Cold Heart

by Stephen Edger

Genres: Mystery; Police Procedurals; Thrillers; Crime Fiction

Synopsis

It has been a week since anyone last saw fifteen-year-old Daisy, after she left her best friend’s house and started her short walk home. Detective Kate Matthews and her team have been looking for her ever since. When a tip-off leads Kate to a disused gymnasium at Daisy’s school, she is shocked to find evidence linking to the murder of a different girl. Working the two cases side by side, Kate’s blood runs cold when a gift-wrapped box containing a human heart is delivered to her at the station. The heart belongs to yet another unknown victim, but the message is clear: there will be more, and Daisy could be one of them. When activity on Daisy’s Facebook account indicates she is still alive, the race is on for Kate and her team. Will Daisy be the killer’s next victim? Is Kate prepared to risk everything to stop another innocent life from being taken? This absolutely unputdownable crime thriller will have fans of Angela Marsons, Peter James and Rachel Abbott biting their nails long after the final twist has sunk in. What readers are saying about Cold Heart : ‘ Woah!! Now this is a thriller! This is my first time reading a book by this author, and it won’t be my last! His writing is so full of suspense!! And the twists!! Holy guacamole!! This is a DEFINITE MUST READ!! ’ Netgalley Reviewer, 5 stars ‘Boom! What a bloody fantastic book. Wow what can I say, this book was amazing… Totally didn’t see the ending coming, it was captivating, suspenseful and unputdownable. I was hanging on to every word not wanting to stop reading because I just had to know what was going to happen next… I want to give this six stars! ’ Bonnie’s Book Talk, 5 stars ‘This book is really good and had me turning page after page. In fact, I read this in as close to one sitting as any book I've ever read.’ Nigel Adams Bookworm, 5 stars ‘ My heart was racing throughout this novel! Twists and turns galore, little hints dangled in front of you to tantalise before being snatched away, leaving your head in a spin and your reading speed almost matching that of a formula one racer as you raced to the end to find out what happened… Had me glued to the book from start to finish. If I hadn't needed some sleep this one would have been a one sitting read that's for sure.’ Chapterinmylife ‘This book is a roller-coaster of a read. Thrilling and spellbinding. Absolutely magnificent. A fast moving, unnerving and heart pounding masterpiece. Loved it from start to finish and am sad, feel bereft that it's over although I read it in one setting.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘This novel will keep you guessing until the end…and you’ll guess wrong! I couldn’t put this book down! ’ Tropical Delusions, 5 stars ‘ Twists and turns galore which I love. And what a whammy of a finish. I would highly recommend it.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘ So many twists and turns it was difficult to catch your breath at times. I certainly didn't guess the ending… ’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars ‘ Hooked until the very last page. Fantastic book, great writing and highly recommended.’ Stardust Book Reviews, 5 stars

Release date: March 12, 2018

Publisher: Bookouture

Print pages: 342

Sample

‘I can’t believe it’s been a week already,’ Mrs Kilpatrick said, as she squeezed back behind her desk. A conservatively dressed woman in her late forties, she had the face of someone who had seen it all and come out the other side to tell the tale. Kate didn’t think there was much that could shock her. ‘Take a seat,’ she offered, pointing at the two chairs opposite her desk, both of which had worn patches where the stuffing was starting to poke through the stitching. ‘Budget cuts,’ she explained, as she saw DI Kate Matthews eyeing the fabric. ‘Can’t even afford new chairs, yet they expect me to lose another ten per cent by Christmas.’

The office wasn’t very big and along both main walls were cabinets overflowing with textbooks and binders. A large monitor sat in one corner, surrounded by piles of paper and pots of lidless pens. The clock on the wall behind her showed it was nearly seven and a dark, menacing sky enveloped the window below it. The winter blizzard had yet to arrive, but there was no doubt it was on its way.

‘We’d like to thank you for allowing us to be in the school today,’ Kate said, keen to keep relations with the head teacher as amicable as possible. DS Samir Patel lowered himself into the remaining chair beside her.

‘Did you find anything that might aid your investigation?’ Mrs Kilpatrick asked.

‘The teachers and students we’ve spoken to have certainly helped us develop a better understanding of Daisy’s character,’ Kate responded, not wishing to divulge anything pertinent to the enquiry. ‘Before we wrap up for the day, we hoped you might be able to share your personal experiences and views about Daisy as a pupil.’

