Under Mary's Oak

  There was a knock at the door.

  ‘So much for five minutes peace and quiet,’ Laura said as Josie returned to her office. ‘Come in!’

  Amy put her head round the door.

  ‘I’ve got Stella here. Can we come in for a few minutes?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’ Laura remembered that Stella had asked to speak to Amy.

  When they were both settled, Laura looked expectantly at Stella but she seemed unwilling to talk.

  ‘It’s all right, Stella,’ said Amy reassuringly. ‘Mrs Jessop won’t bite.’

  ‘It’s not that. I feel such a fool.’

  ‘Do you want me to tell Mrs Jessop what you told me? Maybe if I start you can join in?’

  ‘Yes, all right.’

  Laura was intrigued. Stella had told Amy it was something to do with Richard, and all sorts of possibilities flitted through her mind. She couldn’t imagine it was anything like an affair between the two of them. Stella was so young and attractive and surely not short of boyfriends of her own age and Richard, well Richard wasn’t young and attractive! So what could it be?

  ‘Stella, like any young graduate, has quite a lot of debt from university,’ began Amy. ‘She tried to keep her student loan down by working.’

  ‘Not unusual,’ said Laura.

  ‘Perhaps the work she took on was a little unusual,’ said Amy.

  Stella looked embarrassed. ‘I didn’t think at the time I was dong anything wrong, and I didn’t think about how it could affect me later. I really love my job here, and I love all the girls. I would just hate it if I had to leave.’

  ‘Whatever is the matter?’ Laura asked bewildered.

  As Stella had clammed up again, Amy continued. ‘She joined an escort agency.’

  Laura searched in her mind for the right question. The words ‘escort agency’ conjured up all sorts of images in her mind. She needed to know just how bad this might be, but she didn’t want to frighten Stella. And she certainly didn’t want to lose one of her best teachers.

  In the end she settled for ‘What sort of escort agency?’

  ‘It was very high class. I was at Oxford, so it was easy enough for me to travel into London once a week. The agency dealt with foreign visitors mostly. I would usually meet them to go out to some function or to dinner.’

  Laura started to breathe more easily, but she knew if that was all it was, Stella would not be so concerned.

  ‘And then?’ she pressed.

  ‘Sometimes I went back to their hotels,’ Stella admitted, her eyes firmly fixed on the floor.

  ‘And how long did this last?’ asked Laura.

  ‘About six months,’ replied Stella. ‘I suddenly realised what I was doing and I didn’t like myself much. I earned a lot of money, but suddenly that didn’t matter any more. It was like I’d been living in some sort of dream world. It wasn’t real. I’d been so concerned about paying off my debts I hadn’t really thought about the consequences.

  I’d started to think about what I wanted to do after my first degree and I was considering teaching. The two lifestyles didn’t match at all. I knew I’d made a terrible mistake, but I thought I could stop and everything would be all right.’

  Stella started to cry as she realised there was no going back now. She had admitted her past and she might lose her job. Teachers are role models for their pupils and this was hardly the role the school would want her to promote. Her fate was now in the hands of her boss.

  ‘So what has this to do with Richard?’ Laura asked.

  ‘He found out somehow. I think there might be some old pictures still on the internet.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And he threatened to tell you. I was so worried that you would sack me. Well I still am. I’m so sorry. I’d never do anything to hurt the school, or you. You’ve been so good to me. What a mess!’ and her crying turned into sobbing.

  Amy squeezed Stella’s arm in a comforting way, and looked at Laura. Laura was quite shocked, but it never did to admit that. She knew that student loans caused real heartache for some students and she also knew that youngsters were much more adventurous in their sex lives than she had been, but this? Stella had now realised just how one’s past can come back to haunt you.

  Laura knew she had to think carefully about what she had been told. If Richard had found out, then presumably others could and the school’s reputation could be harmed. But she had sympathy for Stella and this had all happened several years ago.

  ‘Do you know where the pictures are on the internet?’ she asked.

