Suddenly the room erupted into applause, along with a few shouts of “Hear, hear!” No wonder the woman with the clipboard was worried she had missed the talk – it was clearly the headline act. As the Professor left the stage, the crowd broke up into groups and the hum of chatter filled the room. A waiter offered April a silver tray of wine glasses, but she carefully picked up a glass of orange juice. Wouldn’t do to have the Head Girl getting sozzled at lunchtime, however much April felt like a little Dutch courage.
‘So what did you think of the Professor’s speech?’
April had been so busy taking it all in, she hadn’t noticed the man standing in front of her. Dark hair and brown eyes, he was mid-forties, she guessed, and actually quite handsome.
‘Sorry, I got here late,’ she stammered. ‘Only heard the last few minutes.’
‘You didn’t miss much. The old duffer always says the same thing.’ He leant forward, a half-smile on his mouth. ‘Bores me stiff, if I’m honest,’ he whispered.
April smiled into her juice and relaxed a little. At least someone was friendly.
‘So what brings you to our little gathering, April? Can’t be the buffet.’
April froze for a moment at the mention of her name, before remembering that she was wearing a name badge. The man caught her searching for his and tapped his chest.
‘Sorry, I don’t have one,’ he smiled. ‘I’m afraid the Secretary believes everyone should know who I am by now.’ He put out his hand. ‘David, David Harper.’
April was so surprised she almost snorted her juice down her nose.
‘Gosh, that bad?’ Harper laughed, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. ‘Seems you have heard of me after all.’
‘No, sorry,’ spluttered April, feeling her cheeks flush. ‘It’s just you’re my MP, I think.’
‘Ah-ha, so you’ll be the new girl from Ravenwood,’ said Harper. ‘How’s it going with the new regime?’
New regime? Thought April, does he mean the academic regime or the pro-vamp regime? So far David Harper seemed very human, but she reminded herself there was a good chance – especially given the present company – that he was a human with his own pro-vamp leanings.
‘Dr Tame has some very strong ideas,’ said April tactfully.
‘Yes, he does, doesn’t he?’ said Harper, a distinct gleam in his eye. Or perhaps David Harper was just another politician, happy to agree to any political movement as long as it served his purpose – furthering David Harper’s career.
‘You must let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you over there at the school,’ he said. ‘I have a real passion for education, and I think the students at Ravenwood in particular hold the keys to the nation’s future.’
Yeah, you would say that, thought April, especially as you obviously think your friends the vampires are going to be in charge.
‘Listen, I need to mingle,’ he said, ‘But it’s been fascinating meeting you, April. Don’t overdo the orange juice, okay?’
She watched him move back into the crowd, shaking hands and slapping backs, the consummate politician working the room, and suddenly April was filled with an intense anger, a loathing for David Harper and all his kind. Oh, he was charming all right, in a superficial slightly condescending way, but that was just a mask, wasn’t it? Looking at all these men and women with their red faces and bad suits, she couldn’t believe they were motivated by ideology, or that they believed whole-heartedly in the vampire cause. They had simply aligned themselves with the Suckers to further their careers and feather their nests. They had chosen to back the vampires because they believed the Suckers would give them money and power – it was as simple and depressing as that.
Yeah, yeah. But how are you going to stop it? mocked the voice in her head.
April knew what she wanted to do – she wanted to jump up on that stage and grab the microphone. She wanted to scream at them, tell them exactly what they were doing. They weren’t just making a sound business move, they were opening the gates of hell. If these people truly thought that the vampires would treat them gently, more favourably when they finally seized power, they were very much mistaken. The vampires would slaughter them like pigs.
She pulled out her mobile and sent a text to Davina.
Met David Harper, horrible. Can I leave now?
The reply came back in seconds.
Names, remember?
She cursed under her breath and flipped her phone to camera mode and shot off a few snaps as casually as she could, reasoning that if anyone saw the token teenager holding up a mobile, they would assume she was tweeting or doing something equally alien. At least this way, she might be able to read a few name-tags or perhaps Fiona could identify them from news pictures. April glanced down at the screen. No, no vampires, these were all humans. Somehow that was all the more sickening.
Looking up, April suddenly saw a familiar face, or rather his back. Still, she would recognise Uncle Peter anywhere. She resisted the urge to shout out to him, and instead began to work her way across, skirting two groups of loud, guffawing men. She was within ten feet of Peter when she stopped. She could now see that he was deep in conversation with someone she wasn’t sure she wanted to see again: David Harper. Damn.
It was only then that April remembered Peter saying that he was going to a reception with David Harper. April hung back, watching. They seemed to be involved in some sort of argument. Peter was gesturing, banging his fist into his palm to make a point, while Harper was nodding.
‘I agree, of course,’ she heard Harper say. ‘Let’s just hope you can persuade everyone else.’ Curious about what they were discussing, but not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, April stepped back into the crowd and almost walked straight into Dr Charles Tame.
Oh God, oh God, she thought, quickly turning her back, ‘Please God, don’t let him see me,’ she whispered to herself as she quickly searched for the exit.
‘Miss Dunne?’
Oh no.
‘Dr Tame,’ she said, swivelling around. ‘I didn’t know you were coming too.’
A frown flickered across his face and April felt a chink of hope. Maybe she could bluff this out after all. ‘Such a good idea of yours, I have to say.’
‘My idea?’ he said suspiciously.
‘Yes, you know how you said I should get out and start spreading the word about Ravenwood? Well, I sat down with my grandad, and we drew up a list of ways I could do that. Turns out he knows quite a few people. Don’t worry, I’ve arranged for someone to take my notes at school.’