Mrs Kilpatrick’s chair squeaked as she leaned back in it slightly and looked off into the distance. ‘I don’t know what else I can tell you that her tutors haven’t already said: she’s a popular girl, keeps her head down and achieves strong grades. Her behaviour has never been questioned until…’ Her words trailed off.

Kate narrowed her eyes, keen to extract any clue – however minor – to help her understand why fifteen-year-old Daisy Emerson never made it home seven days ago. ‘And you’re not aware of anything that might have been troubling Daisy in the days or weeks before her disappearance?’

Mrs Kilpatrick’s tight dark curls shook with her head. ‘I’m sorry, but no. Unfortunately, it’s usually the troublemakers of this school who capture my attention. She was a good girl, and I’m afraid that’s about as much as I can tell you.’

It was the same message Kate and Patel had heard from everyone they had questioned over the course of the day. The picture being painted was of a girl who was destined to go on to great things; a girl who worked hard, wasn’t any trouble and made friends easily. But in Kate’s experience, even the most innocent of victims had secrets they kept well hidden.

‘Mrs Kilpatrick,’ Patel said, picking up on the break in the conversation, ‘what can you tell us about Mr Vardan?’

‘Ismael?’ Mrs Kilpatrick asked, looking puzzled. ‘What about him?’

‘He’s Daisy’s form tutor, correct?’ Patel asked, keeping his face taut.

The doubt remained. ‘That’s right. He joined us this year. And a very competent teacher he is too.’

Kate watched her reactions as Patel continued to speak.

‘And presumably all his Disclosure and Barring checks came back clear?’

Mrs Kilpatrick looked from Patel to Kate. ‘The DBS checks were fine. What exactly is it you are trying to imply?’

‘We just want to understand how much you know about Mr Vardan, that’s all,’ Patel answered, adding a non-threatening smile.

‘You’re referring to those internet articles, aren’t you?’

Kate remained silent, still watching.

‘Ismael was very open about all that when he came for interview,’ Mrs Kilpatrick retorted. ‘We completed our due diligence, and there were no question marks left against his reputation. He’s a very good teacher from a difficult background.’

‘And you signed off on his approval for the role, didn’t you?’ Patel pressed.

Mrs Kilpatrick’s cheeks reddened. ‘I did. He passed all of the thorough checks the county undertakes and those internet articles were proved to be false. I’ve personally encouraged him to take civil action against the individual responsible for them.’

Kate couldn’t blame Mrs Kilpatrick for jumping to the defence of one of her teachers; she would do the same for any of the detectives in her team. But Kate also couldn’t ignore what they’d been told.

‘The pupil who posted those stories,’ Kate said evenly, ‘he was one of Vardan’s pupils at his last school, correct?’

Mrs Kilpatrick glared at Kate. ‘I assume you’ve read what the boy posted, but he admitted to making up the allegations in order to try and blackmail his teacher into giving him better grades. Ismael was found innocent of all of the allegations and handled what must have been a horrific situation with commendable dignity. When he applied to join us here at St Bartholomew’s, he wanted a fresh start at a more accepting facility. Thus far, I have no reason to regret my decision to offer him the second chance he craved.’

‘What was Vardan’s relationship with Daisy?’ Kate asked.

Mrs Kilpatrick glared at her. ‘He was her form tutor and English teacher.’

Kate sat forward. ‘What I mean was: did they get on? Did the two of you ever discuss Daisy Emerson formally, or informally?’

Mrs Kilpatrick sighed. ‘We meet every term to discuss his class and any concerns he has over pupils’ aptitude or behaviour. He never presented any concerns about Daisy that I can recall.’

‘What about your other teachers?’ Kate pressed.

‘What about them?’ Mrs Kilpatrick fired back.

‘Did any of them express concern about Vardan’s relationship with Daisy?’

‘What are you getting at, detective?’

Kate glanced at Patel, before continuing. ‘I’m simply asking whether any of the other faculty members ever expressed concerns to you about Vardan’s relationship with his pupils, Daisy in particular.’

‘Nothing that caused me any concern. Forgive me, detective, but if you’re alluding to something specific, you’ll have to enlighten me.’

Kate folded her arms. ‘So that we’re clear then, none of your staff members or pupils came to you to express concern or worry about Ismael Vardan’s behaviour towards, or treatment of, Daisy Emerson?’