  ‘Not really. Richard just said he’d seen them and I believed him.’

  ‘So he might have been lying?’

  Stella paused to think.

  ‘But how else would he know? I mean, what he was saying was true. I just assumed he had also seen pictures.’

  ‘Were there pictures when you worked for the agency?’

  ‘Yes,’ Stella said. ‘We all had our own page on the agency’s site.’

  Laura despaired that youth could be so innocent. They had grown up with the internet and yet didn’t understand that it really was a world wide web. Anything posted on the internet was very public knowledge. It was like telling the world all the details about your personal life on Facebook. So stupid!

  ‘You’d better give me the details then and I’ll see if the pictures are still there. Somehow it seems a bit unlikely. Is there any other way he could have known?’

  ‘Not that I can think of.’

  Amy prompted Stella. ‘You’ve told Mrs Jessop that Richard threatened to tell her about you. Tell her the rest.’

  ‘He asked me for money not to tell you.’

  ‘You mean he was actually blackmailing you?’ Laura asked in astonishment. ‘Did you pay him?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How much?’

  ‘£200 a month for the last four months.’

  ‘Oh, you silly girl,’ Laura said. ‘Why on earth didn’t you speak to someone? I suppose you didn’t think of going to the police?’

  ‘No, I was so ashamed. But then when Richard was killed I was worried. If the police found out they might think I did it, and I didn’t, I really didn’t!’ And Stella dissolved into floods of tears again.

  A flood of thoughts and emotions ran through Laura’s brain. She really was not sure what to do, but she needed to get Stella back in control again.

  ‘Right, Stella. You need to get yourself tidied up. Are you teaching this morning?’

  ‘I’ve got the sixth form period 3.’ She looked at her watch. ‘Oh, gosh. That’s in ten minutes.’

  ‘Will you be OK?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Stella, putting on a determined expression.

  ‘Right, well I don’t want you to worry about this for the moment. Let me think about it and then maybe we’ll chat again. I promise I won’t say anything to anyone until I’ve spoken to you again.’

  ‘Yes, all right,’ said Stella. ‘And thank you.’

  ‘Well, don’t thank me yet. It’s a mess and I’m not sure what I can do, but I will think about it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Laura’s mind was in a whirl. She hadn’t been expecting anything like that. Richard had seemed such a good man. As a worker she could find no fault. He always worked hard and was loyal. Even when he was ill he continued to take an interest in what was going on, and he returned to work as soon as he possibly could. When he’d come to talk to her a few weeks ago about retirement he said he wanted to do what was right for her and for the school. He was finding it hard, and the manual side of the job was a challenge. He didn’t think it was fair to pass all the manual jobs to the other two caretakers.

  But he was concerned about how he and Shirley would manage financially. He was only in his fifties and it was too soon to retire really. He wasn’t sure they would manage on just Shirley’s income. And then a couple of weeks later he told her he
had sorted out his finances and he probably would retire.

  And of course, nobody knew what went on between husband and wife in the privacy of their home, but to the outsider everything looked fine. When he and Shirley were together they smiled a lot and touched each other tenderly. When they were apart they talked about each other in gentle terms. He seemed to care for Shirley in a very genuine way, and she for him.

  Maybe that was it. Maybe he cared so much for Shirley that he would do anything to safeguard her future. It must be worrying for an active man to have a heart attack at the age of 51. It must go through his mind that he might not be around to look after her in person, so he would make sure she was well provided for financially.

  But, if that was his motive, £200 a month wasn’t going to solve it. What if Stella wasn’t his only victim? What if there were others and one of them killed him? Now she really was worried. And she had promised Stella that she wouldn’t share the information with anyone, but she did need to talk it through.

  She telephoned Amy.

  ‘Amy, are you able to come down for a few minutes?’

  ‘Yes, I’ll be right there.’

