot of people who regularly visit The Crazy Lady. My sister runs a very successful business there.'

'Have you visited Amsterdam recently?'

The solicitor could hold himself in check no longer.

'Inspector, how is this relevant to the death of this Richard Hart?'

'It's a simple enough question,' replied the inspector, 'but if Mr Logan does not want to answer then it doesn't matter.'

'I don't see why you want to know,' said Logan, 'but I have nothing to hide. Yes, I go to Amsterdam quite regularly as I'm sure you already know.'

In fact, Jenkins hadn't got as far as checking that piece of information but it was useful to know.

'Where were you last Friday evening?' asked Jenkins.

'I was in my club in Tynemouth,' said Logan. 'I'm sure there are plenty of people who will vouch for me.'

'What time did you arrive?'

'About 9pm.'

'And before that?'

'I was at home.'

'Alone?'

'Yes. My driver picked me up just before 8.30.'

Logan lived in a large house in Gosforth, only a couple of miles from the Mary Montgomery High School. He could still have killed Hart before going to the club. Or he could have arranged for someone else to kill him.

Jenkins knew he was not going to get anywhere without the leverage of the film of Burton's murder. It was time for the next stage.

'Well, Mr Logan. Thank you for your time. That will be all for now.'

Andy Logan smiled the smile of victory. He knew they couldn't pin it on him. He stood and buttoned his jacket.

'Always pleased to help,' he said, and turned to leave the room followed by Jonathan Darby.

Jenkins turned to Todd, and smiled.

'Todd, do the honours please.'

Todd followed the two men out of the interview room catching up with them as they approached the stairs at the end of the corridor.

'Mr Logan,' he called.

The two men stopped and Todd approached with a uniformed officer who had been waiting outside.

'Mr Logan, I'm arresting you for the murder of Jason Burton. You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.'

Jenkins, standing a few yards behind, was rewarded by a look of shock on Logan's face.

### Chapter Twenty Seven

Detective Inspector James Richardson from North Tyneside HQ at Wallsend was waiting in the incident room. He was the SIO for the Jason Burton case and Dave Jenkins had contacted him earlier. They had agreed that Jenkins should take the credit for Logan's arrest, but it was still Richardson's case.

'Todd's just taken him to be processed downstairs,' said Jenkins with a wide grin on his face.

There were big smiles on the faces of Jenkins' team, and Sally Walker and John Nugent exchanged a high-five.

'So are you buying the drinks tonight, guv?' asked Sally.

'It's a bit early for that, Walker. We still haven't tied him in to the Hart murder, but hopefully when he realises what we've got on him, he'll cough the rest as well.'

'Are you coming in with me?' asked Richardson, generously.

'Well, yes,' said Jenkins eagerly. 'That'll be great. Let's grab a bite to eat. He's not going anywhere for a while, and it'll give us time to see if anything's been turned up. We've got a search warrant for the car as well. If the murder weapon was put in the boot there might be enough for forensics to work on, especially if they weren't expecting to be collared.'

An hour later, suitably fed and watered, Richardson and Jenkins entered the interview room. Logan was already seated behind the desk, looking slightly less sure of himself. Instead of looking composed in his expensive Armani suit with silk shirt and matching tie, he was in shirt sleeves and his tie had been removed by the custody sergeant. Jonathan Darby sat alongside him and had taken the trouble to open a file in which he had already made notes.

Once the preliminaries were completed for the tape, Richardson began.

'Mr Logan, do you know Jason Burton?'

Darby had advised Logan not to exercise his right to silence as it could alienate a jury if the matter came to trial. They did not know what evidence the police had, but Logan had indicated to Darby that he might have a problem although he had not admitted the extent of that problem. Darby had also told Logan not to volunteer information but to wait and see what evidence the police had, although this advice was unnecessary. After all, Logan knew the score.

'Yes.'

'How do you know him?'

'He's been into my club.'

'Has he ever done any work for you?'

'What sort of work.'

'Come on, Mr Logan. You know better than that. I ask the questions.'

'No, then.'

'Where were you on the night of Thursday 23rd March?'

'In my club, I expect. But it's a long time ago. How do you expect me to remember?'

'Let me jog your memory. Jason Burton came into Sparkle to see you that night.'

'If you say so.'

'I do, Mr Logan. I do.'

Richardson paused and looked at his notes. Although he had been briefed by Jenkins and the rest of the team, he was not as well versed as they were. He nodded to Jenkins to take over.

'We have a witness, Mr Logan, who saw Burton come in. Apparently he was angry and you had words.'

'I don't recall.'

'It seems he was unhappy about how much you were paying him to transport diamonds.'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'That same witness says you and Burton went to North Shields, to the fish quay.'

Logan remained silent.

'And that you had an argument and pushed Burton over.'

Still no reply.

'And that you then hit him over the head with a baseball bat.'

'That's preposterous!' exclaimed Logan. 'He's making it up. Who was it? A lot of people would like to see me locked up. He's just trying to make trouble for me.'

Jenkins looked as though he was pondering on what Logan had said.

'So you deny it then?'

'Of course I do.'

Jonathan Darby intervened.

'I trust, inspector, that you have more than one man's word against my client. These are very serious allegations.'

'Indeed they are,' agreed Jenkins. He paused before saying, 'What would you say, Mr Logan, if I told you we had photographic evidence? A video film, in fact.'

Logan looked stunned. When he had grabbed the baseball bat from Jock that night he had been so angry. Jason Burton had enough information to destroy him and was daring to threaten him. He couldn't believe that such a waste of space thought he could get the better of Andy Logan. Well, he would show him and he had brought the bat down on the back of Burton's head with such force that he didn't get up again. Of course, with hindsight he should have left it all to Jock and let Jock rough him up as usual. But his anger had got the better of him. And who was the witness? There was no-one else there apart from Jock. And he certainly hadn't been filming it.

Jonathan Darby noted his client's discomfort.

'I wonder if I might have a few moments alone with my client, inspector?' he asked.

'Of course,' said Jenkins. He stopped the tape and he and Richardson left the room.

Returning to the incident room they were greeted by four questioning pairs of eyes. Sally was the first to speak.

'Well?'

'He's rattled, that's for sure. He's just talking to his solicitor. Let's hope he advises him to make a full admission,' said Richardson. 'Well done, all of you. You've made my life a lot easier!'

'Have we got anything from the warrants?' asked Jenkins.

'Not a lot at The Crazy Lady. That Eileen Carter is some crazy lady. The place is well named!' Todd replied. 'We might need another warrant to look at all the books. Dazzle was a bit of a waste of time as well, but guess what we found at Sparkle?'

'Come on, don't keep us in suspense,' urged Jenkins.

'Behind the door in the office was a baseball bat!'

'No!' exclaimed Jenkins excitedly. 'Is it the murder weapon?'

'Well, we've sent it to forensics. Unfortunately it didn't have blood on it, but that would be too easy.'

'Yes,' agreed Jenkins although the disappointment showed in his voice.

'What about the car?' Richardson asked.

'It looks as though the boot has been cleaned out, but they're working on it. All we need is one drop of Burton's blood and we're home and dry.'