Mrs Kilpatrick looked like she wanted to say something, but instead she tightened her lips and shook her head.

Kate didn’t like it when people lied to her, but she forced a smile. ‘Do you have the paperwork that you completed when hiring Mr Vardan?’

‘I do, but I’m not about to hand it over until you tell me why you want it. If you’re insinuating that Ismael had anything to do with Daisy running away, I think you need to—’

‘I’m not insinuating anything, Mrs Kilpatrick,’ Kate interrupted. ‘But I need to be thorough with my investigation into what could have happened to Daisy. You’ve seen the kind of media coverage her disappearance has generated already, so I’m sure you understand that I need to dot every “i” and cross every “t”. So far, we’ve yet to establish why Daisy decided to run away last Friday. When I’m told that she had a close relationship with a form tutor, a man previously accused of inappropriate behaviour with a pupil, it would be amiss for me not to ask awkward questions.’

Mrs Kilpatrick was doing a poor job of hiding her contempt, but she reluctantly scribbled a note on the pad in front of her. ‘It’ll take me a bit of time to dig it up. Can I email it to you?’

Kate threw one of her business cards onto the desk. ‘You understand that I need this information as quickly as possible?’

Mrs Kilpatrick dropped the card into her desk drawer. ‘I’ll send it as soon as I can.’

Kate glanced at Patel again, who shrugged to confirm he had no other questions. Kate clapped her hands together and stood. ‘Well, we’ll be on our way now. I do hope you’ll keep us informed of any other rumours you hear involving Daisy? It’s only a matter of time before we track her down, and any support you and your staff here can provide will be gratefully received.’

A sudden commotion caused the three of them to spin round as an older man with cropped white hair and a thick, bushy moustache burst through the office door. ‘Thank God you’re still here.’ He inhaled heavily as he tried to compose himself. ‘You’ve got to come with me.’

‘What is it, Mr Linus?’ Mrs Kilpatrick asked for the three of them.

‘The sports hall,’ he panted back. ‘There’s someone in there.’

Kate could see the concern in his eyes. ‘And that’s unusual because?’

‘The hall’s been out of use for several months,’ Mrs Kilpatrick confirmed, standing and reaching for her coat. ‘It’s due to be demolished in a few weeks. It’s been locked up for some time. Who’s in there, Mr Linus? Students?’

He waved a hand in disagreement as he continued to suck in air. ‘No, not students… the place is still locked up, but as I was doing my rounds… I looked through the window… and… and… there was a body.’

Kate hurried along the corridor, surprised at the pace the wiry caretaker was keeping. He’d taken off from the office so fast that Kate hadn’t yet been able to confirm exactly what he’d seen. She followed him through a maze of darkened school corridors, only stopping when they reached the set of double doors leading outside. Light from a nearby lamppost flooded through the glass panels in the doors. Fishing into his pocket, a ring of keys jangled as he removed them and searched for the one needed to unlock the fire doors.

Mrs Kilpatrick and Patel joined them a moment later, each wearing looks of confused concern. Linus cursed as the keys fell from his hands and clattered to the floor and Kate seized her chance, stooping to pick them up for him and looking him dead in the eye. ‘Just take a moment and tell us what you saw, Mr Linus.’

His hands trembled as she placed the keys into his open palm. ‘It was like I said: a body.’

Kate rested her hand on his to steady it. ‘Where, Mr Linus? Where was this body?’

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. ‘I was doing my nightly rounds, you see; checking the school is locked up. I have a routine. I do all the outer buildings first, and then move to the main facility. But when I approached the sports hall… there was something not right… nobody’s been near the place in weeks – well, apart from the building inspector and project manager – but someone’s changed the padlock on the door.’ His story still didn’t explain the pallid nature of his face, or the sweat clinging to his temple.

‘Go on,’ Kate encouraged. ‘What next?’

‘Well, I know the lock was new, because it didn’t have any rust like what the old one did, and none of my keys fitted it. But I swear it wasn’t there a couple of days ago when I let the building inspector in. Someone has changed it.’

Kate spun and looked to Mrs Kilpatrick for support. ‘Is it possible one of the builders or teachers changed the padlock?’

But Mrs Kilpatrick frowned back at her. ‘I don’t know why any of them would. There’s nothing valuable left in there; we only have the padlock to keep the students getting in. It’s not safe, you see – the roof, I mean – that’s why it’s going to be knocked down. The council can’t afford to improve our budget, but it seems they can afford to put a swimming pool in its place. Work starts in a few weeks.’