  And five minutes later Amy was sitting opposite Laura at her desk. Amy Winston had been Laura’s second deputy for three years. She had come very highly recommended from a similar school on the edge of Manchester where she had been Head of English. She had a real way with the girls. They saw her as firm but fair, and they knew they couldn’t pull the wool over her eyes. Laura liked Amy, and saw something of herself in the eager young face staring at her. Amy was intelligent enough to understand fully the implications of what had been said this morning. Perhaps between them they could work something out.

  ‘Well,’ said Laura. ‘That was quite a surprise.’

  ‘Wasn’t it just?’ Amy replied. ‘It seems so out of character for both Stella and for Richard. I feel as though I’ve stepped onto a film set by mistake. None of this seems real. It’s the sort of thing that happens to other people, not to me.’

  ‘You’re exactly right, but that feeling started on Saturday morning. And I don’t think we’re going to wake up from a dream any time soon, so between us we have to work something out. I’ve promised Stella I won’t discuss this with anyone else, and I assume you won’t either.’

  Amy nodded her acquiescence.

  ‘So that just leaves us. What are your first thoughts?’ asked Laura.

  ‘Well, they’re a bit disjointed,’ Amy began. ‘First of all, Stella. I know what she did was wrong and stupid, but she’s a really good teacher and she’s got a fantastic following in school. You only have to look at the number of girls opting for Physics now. It’s not the easiest subject in the world. So, I feel really sorry for her and for us. I don’t know if there is a way of keeping her on, but I really hope there is.

  And then Richard. I’m quite shocked that he was blackmailing Stella. He didn’t seem to have a bad bone in his body. He was always willing to help, and never malicious. Something must have made him do this.

  And, of course, the fact that he was murdered is just terrible. Do you really think the police would suspect Stella?’

  ‘Well, she does have a motive. Let’s hope she has a good alibi as well. I didn’t want to ask her, it didn’t seem quite appropriate. She would have thought we believed she was guilty as well.’

  Amy nodded. ‘She was terribly upset when we left your room earlier. I think the biggest thing on her mind was that she had let you and the school down. She’s very loyal.’

  ‘Yes, I know she is,’ Laura agreed. ‘Now, if you’re going to be able to help me to work out what we have to do, I need to give you some more information. But, I must stress this is all totally confidential. It must go no further.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Amy earnestly.

  ‘First of all, the police seem to be linking Richard’s murder to two other murders in the area. I don’t know any details, but it seems as though his death might not be connected with school.’

  ‘Well, that’s good news.’

  ‘Yes, but what isn’t so good is another thought I had. Richard was thinking about taking early retirement because of his heart problems, but he was worried about money.’

  ‘That could explain the blackmail,’ interjected Amy.

  ‘Well, yes it could,’ agreed Laura, ‘but it was only in the last few weeks that he told me this and Stella says she’s been paying Richard for four months.’

  ‘Oh, right.’

  ‘But you have a point. Blackmail could have been his answer, but he wasn’t going to get rich on Stella’s £200.’

  ‘You mean, he was blackmailing others as well!’ Amy caught on quickly.

  ‘Well, it’s a thought. And if he was, it does mean that there could be a lot of people out there with a motive; people who are probably connected with school.’

  Laura could see Amy taking it all in.

  ‘So,’ continued Laura, ‘do I tell the police about Richard’s activities?’

  Amy looked thoughtful, and Laura could see she was weighing it up in her mind.

  ‘Ooh, that’s hard,’ she said after a while. ‘Of course, it’s the right thing to do. And if, for the sake of the argument, Stella did do it you’d get into all sorts of trouble for not informing them.’

  ‘Absolutely right.’

  ‘But if the police are right and the murder has nothing to do with school what good would it do to bring it all into the open? The publicity would be dreadful for no good reason, and loads of the girls would probably leave because they wouldn’t want to be connected with such a place. My mum would say we were hanging out our dirty washing. There would be a time when people would think Stella was a murderess as well as a prostitute. You wouldn’t be able to save her then because it would all be public knowledge and you couldn’t be seen to condone such action when you’re headmistress of a girls’ school and responsible for their moral education,’ said Amy almost at a gallop.