'What would be really nice would be a drop of Westbury's blood and a drop of Hart's as well,' said Jaqui Spense.

### Chapter Twenty Eight

Tony Banks was sitting looking out over the North Sea, a glass of whisky in his hand. Everything had gone according to plan. He was on his way to Amsterdam using his new identity of Terence Baker. He quite liked the idea of being Terry rather than Tony. The ferry had set sail just after 5o'clock and in a few hours he would be completely safe, and no-one would ever find him. He sighed contentedly and looked around. The other people in the bar were totally oblivious to his existence.

A young couple chatted animatedly in the corner. Banks assumed they were on their way to Amsterdam for a long weekend of fun, and perhaps passion. They certainly looked as though they could hardly wait to be alone together. Perhaps they should have booked a cabin! Opposite them a grey-haired man and woman sat quietly, he with a guide book and she with a wistful expression on her face as she looked with envy at the young couple. He doubted they were heading for a weekend of passion, but he could be wrong!

He wondered whether the police had arrested Andy Logan yet. He wished he could be a fly on the wall. That Inspector Jenkins could hardly contain his excitement when he returned having viewed the video. They'd taken his statement and made sure he was willing to testify. He had, of course, agreed.

'I'm sorry, Mr Banks, but we shall have to hang on to your phone for the time being. And we shall need to speak to you again. Don't leave town,' Jenkins had said.

'I understand,' Banks had replied anxious to leave the station. He didn't want to give anything away by his nervous actions. He had caught the Metro, getting on and off trains a couple of times to make sure he wasn't being followed. But it was as he thought. The police were firmly focussed on Logan. They had bigger fish to fry.

### ***

Just before ten o'clock Andy Logan was formally charged with the murder of Jason Burton. He would appear before magistrates the following morning and hopefully be remanded in custody. It would be most unusual for the magistrates to give him bail given the nature of the offence. The police were no further forward with solving the other two murders, although they were still awaiting forensic reports on the baseball bat and any evidence from the boot of the car.

Although Andy Logan did not admit his involvement in Jason Burton's murder, he did not deny it either and, when charged, chose to remain silent. It was clear that he was shocked by the revelation of the video evidence, and needed to take stock. He was not a happy man.

Dave Jenkins, however, was a very happy man. Although he had not yet closed the case on Richard Hart he had taken one of the biggest villains off the streets for a very long time. He was a local hero and he revelled in it.

DCI Manton was also a very happy man.

'Well done, Jenkins,' he said. 'You've done a great job.'

'Thank you, sir,' Jenkins replied.

'How are you doing with Westbury and Hart?'

'Logan's not saying anything helpful at the moment. I think he's likely for the Westbury murder, but he knows he'll drop his sister in it if he admits his involvement. But I'm not sure about Hart. Maybe I was on the wrong track with that. Still, we might get some forensics to help us.'

'Well, keep me informed. You'd better get off home now and get some sleep. You look terrible.'

'Yes, sir.'

Jenkins drove home in a state of euphoria. He knew that he would sleep well tonight.

### ***

The following morning Jenkins attended the Magistrates' court to see Logan remanded in custody. There was still much work ahead to tie Logan into other crimes and to arrest his accomplices, but Logan wasn't going anywhere for the time being.

Later that morning DI Jenkins drove into the grounds of the Mary Montgomery High School for Girls. He wondered why Mrs Jessop had asked to see him. She probably just wanted to find out what was happening. Well, there still wasn't too much he could tell her. He wasn't looking forward to the meeting.

'Good morning, inspector,' Laura said as he was shown into her office. 'Can I offer you some coffee?'

'Yes, thank you.'

Josie returned with a freshly brewed cafetiere and some chocolate digestives. Jenkins realised he was ravenous having missed breakfast, and helped himself to three biscuits.

'How is the case going?' asked Laura when they had both taken their first sip of coffee.

'Well, we've made an arrest of the man we think is responsible for three murders, Richard Hart being one of them.'

'That's good news.'

'Yes. We've still got work to do to tie in all three, but I'm hopeful we have our man.'

Laura was impressed. DI Jenkins was obviously a force to be reckoned with, in spite of appearances. He looked a little less like Columbo today having discarded his raincoat and generally he looked tidier. In fact Jenkins had sent Jaqui Spense out the day before to buy him two new shirts, and she'd done him proud in spite of her comments about him being a typical man assuming she was there just to run round after him.

'You're probably wondering why I asked to see you.'

'I assumed you just wanted an update on the case.'

'Well, that as well,' Laura replied, 'and I'm pleased that you have managed to make an arrest so quickly. That's very reassuring.'

'It is, but please don't tell anyone that we've arrested Richard Hart's murderer just yet. We still have to make the connection.'

'I understand, and I'm grateful that you've shared it with me.'

Dave Jenkins smiled in answer. Now that he was able to relax more he could see that Laura Jessop was not as bad as he had first thought. He had her pegged as a bossy-boots headmistress who wanted to interfere, but he could see now she was just doing her job.

Laura smiled as well. She too was having a revelation and beginning to see that Inspector Jenkins wasn't as bad as she had first thought. She had seen him as a rather arrogant police officer dismissive of her as a silly woman, but she could now see he was just doing his job.

'So, inspector,' she said slowly. 'I'm afraid I have uncovered a little problem.'

'Related to Richard Hart?'

'Well, yes and no. It seems that it is probably not related to his murder, but it is connected to him. I'm afraid Richard had found a way to supplement his income.'

The inspector listened carefully.

'I have been made aware that Richard had uncovered information about some members of staff and was blackmailing them,' Laura continued.

Now she had his interest. Jenkins put down his coffee cup and gave her his full attention.

'If we can I'd like to keep the details as confidential as possible. I realise that I shall probably have to share that information with you, but if it is not connected with his death I would really appreciate your discretion.'

'I understand your concern, Mrs Jessop, and I will be as discreet as I can, but I can't make any guarantees if there is a connection to his murder,' Jenkins said.

Suddenly a whole new list of suspects was opening up. Perhaps Richard Hart wasn't one of Logan's victims. He knew he had to keep an open mind.

'Yes, of course. As long as you'll do your best,' Laura said.

'I will.'

Laura told Inspector Jenkins about Stella Carstairs' predicament.

'After she'd left my office, Amy and I started to think she might not be the only victim. We both knew of people he might have targeted and we confirmed our suspicions. Then we wondered how he had got his information. We thought he had to have someone working with him who knew their way round a computer, and came up with Josh, his stepson.'

'You have been busy,' said Jenkins with a mixture of admiration and admonishment in his tone. 'When did all this come about?'

'Well it was really Tuesday night when it all started to come together and after I'd spoken to Josh yesterday morning I rang and asked if you would call in.'

Laura knew the inspector might be annoyed with her for not contacting him earlier.

'You see,' she continued, 'it was all very sensitive and if it was unconnected with Richard's death there was no need to tell you.'

'And how were you going to find out if it was connected?'

'Well, I was hoping you would arrest someone.'

'OK. So I've told you we have arrested someone and you've still decided to tell me.'

