They’d gathered in the far corner of the common room, perched on a leather sofa and chairs and leaning in to hear each other speak. The room was packed with bored students in various stages of relaxation – some played board games, others read books or gossiped.
The ambient noise was loud enough they’d thought they could talk here without being noticed.
‘Wait,’ Sylvain said, before Nicole could proceed. ‘Pretend to talk about something fun. Like football.’
‘Football isn’t fun,’ Rachel said pointedly and Nicole giggled.
Even though everything was still bad, even though nothing had yet been resolved, the mere fact that they were at last doing something lightened the heavy atmosphere. They weren’t in the dark any more. They were involved, investigating – and they were finding out what was going on.
With a beleaguered sigh, Sylvain pulled a polished mahogany box of chess pieces from underneath the occasional table in front of them and began to set them up on the chessboard painted directly on to the table top. Black on the right, white on the left.
Glancing up, he caught Allie’s eye and motioned for her to sit across from him on the floor. After a brief hesitation, she did as he requested.
‘We can talk about anything,’ he explained, ‘as long as we look like everyone else. People see what they want to see.’
When he looked up from the board, the light caught his eyes and fractured like sunlight on water.
‘I haven’t played chess since…’ Allie’s voice trailed off. She picked up a ceramic pawn; it was cold in her hand. The colour of snow. ‘Well. I used to play with Jo.’
‘I remember.’ The compassion in his voice made her feel better and worse all at once. She was glad when he let the topic go. ‘You be white.’
‘Now,’ he said to everyone else. ‘Pretend to watch us while you talk. And try to keep your voices low.’ He glanced back at Allie with an encouraging smile. ‘Your move.’
Seeing that he was serious, Allie’s hand hovered over the board for a moment. Then she chose a pawn and slid it forward one square. He countered instantly with one of his own.
‘They’re holding Eloise in one of the old staff cottages,’ Rachel said, her voice low and steady. ‘We saw Raj and Jerry and the whole Scooby gang heading into the school from somewhere, and then leave again. Zoe followed them.’
In the middle of a move Allie paused, a pawn forgotten in her hand. ‘By herself? Was that safe?’
‘Of course it was safe,’ Carter snapped before Zoe could speak. ‘The teachers aren’t going to hurt her.’
His tone was unnecessarily sharp and Allie shot him a reproachful look before turning back to the game. The moment in Isabelle’s office was obviously over.
She slid the pawn next to one of Sylvain’s – close, but just out of reach.
‘Whatever,’ she whispered so quietly only Sylvain could hear. Across the chessboard he smiled at her conspiratorially and she found herself smiling, too.
‘Tell them what you found,’ Nicole whispered to Zoe, who sat next to her.
‘They’re in a cottage – not Mr Ellison’s. Another one, near the pond in the woods. Kind of rundown, really overgrown.’ She studied the chessboard critically. ‘You’re not using your bishop right, Allie.’
Perplexed, Allie looked at the piece with its mitred top and wondered what would be the right way to use it.
‘I know that place,’ Carter said. ‘It used to be staff housing but then they quit using it for some reason a few years ago. I think it needed repairs or something and Isabelle never got around to it.’
‘Did you see Eloise?’ Rachel leaned closer. ‘How is she?’
Zoe shook her head. ‘I only heard her. They all went inside and then I could hear them talking. They said the key didn’t work. They kept asking her for the right key.’ She looked around the group. ‘What does that mean?’
Sylvain moved his queen forward four squares.
‘They had a key they thought would open Isabelle’s office,’ Carter said. ‘They tried it while we were in there. Scared the hell out of us but they couldn’t get in.’
‘What’s that about?’ Rachel asked. ‘Why would it matter if the key didn’t work?’
An image of Eloise standing in front of Isabelle’s door flashed in Allie’s memory.
‘Eloise had a key to Isabelle’s office,’ Allie said. ‘She was holding it in her hand when I saw her that day – the day I thought she was the spy. I told them about it.’
‘They must be trying to find that key,’ Nicole said thoughtfully. ‘They’d want to make sure it was secure so no one could use it.’
‘But she gave them the wrong key?’ Carter looked puzzled. ‘Why would she do that?’
‘Maybe she doesn’t have the right one any more,’ Rachel suggested.
‘Then who does?’ Sylvain asked.
No one had an answer to that.
Rachel broke the silence. ‘What did you two find in the office?’
Allie let Carter describe what they’d learned. When he finished, the others looked stunned.
‘So they knew this was going to happen all this time?’ Rachel sounded shocked.
Sylvain’s queen and a knight suddenly cornered Allie’s king.