Kate turned back to Linus. ‘And where is this body you saw?’

Linus’s skin seemed to pale further. ‘I continued my check of the building – there’s a fire exit and window at the rear – and it was as I looked through the window that I saw her.’

‘Her?’ Kate’s pulse quickened.

He nodded ominously. ‘It was covered by a cloth of some sort – but the shape… definitely female.’

Kate’s mind raced for a satisfactory alternative as to why Linus thought he had seen the outline of a female inside a locked and disused sports hall, but nothing fit. ‘Okay, Mr Linus. Take us to this window.’

Once outside, Kate shone the torch on her smartphone through the window into the dark hall, but it was almost impossible to see anything more than ten feet away. Pressing her nose to the glass, she studied the floor inside as she moved the beam around. Then she spotted it. Almost out of sight, a bundle beneath a blanket.

‘We’d better take a look inside,’ Kate muttered to Patel. She looked back to Mrs Kilpatrick. ‘You said it wasn’t safe to be inside, what exactly is wrong with the building?’

‘Some of the ceiling tiles are starting to come loose. The building inspector and I have been in several times without injury; I have hard hats you can use if you want to go in, but just be careful.’

Kate nodded for her to fetch the equipment, before facing Linus, who looked like he might keel over at any moment. ‘Do you have any kind of bolt cutters? Or something we can use to cut through that padlock?’

He didn’t respond at first, still staring at the glass.

Kate gently touched his arm. ‘Mr Linus?’

He looked up.

‘Do you have any kind of tool we can use to cut through the padlock?’ Kate repeated.

‘Uh… yes, yes I do. I have bolt cutters. They’ll work, right?’

Kate nodded. ‘Thank you. We’ll meet you back at the front door to the sports hall.’

She waited until Linus had moved away from the building. ‘Thoughts?’

Patel raised his eyebrows. ‘We’re in a secondary school as secure as they come. You saw the security cameras at the gate where we entered this morning? A girl is missing and everyone here is on edge. Do I really think there’s a dead body in that sports hall covered in a tarp? No, but it’ll only take us five minutes to know for sure.’

Kate cupped her hands and breathed warm air onto them. ‘Agreed.’

Patel and Kate completed a perimeter inspection of the sports hall building, finishing back at the entrance. Kate shone her light on the padlock. ‘It definitely looks new.’

Patel stifled a yawn, and nodded his agreement.

‘Here you go,’ Mrs Kilpatrick said, as she approached them holding out yellow hard hats. ‘I can call the building inspector out if you think it would help?’

‘Could you check whether he or any of his team know anything about this new padlock?’ Kate replied. ‘Between the three of us, I doubt there’s anything to be worried about inside, but we’ll check to put Mr Linus’s mind at ease. Tell me, how long has he been the caretaker here at St Bartholomew’s?’

‘He’s been here longer than I have,’ she replied, affectionately. ‘He’s part of the infrastructure.’

‘And is he prone to…’ Kate searched for the right word.

‘Delusions?’ Mrs Kilpatrick offered.

‘I was going to say overreacting.’

‘No, he knows his job and he carries it out with the minimum of fuss.’

Kate thanked her as Linus reappeared holding a pair of the bolt cutters. As he approached them, Kate was sure she could smell the faint trace of whisky on his breath. He passed the cutters to Patel, who quickly snapped the lock.

‘I’d like the two of you to remain out here,’ Kate warned Linus and Mrs Kilpatrick, before opening the door and reaching for the light switch immediately to her left. Darkness remained. ‘The lights aren’t working?’

‘Oh, power’s been cut,’ Linus confirmed. ‘Building inspector wanted everything switching off ahead of the demolition. I can find you a torch if you’d like?’

Kate shook her head, flicking the torch from her phone back on and encouraging Patel to do the same. ‘Never mind. What can you tell me about the layout?’

Linus pointed ahead of them. ‘The main hall is through those doors there. Off to the left there are doors leading to storage rooms where we used to house the vaulting horses and such. Oh, and there is a room to the right where the old gymnasium equipment is now kept; exercise bikes and the like. The window we looked through is at the far side of the hall. I’ll see what I can do to get some power back in there for you.’