  ‘And if the murderer is someone in school shouldn’t I be helping the police to catch him, or her, to safeguard the girls physically, instead of withholding what might be vital information?’

  They both thought for a while.

  Eventually Amy said, ‘Couldn’t you do both?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Couldn’t you solve the crime and then tell the police, if you have to?’

  Laura considered the idea.

  ‘Well, I don’t think I can solve the crime if it’s connected to two other murders. It’s just unrealistic to think I can do that without knowing everything about all three murders,’ she began.

  ‘But, maybe you could look into the blackmail side of it and see if it might be related or not,’ said Amy.

  ‘But I’d still be withholding information.’

  ‘Then we’d better get on with it,’ said Amy. ‘The sooner you solve it, the better.’

  ‘The sooner we solve it, you mean.’

  ‘I’m game, if you are.’

  Laura took a deep breath, and thought hard for a few moments.

  ‘OK, let’s do it but if we haven’t got anywhere in 24 hours I need to talk to the inspector. If they’re right in their line of enquiry I’m doing no harm. And if not, I can convince myself that there’s no danger to the girls because if Richard was killed by someone he was blackmailing, that’s the end of it. It’s not just some random act, so the murderer won’t be going round looking for other victims. And you’re right about the effect all this could have. I have to give it a try if it saves the school’s reputation.’

  ‘What do we do first then?’ asked Amy. ‘Other than cancelling tonight’s sleep that is!’

  ‘Is there any way of finding out if anyone else was being blackmailed? Is anyone on the staff looking edgy? Are there any dark secrets that you know and I don’t? How did Richard find out? Stella seemed to think he had seen internet pictures but you don’t suddenly come acros
s them, do you? And was Richard as computer literate as all that?’

  ‘Maybe not, but Josh is.’

  ‘True, but I can hardly accuse him of finding the information for Richard to blackmail half the staff without more evidence.’

  ‘There is someone I need to talk to,’ said Amy. ‘It just might be another of Richard’s victims.’

  ‘Well, be careful how you tackle it. We don’t want it to become public knowledge just yet, especially if it doesn’t have to. Let’s meet back here after school. I’ve got this thing in the sports hall this afternoon, and I need to catch up with one or two people before then. I’m afraid we’re in for a long night. Did you have anything planned?’

  ‘No, only a night in front of the TV with Bart.’

  ‘Who’s Bart? I thought you were seeing someone called Greg?’

  Amy laughed. ‘Bart is my cat. He’s a magnificent ginger tom, named after Bart Simpson. When I first got him he was a little bundle of fur, but the hair on top of his head was really spiky.’

  A mental image of a kitten with Bart Simpson’s head superimposed flashed through Laura’s mind. ‘Well if you can tear yourself away from Bart I’ll get Robert to cook us a meal. We can’t think properly on an empty stomach.’

  ‘Sounds good to me.’

  Chapter Sixteen

  Inspector Jenkins and Sergeant Todd met for breakfast on Tuesday morning in the staff canteen at Headquarters. Neither had anyone at home with whom they could share their first meal of the day, nor any other meal for that matter. Jenkins had tried and failed and Todd had never found anyone willing to put up with the unpredictability of the job. He had tried his luck with Sally Walker a while back but there was no chemistry between them, and they parted amicably. Just as well, really. A difficult break-up would not have helped their working relationship. Luckily Jenkins hadn’t known about it as he would most certainly have frowned upon it. Relationships between colleagues were not encouraged but how else do you meet someone when you work all hours God sends?

  Jenkins took a bite out of his bacon roll, as Todd poured milk over his Weetabix. A bacon roll or stottie as the locals called it, was a bit of a luxury for Jenkins. Boiling the kettle was as much as he could do some mornings. Occasionally the remnants of the pizza or the Chinese takeaway from the night before provided the necessary sustenance, whereas Todd rarely departed from his Weetabix, with cold milk in the summer and hot milk in the winter. It was what he had eaten for breakfast for as long as he could remember.