Laura swallowed. 'Yes, because of what Josh told me. He confirmed what Amy and I thought. Richard had found out about Stella Carstairs by accident and then thought other staff might have secrets as well. He asked Josh to help him to find out. Josh went into the school system to access basic personnel details and then went from there. Don't ask me how he found out what he did, because I didn't ask him for the details and I probably wouldn't have understood anyhow.'

Laura paused.

'So I still don't understand why you've now decided to tell me. Do you want to press charges against Josh?'

'No,' said Laura quickly. 'If there's any way of avoiding that, I'd like to. He's been through enough, and I don't think he really realised the seriousness of what he was getting into. He thought Richard was just testing him to see how good he was. Richard was certainly the one controlling the operation.'

'So what then?'

'A couple of weeks ago, Arthur Connolly, my Chairman of Governors, left his laptop behind at the end of a Governors' meeting. Richard found it in the Board Room when he was locking up. He took it home and asked Josh to see if there was anything interesting.'

'And presumably there was.'

'Yes. He found a large file which was password protected. When he managed to open it, it was photographs.'

'What kind of photographs?'

'Josh said it was of young girls. He said it was pornography.'

Jenkins blinked and sat back.

'Did he elaborate?' he finally asked.

'No, and I didn't ask him to. He was embarrassed about it all. But he did tell me Richard said he'd hit the jackpot.'

Jenkins needed to think.

'Do you think we could have some more coffee?' he asked.

Laura went through to Josie. She had not said anything about Arthur to anyone other than Robert.

'Josie can we have some fresh coffee, please. And then will you arrange an SMT meeting for the end of school today. It is urgent, and I would like everyone there.'

'Yes, of course. Are you all right?' said Josie with concern. 'You look upset. Has anything happened? Have they found Richard's killer?'

'I'm fine. No, they haven't, but I think they're hopeful that they should have a result soon.'

Laura returned to her office and Josie arrived shortly afterwards with the coffee. The inspector was still sitting quietly looking out of the window. Laura did not disturb him until he was ready to speak.

'I'm going to need to speak to Josh,' he said eventually.

'Yes, of course. He does know that. I don't think he's said anything to his mum yet.'

'You did well to get him to open up,' said the inspector.

'Yes, well I'm used to getting youngsters to talk to me,' Laura said, pleased by the unexpected compliment.

'Then, of course, I shall have to speak to Mr Connolly,' continued the inspector. 'It's possible he'll be arrested.'

'Yes,' said Laura. 'I expected that.'

'Do you think he might have killed Richard Hart?'

'I really don't know,' admitted Laura. 'I would have said no, but Arthur would have been desperate to protect himself and the school. It would be such a terrible scandal. I suppose in those circumstances he might have done, but I do hope not.'

'I know this will not be good news for the school,' said Jenkins.

Laura was touched that the inspector had remembered what she had said the other day.

'No, I think it's the worst possible news,' she agreed.

'Maybe we can work together to lessen the impact.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, between us we seem to have solved a lot of crimes in the past few days. There might be a way of salvaging the school's reputation if you're seen to be instrumental in bringing Connolly to book.'

Laura was quite moved. He really had listened, and it was a very generous offer. Jenkins could afford to be generous. He had realised that not only had he solved a murder, and possibly three, he had uncovered a diamond smuggling operation and now, just possibly, a paedophile ring. The Chief would be over the moon!

### Chapter Twenty Nine

Inspector Jenkins went outside to his car to ring Todd and get him over to the school. Laura asked Josie to bring Shirley in to see her.

'Hello, Shirley,' she said. 'How are you today?'

'Oh, you know,' Shirley replied bravely. 'Taking one day at a time.'

'I need to talk to you about Josh,' Laura said gently. 'I bumped into him the other day when I was walking round.'

'Yes, he said he'd seen you.'

'Did he tell you what we spoke about?'

'No, not really.'

'He was worried he might have been to blame for Richard's death.'

'But, how could he be? He was in London. He wasn't even here.'

'He and Richard were working on something together, and the police need to speak to Josh.'

Jenkins had asked Laura not to tell Shirley about Arthur as they didn't want him to be alerted. If Shirley knew she would probably say something and word could get out.

'What about?'

'I'm sorry, I can't say,' Laura said regretfully.

'Is Josh in trouble?'

'I don't know?'

'But he can't be,' said Shirley, the panic rising. 'I can't lose him as well.' She started to sob.

Laura called Josie in to her office. Josie saw Shirley's obvious distress.

'Josie, I need you to look after Shirley for a while,' she said.

'Of, course,' said Josie putting a comforting arm around her, and shooting a questioning look at Laura. Laura didn't reply but as she left her office she heard Shirley say between sobs, 'The police want to talk to Josh.'

### ***

Jenkins had agreed to talk to Josh at the cottage and not to take him down to the station. At the moment all he wanted was to find out exactly what the photographs were, and to understand the scale of Arthur Connolly's misdemeanour. He had asked Laura to go with them as she had already built up a rapport with Josh. Josh was over the age of seventeen and so didn't need a responsible adult present during the interview, but Jenkins knew he would get more sense out of Josh if Laura was there. The boy was feeling guilty over Richard's death and might just clam up.

When Todd arrived, the three of them walked up to the cottage and Laura knocked on the door. As before, it eventually opened slightly and Josh peered round.

'Hello, Mrs Jessop,' he said nervously.

'Hello, Josh,' she replied. 'May we come in?'

He opened the door and stood aside to let them in. Laura made the introductions and then said, 'The inspector would like to ask you a few questions about what we talked about. I can stay with you if you would like.'

'Yes, all right.'

'Hello, Josh,' said Jenkins. 'I only want to talk to you about the laptop your stepfather found. Nothing else at the moment, although I may have to come back later to follow up on a few things.'

Josh looked to Laura for support.

'Just tell the inspector what you told me, Josh.'

'Richard brought this laptop home one night. He'd found it after a meeting and he wanted me to see if there was anything on it.'

'What did you find?'

'There was a lot of everyday stuff that wasn't particularly interesting, but then there was this big file that was password protected.'

'And you opened it?'

'Yes, eventually.'

'And tell me what you found, with as much detail as you can remember.'

'It was photographs of girls, young girls.'

'How old do you think they were?'

'Probably ten or eleven, I suppose.'

'And how many were there?'

'Hundreds. I didn't open them all, they were pretty disgusting.'

Josh looked at Laura.

'Josh, I don't want you to be embarrassed,' she said. 'It's important that you describe as much as you can remember. Do you want me to leave?'

'No, I'd rather you stayed, but they were awful pictures.'

'Were they all individual girls?' asked Jenkins.

'No, some of them had two or three girls together and some of them had men in, older men.'

'And how were the girls dressed?'

'Sometimes in frilly dresses, sometimes in school uniform and sometimes not at all.'

Jenkins felt he had the confirmation he needed to pursue this. These were obviously not normal pictures. He just had one more question.

'And Mrs Jessop said you thought they were pornographic. Why did you think that?'

'Because of what the pictures showed. You know.'