Closing the door behind them, Kate shone the beam around the inside of the entrance. Immediately to their right were two doors, leading to what would have been the boys and girls changing rooms and toilets. Bypassing those, they pulled open the door to the hall and were greeted by a stale smell of dried sweat and varnished wood.

‘The window is over there in the south-east corner,’ Patel offered, shining his light ahead of them, ‘which means the tarpaulin should be ahead of us here.’

Walking side-by-side, their torch beams slid over the soft wooden floor following the faded painted lines marking out various courts. Kate shuddered as a draught overhead ruffled through her hair.

‘This place gives me the creeps,’ Patel muttered.

Kate could understand; there was a deathly silence, and their phone lights were throwing strange shadows across the walls where the beams hit PE apparatus on the walls. It was hard not to think of their own kids in a place like this; wondering if they were safe, tucked up at home and waiting for them. They crept towards the tarpaulin, the air suddenly feeling much cooler around them.

‘Shall I do the honours?’ Patel offered, nudging the material with his foot.

‘Together,’ Kate proposed, bending and clutching the end of the material. It felt damp.

She waited for Patel to grip an edge, and then the two of them carefully raised it up and over the mound. Kate’s phone clattered to the floor as she saw the lifeless eyes staring back up at her.

Kate stumbled backwards, dropping to her knees, as she scrambled to retrieve her phone and its light.

‘A doll!’ Patel gasped. ‘It’s a doll, ma’am. Thank goodness.’

Her heart racing, Kate threw herself closer to the body, her torch in her hand. Lifeless painted eyes stared back at her, and as she took in the pink-coloured plastic skin, painted lips and fake, ratty hair around them she knew he was right.

‘It’s one of those resuscitation aids, isn’t it?’ Patel continued, raising his own torch so he could see Kate’s face. A small chuckle escaped. ‘That explains the outline, I suppose. Should I break it to the caretaker, or do you want to?’

For a moment, when the tarpaulin had first been pulled away, Kate had seen Daisy’s face staring up at her from the floor: the short brunette bob, the smattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose, the smooth and taut skin, it had all been there. Her cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

A flicker above their heads confirmed that Linus had managed to reconnect the power as the halogen strip lights buzzed into life, lighting up every inch of the old hall. With the gloomy shadows suddenly evaporated, their own sense of foreboding disappeared just as quickly. Off to their left two treadmills, a couple of exercise bikes and a rowing machine lay idly by, covered in layers of dust.

‘Seems like such a waste, doesn’t it?’ Patel offered, moving over to the equipment. ‘I mean, I know this stuff is pretty dated now, but I reckon I could still work up a sweat on it.’

Kate joined him, spotting a punch bag and chain propped up against the wall. ‘I should ask the supe whether we have budget to buy it off them. I could just see this punch bag hanging in the incident room for us to work out our stresses.’ She paused as a realisation dawned. ‘Didn’t Linus say all the gym equipment was being held in one of the storage rooms?’

‘So?’

‘So, why is it out now?’

‘Maybe someone moved it ahead of the demolition,’ Patel offered, pointing at where some of the dust had been disturbed on the handles of one of the bikes.

Kate looked from the equipment back to the door to the storage room to their right. ‘Hmm… maybe.’ But then she spotted something else out of place and marched purposefully to the door without another word, using the light on her phone to brighten the red smear that had caught her attention. ‘Is this… blood?’ she called over her shoulder.

Patel jogged over to where she had crouched, studying the dried stain on the panel above the handle, careful not to touch it.

‘Maybe one of the builders cut himself?’ Patel offered, always hunting for the most logical of explanations.

‘Maybe,’ Kate agreed, standing and removing a sealed packet of white forensic gloves from her pocket, and snapping them on. ‘Stand back a sec, would you?’ she asked, as she carefully took hold of the handle, and slowly lowered it. She paused with the door halfway open.

‘Can you smell that?’

‘Sickly sweet?’ Patel suggested as he sniffed the air. ‘Strawberries?’

Kate pulled the door further, stepped through to the adjoining room and immediately wished she hadn’t. Her blood went cold as she took in the translucent plastic sheeting lining most of the floor of the former gymnasium, the reddy-brown smears that clung to it and sprayed up the walls, and the strawberry-scented air fresheners that hung all around her. Kate covered her mouth with her arm as she recognised the unmistakeable copper smell of blood beneath their fragrance. She swayed backwards as Patel stepped around her to see for himself. Opening his mouth to speak, he found nothing.

