Yeah, humiliation and embarrassment will do that for you, Kev thought, viewing the scene before him differently to the teacher. The poor kid looked exhausted. His face was red from exertion, and the sweat beads were now lines of moisture trickling down his temples. His mouth was permanently open as he tried to send more air to his lungs.
‘A bit harsh?’ Dawson observed, which didn’t even come close to how he really felt.
‘Not if it makes him think twice about eating the next cream cake, or two.’
‘So, would any of these kids have known Sadie Winters?’ Dawson asked, guiding himself to solid ground. Punching the PE teacher in the face was unlikely to do the case, or his career, any favours.
The teacher looked around as the boys began their final length of the hall. Piggott’s earlier exertion had caught up with him and he was now paying the price, lagging almost half a length behind.
‘Can I talk to any of them?’
Havers thought for a minute. ‘Yeah, take Piggott, he’s pretty useless at basketball anyway.’
Before Dawson could respond Havers blew a whistle and began issuing instructions to the boys to bring in the equipment from the edge of the hall.
‘Not you, Piggott, over here,’ he called, as the lad hit the wall for the last time.
The boy looked both confused and relieved as he half walked and half staggered towards them.
‘Police officer here wants a word,’ he said, squeezing him on the shoulder.
The boy’s breathing was hard and laboured as he nodded.
Dawson looked around ‘Where can…’
‘There’s a bench outside the door,’ he said, pointing to the corridor.
Dawson nodded his thanks and headed outside.
‘Here,’ he said, handing the kid a handkerchief from his pocket. The activity had stopped but the sweating had not.
‘Thank you,’ he said, mopping his head, face and around the back of his neck before offering it back.
‘Keep it,’ Dawson said.
The kid mopped his brow again.
‘So, what’s your name?’ he asked.
‘Piggott, sir,’ he answered.
‘Your first name,’ he clarified.
‘Geoffrey, sir,’ he replied politely.
‘Did you know Sadie Winters?’ he asked.
Geoffrey shrugged. ‘A bit. She wasn’t like the other girls here.’
‘In what way?’
‘She wasn’t stuck-up or mean. She didn’t care all that much about girls’ stuff like hair or make-up or jewellery. She was on her own a lot. She didn’t need to be in a group, pointing and making fun.’
Dawson could hear his disdain for the female species. He had felt the same way when he was twelve and had thought he’d always feel the same way. Boy, did this kid have a shock coming.
‘Do some of the girls make fun of you, Geoffrey?’ he asked.
Geoffrey hesitated before nodding. ‘But not as much when Sadie was around,’ he admitted.
‘Did Sadie stick up for you?’
He nodded and dabbed at his forehead once more.
‘Were the other girls scared of her?’ Dawson asked. That wasn’t the impression he’d got from Tilly.
He shook his head. ‘Not scared of her but she defended me one time when some girls kept pushing me to the end of the dinner line, telling me to miss a meal.’
‘What did she do?’ Dawson asked, fighting off his own similar memories.
‘She grabbed my hand and took me back to my place in the line and stood there, glowering at them, until I had my food. And once I’d been served she just disappeared.’
Dawson suspected he would have liked this girl.
‘Did you see much of her around the school?’
‘Sometimes I’d see her just sitting in some strange place, on the floor, up against the wall, reading or scribbling in a book.’
Another mention of the scribbling in a book he’d been unable to find.
‘I’d sometimes try and catch her eye, but it was like she was always somewhere else.’
‘Was she being bullied?’ he asked, as he’d asked Tilly.
Geoffrey shook his head, immediately. ‘No, no one would bully Sadie.’
Dawson was confused. By all accounts Sadie Winters was different to the other girls. She didn’t mix, and she didn’t conform. A definite recipe for being targeted. But this was the exact same response he’d received from the girl with whom she’d shared a room.
‘Why not?’ he asked, as Mr Havers appeared in the corridor.
‘May I have my student back, officer?’
Geoffrey stood but Dawson put a steadying hand on his arm.
‘Just one more minute,’ he said to the teacher, who disappeared back into the hall wearing a look of irritation.
‘I really must go,’ Geoffrey said, glancing at the teacher’s disappearing back.
‘Okay, Geoffrey, but can you just explain why the other girls left Sadie alone?’
He was already edging away.
‘They left her alone because of her connections to The Card Suits.’
‘Connections? Suits?’ Dawson queried.
He nodded as he turned to leave.
‘Yes, her sister is the Queen of Hearts.’
Dawson frowned as the kid slipped back into the gym hall.
What the hell was the Queen of Hearts?
Eighteen
‘So what’s the plan now?’ Bryant asked, glancing at his watch. It was almost five o’clock and they were taking a breather outside.
True to his word Mitch had packed up forensics a few hours earlier. The bloodied gravel had been removed and a patch of brand new pristine stones dropped in its place. But even without the marker she would have been able to pick out the exact spot of the young girl’s bloodied head.
So far, they’d spoken to fifteen teachers and not one of them had been able to offer anything useful. In fact, all they’d managed to establish was that Sadie had left one lesson completely intact and had never turned up for the next and no one had seen her in between.
‘I want to speak to Sadie’s sister,’ Kim said. ‘We’re getting nowhere with the adults. I want to know more about Sadie, but I don’t want to mention the self-harming to her parents yet. Saffron might have known,’ she said.
‘We could always do my appraisal,’ he said, taking her by surprise.
She hadn’t given it a thought, despite Woody’s prompting.
‘Err… not right now,’ she said.
‘Why not, we’re clearly not going to see any more teachers and I’m sure getting the address for Saffron Winters can wait for ten minutes.’
‘You think that’s how long it will take?’ she asked, raising an eyebrow.
‘If you conduct them the way you do everything else, we’ll probably have it nailed in five and still have time for a cuppa.’
‘It’s just not the right—’
‘Guv, is something wrong?’ he asked.
‘No, it’s just—’ she stopped speaking as her phone began to ring.
‘Ah, just the person,’ she said to Bryant, seeing Principal Thorpe’s name on the display.
‘Stone,’ she answered.
‘Inspector, it’s Principal Thorpe,’ he offered, formally.
She waited for him to continue.
‘I’m calling to confirm that alternative arrangements for questioning have been made should you require them,’ he offered, tightly.
Kim fought back the smile.
‘That’s very kind of you, Principal Thorpe,’ she said. ‘And while I have you would it be possible to take down the address for Mr and Mrs Winters?’
‘Of course, I have their main address in Droitwich and their holiday home in Snowdonia. Which would you prefer?’
‘Whichever address I can find their other daughter, Saffron.’
‘Oh,’ he said, surprised. ‘In that case you’ll be needing neither. Saffron Winters is still here, at school, with us.’
Nineteen
‘Well, this is a bit more acceptable, don’t you think, Bryant?’ Kim asked, as they looked around the room.
Principal Thorpe had kindly guided them to a spacious reading room adjacent to the library. Despite the falling dusk she could still make out the view of the hockey pitch and tennis courts.
Bryant whistled appreciatively. ‘Good result even if your methods are somewhat—’
‘Imaginative,’ she answered for him.
‘Not the word I was going to use but we’ll stick with it for now,’ he replied, taking his seat beside her.
‘So, why do you reckon she hasn’t gone home?’ Bryant asked, voicing the question on both their minds.
‘I have no clue, Bryant. I’d have thought the family would have wanted to be together. Surely the best place for her is with them at home.’