'I'm afraid I need you to tell me, Josh,' the inspector said gently.

'They were doing things to each other. The men were naked as well, and they were having sex.'

Josh looked down to the ground.

'I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done it,' he blurted.

Laura put her hand on his arm.

'Josh, the important thing is that you're now trying to put right what you did. Just hang on to that thought. What's happened has happened. You can't change that, but you can make sure you do the right thing now.'

'You've done well, Josh,' added Jenkins. 'We're going now. Will you be all right?'

Josh nodded.

'Josh, your mum knows the inspector was coming to see you. I think you need to talk to her. I'll ask her to come home,' said Laura.

Josh looked thoroughly miserable and panic-stricken.

'I can't tell her, I just can't,' he said.

'I think you have to,' said Laura. 'It will be so much better if she hears it from you.'

'It would be helpful to us if you and your mum don't tell anyone about the pictures for now. Can you do that?' asked the inspector.

'Yes,' said Josh. 'Yes, of course.'

As they walked back to school, Laura asked, 'What now?'

'Well, now I have to get that laptop,' said Jenkins. 'I need to go and see Mr Connolly with a search warrant.'

'And then what will happen?'

'It's difficult to say,' replied Jenkins. 'It rather depends what we find. Let's hope he hasn't been spooked by what's happened to Hart, and got rid of the evidence. I'm afraid it looks as though he has been involved in something very distasteful, and he'll probably go to prison for a long time.'

'When will all of this happen?'

'With a bit of luck, we can get over there before the day is out.'

'So soon?'

'We can't hang about. There's a risk that Josh and Shirley will tell someone and that Arthur will get wind of it.'

'Of course, I do understand,' said Laura. 'It's just a question of being prepared.'

### ***

That afternoon Laura prepared herself to talk to the Senior Management Team. By tomorrow morning they may have yet another crisis on their hands. Not only has the caretaker been murdered, the Chairman of the Governors has been arrested for child pornography. Could it get any worse?

At about three o'clock Josie rang through.

'I've got the Chairman on the phone,' she said.

Laura hesitated as multiple thoughts raced through her brain. Had the police been to see him already? Was he ringing to blame her for telling them? What could she possibly say to him? No, the police wouldn't have been yet. This was just an ordinary call. She had to behave normally.

She swallowed and said, 'Put him through, please.'

'Hello, Laura,' he said. 'I just thought I'd check up on how things are going as you hadn't rung me.'

No, of course she hadn't rung him. There was no way she could begin a conversation with him knowing what she knew.

'Hello, Arthur,' she replied. 'I'm sorry I haven't rung you. It's been quite manic here, and we've started the Speaking Tests today for the A levels. And there wasn't anything definite I could tell you.'

Well, that wasn't a lie, she thought.

'Any news about Richard's murderer?'

'I believe they've arrested someone but they haven't charged him,' Laura replied.

'That sounds hopeful,' said Arthur.

'Well, it's still early days. You often hear of people being released without charge, so I don't suppose we should make any assumptions just yet.'

'No, I suppose you're right,' Arthur agreed. 'I've got the photographs from Tuesday afternoon sorted out if you want me to pop in with them.'

'Oh, gosh. I've got a meeting straight after school and tomorrow I've got a full diary,' said Laura thinking quickly. 'How about Monday?'

'Yes, that's fine. I'll drop in when I've taken Jenny to her yoga class.'

'I'll see you then,' Laura said, relieved that the call was over.

### Chapter Thirty

That evening Laura arrived home, and Robert welcomed her with a kiss.

'You look tired' he said.

'It's been a day from hell,' she said. 'Would you mind if I go and have a shower and try to get my thoughts in order before I tell you what's been happening?'

'No, of course not,' Robert replied. 'The meal will be about half an hour and I'll pour you a glass of wine.'

Twenty minutes later Laura was sitting at the breakfast bar sipping her wine, while Robert finished cooking. He knew about Josh's discovery from the previous evening's conversation, and that Laura would be seeing the inspector today so he hadn't been surprised that she had had a bad day.

Laura relayed the conversation she and the inspector had had.

'I was quite surprised that he wasn't angry with me for withholding information,' she said. 'He actually said I'd done well to get Josh to open up.'

'Well, I suppose you've saved him a lot of time. He had no idea about all the blackmail, had he?'

'Well, no, but that's only because I hadn't told him,' Laura laughed. 'It's not that he missed it. He thinks he's solved the murder, if he can make the connection to this man he's arrested.'

Laura realised she was defending the inspector.

'Anyway,' she continued, 'he did seem to understand about the school's reputation and how something like this could damage it.'

Laura told Robert about the inspector's interview with Josh and the outcome.

'And then, Arthur telephoned and I had to try to act as normal as possible knowing that the police were probably on their way over there to arrest him.'

'That must have been difficult,' said Robert with a twinkle in his eye. 'You acting normal.'

Laura laughed. He could always make her laugh.

'Poor Shirley was in a dreadful state,' she continued, subdued again as she thought of poor Shirley.

'I can imagine. What will happen to Josh?'

'I really don't know. I suppose he could face criminal charges.'

Over dinner Laura told Robert about her SMT meeting. They had all been totally shocked. Amy, of course had some idea of the blackmail activities of Richard with Josh's help, but she had no idea of the discovery about Arthur. The others were totally in the dark. Laura hadn't divulged any of the information about the other victims, or even their names. She was still hopeful that this would not be necessary.

At about 9.30 the telephone rang. Robert answered.

With his hand over the mouthpiece he said, 'It's Jenny.'

Laura closed her eyes and swallowed, and then held out her hand for the phone.

'Hello Jenny,' she said.

'Laura, they've arrested Arthur,' Jenny said in a panicky voice.

'Oh, that's terrible,' Laura said not really knowing what to say. 'What happened?'

'They came about 7 o'clock with a search warrant and said it was in connection with their investigations into Richard Hart's murder. How they can imagine Arthur is involved in that I can't imagine. Anyway they searched Arthur's study and took his lap top and the hard drive from the desk top, and they wanted all his photographic stuff and went through all his papers. And then they took him away with them. He looked so bewildered.'

Laura could tell Jenny was in a terrible state. Her voice was jerky and the worry was evident. Poor Jenny was in obvious shock.

'Is there someone with you?' she asked. 'You shouldn't be alone.'

'My sister is on her way over. She'll be here in a few minutes. And I telephoned our solicitor who went straight to the police station.'

'You've done all that you can,' said Laura. 'I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?'

'No, I just wanted you to know. I really don't know what the police can be thinking. And why would they take his computer?'

Laura knew that Jenny had been involved with criminal law for many years, and was probably imagining all sorts of scenarios. Unfortunately she also knew that Jenny was going to be hurt terribly by what was going to happen. She felt so sorry for her.

As she put the receiver down, Laura burst into tears.

'Oh, Robert,' she sobbed. 'What a terrible mess. What have I done? What is going to happen?'

'You must not blame yourself for this,' Robert said as he got up to hold her tightly in his arms. 'Arthur has to pay the penalty for what he as done.'