‘What the hell…’ was all Kate managed to say.

Kate had witnessed many a murder scene in her years as a detective, but only metres from where children had played outside just this afternoon, she knew something truly horrific had occurred.

‘Get Scientific Services here now,’ Kate commanded, not willing to take a step further, for fear of contaminating the scene.

Unable to answer, Patel left to make the call.

A large white tent now covered the entrance to the sports hall where those few allowed admittance to the scene could change into protective polythene suits. The scene-of-crime team from the Scientific Services Department had arrived twenty minutes ago and were analysing and documenting every inch of the gymnasium, after which they would pack up their findings for further forensic examination back at the lab.

Several portable floodlights had been erected outside the tent so nobody would stumble on the slippery tarmac where a fresh downpour was beginning to freeze underfoot.

‘They reckon it might snow,’ Patel commented, warming his hands on the mug of coffee Mrs Kilpatrick had made them when Kate had briefed her on why the sports hall was now out of bounds to all staff members and pupils.

A figure in white emerged from the tent and hurried over to them. ‘DI Matthews?’ the technician said, his eyes wired with worry. ‘I need you to follow me, please.’

Kate passed her mug to Patel and proceeded to the small tent, putting on the protective overalls and following the young technician back into the hall. He didn’t utter a word as he led her to the familiar face of pathologist, Dr Ben Temple.

He immediately picked up on her surprised look. ‘I was at the SSD lab when the call went out,’ he explained, ‘and you’ll be glad I came. Follow me.’

Without another word, he stepped into the small gym, the plastic sheeting crackling as he trod on it, being careful not to disturb the other technicians who were crouched and huddled around the room. Kate stepped where he did, as camera flashes reflected off the blood-spattered walls.

‘We found it over there,’ he commented, pointing to where some of the plastic sheet was bunched in the far corner, behind the standard lamp. ‘It’s impossible to know whether it was left there deliberately or by accident,’ he continued solemnly, as he stopped where another technician was busy snapping images. Ben gently tapped the figure in white on the shoulder, and the technician stepped to one side, allowing Kate to see what it was.

‘Oh my God,’ Kate whispered under her breath.

The foot was lying on its side, the little toe closest to the floor, the yellowing sole staring back at them.

Kate choked back the urge to retch. ‘It’s so… small.’

Ben nodded. ‘Based on the heel-to-ball length, the narrow instep and the medial and lateral malleoli heights, I’d say we’re looking at a female foot.’

Kate was filled with dread. ‘And can you estimate the likely age of the victim?’

‘Conservatively, based on the size and shape of the foot, I’d say a young adult, certainly below the age of twenty.’

Kate didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but a severed foot belonging to a female under the age of twenty found in the school that missing girl Daisy attended was hard to ignore.

‘I’ll need to take it back to the lab to examine it further,’ Ben continued, ‘but I saw some blistering on the ball of the foot, which could indicate the victim was regularly on their feet. We’ll get a DNA profile created as a priority and let you know the results as soon as we have them.’

Kate glanced around the rest of the room. ‘Have you found any… anything else?’

‘Looking at the tearing of the flesh above the ankle, I would estimate some kind of electrical circular saw was used to make the cut. It would also explain some of the haphazard spray on the walls. No sign of the tool, though.’

‘Electrical?’ Kate questioned. ‘The place has been without power for several weeks according to the caretaker. How recently do you think the foot was removed?’

‘We’re talking a couple of days at most, not weeks,’ Ben said gravely. ‘They could have used a battery-powered saw, I suppose.’

‘Do you think you’d be able to find a match?’ Kate asked hopefully. ‘Might help us narrow down a suspect pool.’

‘I’ll do what I can,’ he promised, silently mouthing, ‘are you okay?’

Kate took a deep breath and nodded reassuringly.

Ben continued to study her face, his eyes telling her he was there when she needed him. She gently touched his arm. ‘I’ll leave you to it. I need to speak to the head teacher and caretaker again. Call me the moment you have news?’

Kate couldn’t wait to escape the hall, peeling her overalls off in the tent and dumping them in the disposal sack, before heading back out to Patel. She was pleased to see that DCs Laura Trotter, Olly Quinlan and Vicky Rogers had arrived. Beyond them, additional portable lights had b. . .