‘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.’