'Yes, I know,' agreed Laura. 'But Jenny will be heartbroken. How can the world have changed so much in such a short space of time? We knew none of this a week ago, and now our lives have all been turned upside down.'

### ***

At the police station, DI Jenkins was getting ready to interview Arthur Connolly. A quick look at the laptop showed that Arthur had had the presence of mind to delete the photographs, but Jenkins was sure the evidence would still be there.

He and Todd entered the interview room where Arthur and his solicitor were waiting.

'Mr Connolly,' began Jenkins. 'Do you know why you are here?'

'You said it was in connection with Hart's death,' said Connolly in a subdued tone.

'It has come to our attention that Richard Hart had discovered information about you that he was hoping to use as blackmail.'

'I see.'

'Was he blackmailing you?'

Arthur thought carefully. He was still basically an honourable man even though he had committed a crime. It was better to make a clean breast of things now, and pay the price.

'Yes, he was,' he agreed.

Arthur proceeded to tell the inspector about the images which he had stored on his laptop. He had accumulated them over a period of time, and he gave as much information as he could so that Jenkins could pursue the other men involved. He had never met any of them, but there were half a dozen like-minded men who communicated regularly with him. Of course, they didn't reveal their true identities but Arthur was sure the inspector could track them down.

Jenkins was surprised to have the confession so easily. If truth be told, it threw him off track. His mind wandered as he thought about the next stage of his enquiry and unravelling the intricacies of the paedophile ring. He needed to find out more before he could decide the extent of Connolly's involvement.

'Mr Connolly,' he said, 'I appreciate your desire to help us with our enquiries. You will appreciate we need to pursue this further. In the meantime I'm going to give you police bail until we're in a position to decide what the charges against you will be.'

Jenkins did not believe Arthur Connolly posed a flight risk. After all, he was an old man. He had strong links, a stable family home and he had made a clean breast of it all.

'Todd,' he said. 'Will you do the necessary and then make sure Mr Connolly gets home.'

Jenkins looked at his watch. It was 1.30am on Friday morning. Hardly worth going home again!

### Chapter Thirty One

The following morning Jenkins called at the station on his way to the school. He knew he would have to let Laura Jessop know what had happened, but he wanted to see if there was any news from forensics about the murders.

Todd looked up from his desk as he entered the incident room.

'Sir,' he said, 'Forensics have found something.'

'Ah, just what I wanted to hear. What have we got?'

'Well, the baseball bat only had one set of prints, that of Logan's driver Josh Barker. And it had been wiped clean of blood, but they did find some minute traces.'

'Any match?'

'Yes. To Harry Westbury.'

'Well, isn't that interesting?' said Jenkins with a smile.

'Thought you'd be pleased,' said Todd. 'And it gets better.'

'Well come on then, spit it out.'

'In the boot of the car there was some dried blood from two different sources. Harry Westbury and Jason Burton'.

'Excellent! So we can tie Logan to Westbury and Burton and we have the video evidence directly linking Logan to Burton's murder. Nothing linking them to Hart yet?'

'No sir, they're still looking.'

'Right, well I'm off to the school this morning. You've got plenty to do. I shan't be long.'

***

Laura was looking out of her office window when the inspector pulled into the drive.

'Josie can you organise some coffee please,' she called through.

Laura knew what the visit was likely to be about, and a strong cup of coffee was entirely necessary.

When Jenkins entered her office a few minutes later, she said 'Good morning, inspector. I gather you had a busy evening.'

He looked at her quizzically.

'Jenny called me,' she said by way of explanation.

'Ah,' he said. 'Yes, it was busy, but quite profitable.'

He explained what had happened.

'So he admitted it then?' Laura said with some surprise.

'Well, I suppose he realised we had the evidence although he had tried to remove the images from his laptop. Luckily he isn't very well versed in the workings of computers.'

Just then Jenkins' mobile phone rang.

'Excuse me,' he said to Laura.

He listened intently to the voice on the other end, frowning as the caller continued to speak.

'I'll be there in about half an hour,' he said finally.

He turned to Laura saying, 'I'm sorry. I shall have to go. I'll get back to you later.'

'Of course,' said Laura.

### ***

Thirty minutes later Jenkins drove up the drive of Arthur Connolly's house in Rothbury. Luckily it was a large drive as there were numerous vehicles there.

As Jenkins got out of his car, Todd approached him.

'His wife found him about an hour ago, sir. She'd taken the dog out for a walk and found him when she got back.'

'Has she said anything else?'

'I thought I'd wait for you. She's very upset and I thought it would be better if you heard it first hand, rather than making her go through it twice. Her sister's here with her.'

'Were they both out with the dog?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Let's look at the body first, then.'

Todd led the way to Arthur Connolly's study. He was seated at his desk with his head hanging back. From the amount of blood and brain matter, and the hole in the top of his head it was obvious he had been shot in the head.

Jack Wainwright was standing over the body.

'Any thoughts?' asked Jenkins.

'It looks like suicide,' Wainwright replied. 'There's a gun in his right hand, and the wound is consistent with being self-inflicted. I shall know more when we get him back to the mortuary, but at the moment I think it's fairly cut and dried. Oh, and of course, there are these.'

Wainwright pointed to two envelopes propped up on the mantelpiece. Jenkins looked more closely and saw one was addressed to Jenny, and the other to Laura Jessop. He put on his latex gloves and picked them up and left the study.

Jenny Connolly and her sister Jackie were sitting in the kitchen nursing cups of tea. Jenny was obviously distressed, her eyes red and swollen. Jackie was sitting beside her, holding her hand and making soothing noises.

'Mrs Connolly,' the inspector began. 'I'm so sorry for your loss.'

Jenny looked at him blankly, barely comprehending what he was saying.

'I wonder if you're up to telling me what happened?'

Jackie squeezed her sister's hand.

'She's had a terrible couple of days, inspector. Can it wait?' she said.

'We'll keep it as brief as possible, but we do need to ask a few questions.'

'I'm all right,' said Jenny to her sister although she was plainly not. 'I'd rather get it over with.'

'I understand you'd gone out,' Jenkins began.

'Yes. Jackie and I took Rex out. Rex is my Labrador.'

'And what happened when you got back?'

'I shouted to Arthur, but didn't get a reply. I wasn't too concerned as he often gets immersed in things, so I went to his study and there he was.' Tears streamed down her face as she recollected the sight of her husband.

'Did your husband own a gun?' asked Jenkins.

'He had an old army gun,' she replied. 'I thought it was just a souvenir. I didn't think it could ever be used.'

'And how was he when he came home last night?'

Jenny looked at the inspector incredulously.

'How do you think he was?' she asked with some venom in her voice. 'You'd accused him of unspeakable things.'

'Is that what he told you?' Jenkins asked.

'Yes, he told me why you took his laptop away.'

It appeared that Arthur Connolly had not told his wife everything.

'And then what did he do? Did you go to bed?'

'He said he was too upset, and he needed to think. He went to his study. I tried to sleep but not very successfully. We were all up and about early this morning. Arthur seemed calmer and we had breakfast together. He said he was sorry if I was upset, and that everything would be all right.' And she sobbed again.

