Page 18 of Dying Truth
‘I’m not sure there is anything normal about a teenage suicide,’ she answered, evasively.
‘It’s just that we have many other students to consider and a police presence could be most distracting to their studies. Many of them are at delicate stages of—’
‘Principal Thorpe,’ she said, cutting him off. ‘Let me be clear so that there is no misunderstanding between us. Right now I have concern for only one of your students, and I’m sure you can guess which one. Now, if our being here disrupts the studies of your students that would be unfortunate, but our presence will remain until we better understand the circumstances surrounding the death of Sadie Winters,’ she said, as he came to a halt before a door bearing a brass plate marked ‘office’.
‘This space is spare since we moved Administration onto the first floor,’ he said, opening the door.
A single antique desk was surrounded by modern office chairs. Three shelves, now empty, gathered dust along the longest wall. The windowless room felt dark and stuffy with only a 40watt bulb to light the space.
Kim wondered idly if this was really the only place available in this vast property.
Principal Thorpe looked at his watch. ‘I’ll leave you to get settled, and Nancy, my assistant, will be down shortly. I’d assist you myself, but I have prospective parents due to arrive.’
‘Please, don’t let us hold you up,’ Kim said, although Thorpe appeared to miss the sarcasm in her tone.
Must try harder, she told herself as he closed the door behind himself.
‘Bloody hell, Bryant,’ Kim said as the light from the hallway was extinguished. She had the sudden feeling of being trapped underground. The room was barely bigger than her bathroom.
‘So, what do you think about him?’ Bryant asked, removing his jacket.
‘Guarded would be an understatement,’ she said, choosing a chair and putting another one on the other side of the desk. ‘And now he’s gotta go sell the place the day after a child in his care died.’
‘He’ll have no trouble there,’ Bryant said.
‘I’d think twice, wouldn’t you?’
Bryant considered for a second and then shook his head.
Kim sat. ‘Why not?’
‘Because as far as he’s concerned it’s a suicide,’ he said. ‘Suicide belongs only to the person that did it. It’s a solitary choice for an individual’s own reasons. No parent would think their child capable of the same thing. Murder or even accidental death indicate some kind of failing or neglect on behalf of the school but not suicide.’
‘So, you’d still send your kid here?’ Kim asked.
‘Yeah, if I’d been on the four-year waiting list.’
She thought about the empty place at the school, vacated by thirteen-year-old Sadie Winters.
She supposed one family was about to get lucky.
Thirteen
Dawson knocked before entering the room number given to him by Thorpe. Silence met his ears and yet he still opened the door slowly and called out as he entered.
Walking into the private space of teenage girls made him feel uncomfortable. The room itself was bright and airy. One huge window looked out towards the courtyard at the centre of the property. Dawson understood that there were four wings that branched from the main house. The two front wings, facing the entrance to the site, housed all the school rooms and administration and the two rear wings were accommodation. East wing for girls, West wing for boys. All four wings backed onto a central courtyard the size of a village green.
He stood for a moment, assessing the space from the centre of the room. Each corner sported a single bed with a shared desk between the two pairs. Each bed had a bedside cabinet and a small wardrobe. Three areas had been personalised with posters on the wall and colourful bedding but one area in particular drew his attention. The spot at the top left, nearest the window, stood out as it was totally devoid of personality.
Dawson sensed he was looking at the space of Sadie Winters.
He took a step forward.
‘Hey, who are you?’ said a voice from behind.
He turned to find a ginger-haired freckled girl glaring at him.
‘Detective Sergeant Dawson,’ he answered. ‘And you?’