'But it'll never be all right again, will it?' she continued asking the question of no-one in particular.

'Mrs Connolly,' the inspector said after a while, 'Did you notice that your husband had left you a note?'

Jenny looked shocked.

'No,' she said. 'No, I didn't.'

The inspector had opened the note and placed it in a see-through bag so that it could be read without contaminating any evidence. Although it seemed most likely that Arthur had committed suicide, he couldn't be 100% sure at this time. He had read the letter.

'I'm afraid we shall have to keep the letter for the time being as evidence, but you might want to read it,' he said by way of explanation as he handed over the bag.

He watched as Jenny read her husband's final apology. It was fairly brief and hoped that she would find it in her heart to forgive him. He loved her and always had in spite of what she might think. By ending it this way he hoped to spare her further pain.

'Oh Arthur,' she sobbed. 'You silly man. We could have faced this together. How could you doubt me?'

### ***

An hour later and Jenkins was back at the school. Laura listened in horror as the inspector told her what had happened.

'Oh, no,' she cried. 'What a dreadful thing.'

Laura wasn't sure what emotions were coursing through her mind. She was shocked by the news, but had almost become numb over recent days, as if nothing else could affect her. She was saddened as Arthur had become a friend to both her and to Robert, as well as a stalwart supporter of the school. She had tremendous sympathy for Jenny who didn't deserve any of this pain. And silly, inconsequential questions flitted back and forth. Who would become the new Chairman? How would they tell people?

Jenkins handed her the letter Arthur had written, again placed in an evidence bag.

'Mr Connolly left you a note. I shall need to hang onto it, but you might want to read it now,' he said.

Laura took the bag, and started to read. But her eyes were blurred by tears.

'Could I just have a couple of minutes, inspector?' she asked, excusing herself as she left her office. She needed to recover her composure before she read Arthur's note. She had no idea what it contained, but she knew it was going to have an emotional impact.

### Chapter Thirty Two

Five minutes later and Laura returned to her office and settled herself down to read.

### My dear Laura

### I really don't know what to say to you. You must be so disappointed in me. Let me assure you that I never involved the school or the girls in anything. Until now that is and I hope that you will find a way to forgive me.

When we appointed you all those years ago, I knew that you were going to be good for the Mary Montgomery. Jenny adores the school and is so grateful for the education she received. It allowed her to be a free-thinking woman and to have the strength to turn her back on the family business and pursue the career she wanted. And the school has continued to do that for countless other young girls. I have really enjoyed working with you as we brought the school into the 21st century. You should be so proud of it.

### When Jenny agreed to be my wife I was the happiest man alive. I know people often say that, but I really was. I truly loved her and I hoped she would be my salvation. I had started to fear that I was not quite normal, and I so wanted to be normal. Perhaps had we had children things would have been different. But perhaps it is just as well. Who knows what terrible things I might have done.

### I was so worried when Richard Hart spoke to me a few weeks ago. It was the day I came into school to collect my laptop. If you recall I had left it behind after the Governors' meeting. He came up to me as I was getting into my car and said he 'knew my little secret'. He told me to drive round to the pavilion entrance as he wanted to talk to me. As he walked away, I felt as though my whole world had fallen apart. I knew things could never be the same again.

### I drove to the pavilion and he met me there. There was no-one else around. He made it clear to me that he had seen my pictures. I know it was wrong of me to have them. At first, I saw it as a way of controlling my urges. As time went on, I needed more and more of them. I have told the police everything I know so that they can deal with the other people involved. It is my earnest wish that it goes some way to repair the damage I have done.

### Richard told me he would keep my secret, but that I would have to pay him for his silence. He asked for £5,000. I couldn't do anything other than pay him. It was a lot of money, but we are well off and I was able to draw it from my savings account without Jenny knowing about it. I was naïve enough to believe that would be the end of it. But, of course it wasn't. A week later and he asked me for another £5,000. I knew I would never be free from him, and I couldn't bear the thought of Jenny finding out.

### I don't know what came over me, but the third time he asked for another instalment I decided I was going to call his bluff and tell him that would be the last payment. I went through all sorts of scenarios in my head. I decided to offer him one final payment of £20,000. I didn't think he would tell anyone what he had found, because he would have to admit how he had come by the information. I know now that was a vain hope.

### When we met last Friday night at the pavilion he thought I was just delivering my payment. I told him I was prepared to make the one final payment, but I couldn't afford to keep giving him £5,000 every week. He just laughed at me, and said he knew what I was worth, and if I didn't pay, perhaps my wife would.

### I don't know what came over me. I saw the sports store was open and just inside the door was a tub of rounders bats. Richard had walked away towards the tree, and I picked up a bat and followed him. I was so angry I couldn't control myself. I just lashed out. I don't think I intended to kill him, but I can't be sure. Anyway, it doesn't matter now. He is dead and I am responsible.

### When you told me the police thought his death was not connected with the school I thought I had been given another chance; that I could pick up the pieces and get on with my life again. But then the police came last night, and I knew everything would come out eventually even though they did not ask me about Richard's murder.

### I am so sorry that you are the one to whom I make my confession. As far as the police are concerned I have admitted to the pornography- what a terrible word that is. I suppose I still hoped I might get away with the murder.

### But when I got home earlier I saw the hurt in Jenny's eyes. I knew what I had to do. And I hope that by putting an end to it, the school will be better able to deal with the consequences of my actions. At least I will spare you all the anguish of the trial, both in court and the trial the media would put us all through.

### I am so very sorry.

### Kind regards

### Arthur

Jenkins sat quietly and watched Laura's expression as she read Arthur's letter. He knew the contents already and was kicking himself for being so blinkered about the case. If Laura hadn't uncovered the blackmail, and then pursued it, he might never have really solved Hart's murder. He would have just assumed it was one of Logan's crimes. He had a lot to be grateful to Laura for, but he would never openly admit it to her.

As she read, Laura's face showed her growing disbelief. She gasped when she read that Arthur had killed Richard. And when she finally finished she sat without speaking, unsure of what words she could possibly use.

'I'm sorry,' said Jenkins. He couldn't think of anything else to say either.

### Chapter Thirty Three

A few weeks later and the end of term loomed. In spite of all the trauma of the past few weeks the normal business of school had continued. Those who had completed their A levels faced an anxious few weeks until their results were known; results that would either confirm or deny a place at university. There had been tears as the upper sixth took their leave, hardly believing that their schooldays were finally over.

Three of the staff were also leaving, two promotions and one retirement. As their colleagues gathered in the staffroom on the last day to wish them well, thoughts inevitably turned to recent events. Everyone would remember for ever what had happened. And for most, the new school year was only a few weeks away. Things would never be quite the same again.

Laura usually enjoyed being in school during the holidays. It was such a different place without the hubbub of noisy activity. And the summer holidays were the time when classrooms were re-decorated and building works were completed. Thankfully, not much was planned for this year apart from decorating and the decorators were not due in for another week.

Laura had asked Bob Hinchcliffe and John Grainger to meet her down at Mary's Oak. The police had finally gone, and there was no evidence of the terrible tragedy of a few short weeks ago. None of the girls had been allowed down since Richard's murder, and Laura wanted to make some changes so that memories could be dulled.

'Hello, Bob,' she said, and nodded towards John. 'Good morning.'

They returned her greeting.

'What's in your mind?' Bob asked.

'Well, I would like the girls to feel able to come down here again, but I don't want to be insensitive. I wondered about planting a small tree or a garden somewhere nearby so that we can perhaps shift the focus slightly. And maybe re-paint the pavilion and brighten it up. What do you think?'

'Yes, that wouldn't be a problem,' replied John. 'But are you really sure you want to plant a tree in Richard's memory? He did some terrible things.'

'He did,' agreed Laura. 'And he hurt a lot of people. But he didn't deserve to die the way he did. And we can make it low key. It's just an acknowledgement and a way of moving on. The tree symbolises a new beginning.'

'What about adding some more seating in front of the pavilion?' asked John.

'That's a great idea,' said Laura. She noticed Bob's expression. 'You look as though you've had a thought.'

'Well, it might be a bit more than you were intending, but what about updating the interior as well?' said Bob.

The pavilion had originally been built as changing rooms, and consisted of two areas for Home and Away teams separated by a wall with a central large fireplace. The rooms were now no longer used for changing. Later renovations had provided a new toilet block at the rear, and a new heating system.

'It wouldn't take too much to knock down the central wall and remove the chimney,' he said. 'Then you'd have a much more useful space for entertaining.'

'Mmm, I like that idea,' said Laura. 'I'll leave the two of you to work out some ideas and prices and get back to me.'

As she walked back towards the school Laura reflected on what had happened since Arthur's death. Amazingly the scandal had almost died down. At first there had been disbelief and then anger followed by fear, the fear that the environment that had been so carefully chosen for their daughters had become unsafe.

But the inspector had been true to his word. He had attended an open meeting for parents with Laura and together they had reassured the parents that they had nothing to worry about. The inspector told the parents that Laura had been instrumental in solving the case, and that they should be proud to have her as the headmistress of the school. Even Mr Walsh stood up and gave Laura his public support.

In the event, only three parents had taken their daughters out of the school. And the television and news reporters were distracted by the developing news about Andy Logan. Yes, they had covered the story, but once Arthur was dead there was little more to say.

The police were still making their enquiries about the paedophile ring, of course, but that would take many months to complete as more and more links were found. By the time it reached court, Arthur's involvement would be a distant memory. What he had done was terrible, of course, and Laura would never understand why he had this fascination with young girls. But she took some comfort from the fact that he had managed to avoid involving the school, and that, at the end, he had thought of the school and how best to help it.

Even Josh had been spared. Because Richard Hart and Arthur Connolly were both dead, Jenkins decided not to pursue the matter of the blackmail. He said it would serve no purpose to bring the whole issue into the open and it would cause unnecessary suffering to the victims. Laura was beginning to see a new side to the inspector. He was capable of compassion.

And Detective Inspector Jenkins was a hero. He was credited with taking the most dangerous criminal in the area off the streets. Working with Interpol he had helped to uncover a massive diamond smuggling operation that included the smuggling of blood diamonds. Andy Logan's link to the murder of Jason Burton was firm, even without the personal testimony of Tony Banks who had disappeared into thin air. Harry Westbury had started to uncover shady practices at The Crazy Lady Casino; a fact discovered when a notebook surfaced at his office. It seemed that Andy had come to the rescue of his sister Eileen, removing the problem for her. It was still not clear who had actually killed Harry, but his blood was on the baseball bat found in Andy's club, and in the boot of Andy Logan's car in which he had been transported the short distance to the Lisle Street Underground Car Park.

In a few days Laura and Robert were flying to St Lucia. It was a favourite destination for them. The weather was usually very good, the people were incredibly friendly and it was the perfect way to unwind. She was really looking forward to getting away from it all and relaxing in the sun. And Robert would be in his element painting. He loved the island, and the contrasts; the mountains and the sea; the lush green of the rainforests and the barrenness of the heights. They would have a great time. And when the holiday was over she would start to think about the next school year. It was one of the great things about working in a school. A new year was a fresh start when the mistakes and problems of the previous year could be forgotten. That was never more important than this year.

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Personal message from Tanya Carlysle

Hi! I hope you have enjoyed reading this book. If you did, I would appreciate it if you could find the time to add a review for me on the retailer's website, and rate this book. Many thanks!

This is the first book in the Laura Jessop series, and I enjoyed developing her character alongside that of her husband, Robert, and the detective Inspector, Dave Jenkins. So much so, that I've already written two more books in the series with plans for at least one more.

If you would like a preview of my second book, You Know What They Say About Lightning, I've included a free sample in the next few pages.

Visit Tanya's website www.tanyacarlysle.com

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I'd love to know what you think of my books. You can contact me through my website and join my mailing list to make sure you hear when the next book is published.

### You Know What They Say About Lightning

### Chapter One

Laura stretched lazily on the sun lounger, looking out across the Caribbean Sea. Sandals Grande St Lucian had provided them with the most perfect of holidays to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary and Laura really didn't want it to end. Tomorrow she and Robert would head back to the airport ready for the long flight home. Tomorrow she would have to begin to think about what awaited her back in England, but for now she could continue to dream.

She closed her eyes and listened to the water lapping on the shore, and the distant call of the birds. She wished she knew more about birds and could identify the sounds she heard, but she couldn't. She was content just to enjoy the melodious background music. For the past two weeks she had barely stirred from the hotel complex, but it offered just what she needed for total relaxation, a relaxation that was essential after the tribulations of the summer term. It was fortunate that she and Robert had planned their summer holiday and were able to escape to this magical island.

There was a lot to be said for an all-inclusive holiday that didn't allow children in the hotel she thought as she reached for her BBC, a delicious concoction of Bailey's, bananas and coconut cream.

Robert had taken the opportunity for some last minute painting and had set off earlier that morning in their hire car. The scenes he had captured were so vibrant, and so different from his normal work. There was such variety: the mountains with their accompanying deep valleys and gorges, the mountainous rainforests, the huge banana plantations, and of course the wonderful beaches and the sea. Although he loved the North East, it was so sombre compared with St Lucia.

It was little wonder that England and France had fought for many years over this beautiful island. Originally owned by the French, it became a British dependency in 1814 and was now fully independent and a member of the British Commonwealth. Laura loved the people and the relaxed pace of life. This was their third visit to the island, and she knew they would return again.

'Hi, there,' called Robert as he approached along the beach. 'I thought I would find you here.'

'Hello, darling,' she replied. 'How has your day been?'

'Great, but there's so much more I could have done. We shall have to come back again soon.'

'Just what I was thinking,' agreed Laura.

'I'm going for a dip in the pool,' said Robert. 'Are you going to join me?'

Laura considered whether she had enough energy to move. It was very tempting to stay where she was, but she did want to cool down. A dip in the pool was just what she needed. She gathered her belongings and took a last look across the sea towards the island of Martinique. Little sail boats were dotted about, and the water truly was a brilliant aquamarine against the azure of the cloudless sky. What a magical place it was!

She linked hands with Robert as they walked slowly back towards their room. They had a ground floor room which opened directly onto the gardens full of hibiscus and bougainvillea. Two enormous butterflies drifted past. It really was a little bit of Paradise. Laura sighed with regret that this would be their last night. Better make the most of it then. She quickly changed into her swimsuit and joined Robert in the pool.

### ***

The following day, on the long drive to the airport, Laura tried not to think about school, but inevitably she did. The holiday had worked its magic and she did feel stronger and ready to face things again. It was hard to believe what had happened in the past few months. It had all begun on her birthday in May, a lovely sunny Saturday which was suddenly destroyed by that phone call.

Bob Hinchcliffe, her Bursar, called with the shocking news that Richard Hart, her head Caretaker, had been found murdered in the school grounds. She had thought the world of Richard, believing him to be a loyal member of staff. He and his wife Shirley had worked for the school for many years and lived in one of the cottages in the school grounds together with Josh, Shirley's son from her first marriage. News of Richard's death rocked the school community, but the ensuing investigation discovered so many secrets that should have remained hidden.

It had all been so terrible on so many levels, not least those secrets Laura wished she didn't now know. She was annoyed with herself for being so gullible but she had always been one for believing the best of people. On balance she still thought that was the right thing to do but there was no doubt that there were some very unpleasant people about.

In spite of the dreadful memories, Laura smiled as she recalled her first meeting with DI Dave Jenkins. He had reminded her of the TV detective, Columbo, and she had been less than impressed. In the end though they had worked together to solve the murder, and DI Jenkins had been generous enough to acknowledge this fact in public, persuading the parents of girls in her school that they were very lucky to have Laura Jessop as their headmistress.

Chapter Two

As she gazed into space, Robert said, 'Come in number five. Your time is up!'

'Sorry, I was miles away,' Laura laughed. 'Quite literally actually.'

'I thought you might be. Can't you just enjoy the final moments of our holiday?'

'Yes, of course,' smiled Laura. She felt guilty that she might be spoiling Robert's day. 'It has been fabulous, hasn't it? Exactly what we needed. I feel so refreshed. How about you?'

'Oh, yes. I love this island. I'm so pleased we discovered it on our honeymoon. It's just a pity it isn't a bit closer so we could come here more often.'

'Yes, but then it wouldn't be so magical. Part of its charm is that it's a world away from home.'

Laura wasn't looking forward to the flight home. She was not a very confident flyer, and Robert had to squeeze her hand tightly as they took off and landed. Once they were in the air, it wasn't too bad although she hated turbulence and any unexplained noises. And she knew she wouldn't sleep on the way home. She had never been able to relax enough to sleep on a plane. She joked that she had to remain awake in case the pilot needed her help! A psychologist would undoubtedly explain her behaviour in terms of control issues. She obviously did not feel at all in control of the situation! At least her fears were not bad enough to prevent her from flying all together. If they had been she would never have discovered the magic of the island of St Lucia, and that would have been a terrible shame.

In the event the journey back to Gatwick was uneventful, although as predicted Laura had not slept. She really envied Robert his ability to switch off completely. As he slept she kept herself amused with a very funny film, _Mr Popper's Penguins,_ laughing out loud at the outrageous humour and hoping she would not waken the other passengers. She also worked her way through several sudokus and a couple of cryptic crosswords. Although her eyelids felt heavy and she willed herself to want to sleep it was all to no avail.

They had chosen to fly overnight and it was just after nine o'clock in the morning as they emerged into the Arrivals hall.

'Laura! Laura!'

Laura turned not expecting to see anyone she knew. Their car was in the nearby long term parking area and Robert was intending to do the driving back up to the North East.

Her heart sank as she saw Bob Hinchcliffe. 'What on earth are you doing here? Is everything all right? Not trouble again?'

'Can we go and get a coffee somewhere?' Bob asked.

'Bob, you are the most infuriating man! For goodness sake tell me why you're here,' Laura said.

Bob looked apologetic. 'I'm sorry, but there's a problem at school. They've found another body.'

Laura stared at him without speaking. She couldn't think of anything sensible to say. She almost believed she was still on the plane and had, by some miracle, managed to fall asleep. This surely was a dream!

Eventually Robert asked, 'Is it connected with Richard? Where was it found?'

'No, it's nothing to do with Richard. The builders found it when they were renovating the pavilion.'

Richard's body had been found under Mary's Oak next to the pavilion in the school grounds. Mary's Oak was a lovely old oak tree with a bench seat and had been a favourite spot with the girls at the school before the terrible tragedy. Laura had hoped that by renovating the pavilion and creating a new garden area she could erase some of the painful memories. The pavilion was an old building that originally had two rooms separated by a wall with a large central fireplace. The proposed renovations included knocking down the central wall and removing the chimney.

Laura managed to find her voice. 'So who was it?'

'They don't know yet,' replied Bob. 'It was walled up in the old fireplace. It's been there some time.'

'You know, that idea of coffee seems a good one,' said Laura. 'I haven't slept for nearly twenty four hours and I need something to help me think more clearly.'

A few minutes later the three of them sat nursing cups of strong coffee.

'So why are you here?' asked Robert.

'Well, as Laura had left her travel details with Josie, we didn't want to risk her hearing about it all before we had the chance to tell her, so I said I'd fly down. It seemed better than telling you over the phone,' he said turning to Laura.

Laura was touched. 'That's so thoughtful, Bob. I really do appreciate it. When did it all happen?'

'A couple of days ago, on Tuesday. The workmen moved in on Monday, and had just started to remove the fireplace when they found it. I really didn't want to ring you in St Lucia. There was nothing you could have done, and as the body has obviously been there for some time there was no real urgency. They've managed to keep it out of the press so far, but not for much longer I think.'

'No,' said Laura thoughtfully. 'So they have no idea who it is?'

'Not as far as I know,' said Bob. 'Apparently it's a young woman but they will have to do more tests and check with missing persons.

'Do they know how long she's been there?' asked Robert.

'It seems likely that the body's been there since the fireplace was blocked up, about twenty years ago.'

'Wouldn't there have been a smell or something?' Laura asked.

'Apparently there was still a vent through the chimney, and the blocking up did a good job of sealing it from the rooms,' Bob replied.

'I can't believe it's all happening again,' said Laura. 'It's all so improbable somehow.'

'It is a bit of a coincidence,' Robert agreed. 'But this is totally different. If it happened twenty years ago, there's probably some perfectly reasonable explanation.'

'Oh, Robert,' said Laura, 'I know you're trying to help, but how can there be a reasonable explanation of the body of a young woman being found walled up in an old fireplace?'

Robert looked shamefaced. 'Sorry. You're right, of course.'

'No, I'm sorry, darling. I was a bit sharp. Blame it on the lack of sleep and the shock,' said Laura. 'I suppose we should get back and face the music.'

'I only booked a one-way ticket,' said Bob. 'Can I beg a lift? I'll share the driving, if you like.'