Tame blinked at her and April knew she had him – the mention of her grandad had been the clincher.
‘Oh,’ said Tame, ‘Yes ... Full marks for initiative, April. Glad you’re taking it seriously. Did you enjoy the professor’s speech?’
‘Inspirational stuff. Will you be speaking today?’
Everyone had a weakness and clearly Dr Tame’s was pride. She watched him puff up like a peacock at the notion.
‘No, perhaps next time,’ he said. ‘If we keep getting good results from Ravenwood.’
‘Exams you mean?’
Tame gave a superior smile. ‘No, no, mere qualifications are a thing of the past, April. Soon our schools and universities will be filled with students producing real work, not just empty theories copied from a book and scribbled down on an exam paper. Why wait five, six, even ten years to tap the potential of young people? Why not use our nation’s greatest resource right away?’
The fervour of his words lit up his face and April saw that she had underestimated him once again. Perhaps the other men and women in this room were in it for the money, but April could see that Charles Tame was a genuine convert – he believed all the promises the vampires had given him, truly believed that they were going to use their power to aid society. Or maybe he was coming up with a way to justify his actions – because April had no doubt that Charles Tame, of all the people in this room, knew what the vampires were capable of.
‘Gosh, I wish they had let you speak today,’ said April. ‘You put things so much better than Professor Young.’
‘It’s gratifying to hear you say that, April,’ said Tame, unable to hide his pleasure. ‘You know, I’ll admit I wasn’t sure about you when I offered you the position of Head Girl, but I’m very pleased to see that you’re rising to the challenge.’
April was about to make her excuses and slip away when they were interrupted.
‘What’s this, a Ravenwood convention?’
April groaned inwardly as Detective Inspector Johnston stepped out of the crowd, with a familiar figure on his arm. Chessy. It was as if someone was sending her all the people she most loathed in the world all at once. If she was really lucky, Marcus Brent would come back from the dead and try to strangle her again.
‘April!’ cried Chessy, disentangling herself from the policeman long enough to come over to air-kiss her. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?’
Because you were about the last person I wanted to know I was here, thought April, wondering how Chessy had managed to wangle an invitation – had she got her claws into the detective or merely latched onto him when she got here?
‘You giving the girls an impromptu lesson here, Tame?’
The Headmaster gave the detective an oily smile. ‘We’re merely exchanging views,’ he said. ‘That’s the sort of thing we value at Ravenwood.’
Johnston raised his eyebrows. ‘As long as they agree with you, presumably.’ Ignoring Tame’s glare, Johnston turned to April. ‘Did you bring Gabriel Swift with you?’ he said. ‘I’d very much like to speak to that young man.’
‘We don’t speak much anymore,’ said April.
‘Lover’s tiff, eh?’ he nodded, as if that was information he already had. From Chessy? Suddenly April felt a rush of paranoia. Chessy had dropped heavy hints about some long-past relationship with Gabriel – could he have been in touch with her during his disappearance? No, that was just silly, wasn’t it?
DI Johnston continued, ‘I hear you have Davina Osbourne staying at your house?’
April looked at Chessy; now that information had to have come from her. ‘My mother’s house, yes.’
‘Such a horrible thing – her dad’s crash,’ said Chessy.
‘Yes, she’s taking it pretty hard.’
Johnston nodded. ‘Even so, perhaps you could pass on the message that she should come along to the station as soon as possible.’
‘Is the girl in any trouble?’ asked Tame, his tone of voice suggesting he was more concerned by the potential for bad publicity for the school than Davina’s wellbeing.
The inspector sighed. ‘I don’t suppose it will do any harm telling you – it’s all over the news channels already. Seems that they’ve dug up eye-witnesses who saw another vehicle chasing Nicholas Osbourne’s car moments before the crash – there’s been a suggestion that it wasn’t an accident after all.’ His eyes locked with April’s. ‘Looks like we might have another murder on our hands.’
Chapter Twenty-Four
There was laughter coming from the kitchen as April opened the door. She tip-toed in and peeked through the crack in the door: Davina and Silvia, sitting at the counter, a bottle between them.
‘I know, you should have seen his face,’ giggled Davina. ‘He thought he was in for a frisky night, the dirty old sod, he genuinely had no idea that—’
‘Mother?’
Davina stopped dead in the middle of her sentence and both women looked up, their faces slightly guilty, the lipstick-smeared glasses in front of them telling their own story.
‘April, we didn’t expect you back from your lunch so soon.’
‘Looks like you’ve been having your own little picnic,’ April replied.
‘Just a glass, darling. We’ve been down to see Barbara – still under sedation poor thing – and I thought Davina could do with a little pick-me-up.’
‘I saw Chief Inspector Johnston at the lunch,’ April said carefully.
Davina nodded, her smile sagging. So she had heard. ‘The police came to the house. It’s going to be all over the papers again. The last thing mum needs.’
‘’Vina tells me you met that dishy David Harper,’ said Silvia, clearly trying to change the subject. ‘Is he lovely?’
Dishy? What century was she from? Why did grownups always insist on slipping into their old-fashioned slang when they were talking to young people? She’d be saying things were “groovy” and “far out” next.
‘He was horrible, mum. They all were – just a load of old men only interested in money.’
‘That’s not all they’re interested in, by the sounds of it,’ giggled Silvia, nudging Davina who broke up laughing.
They really are drunk.
‘I think I’ll go up to my room,’ said April. ‘Leave you two to your picnic.’
If Davina were hiding inside a bottle, April couldn’t really blame her. April could vividly remember how wretched she felt after her own father’s death; she would’ve welcomed anything that could have masked the pain, even for a moment. Anything was better than that horrible helpless feeling, like falling through space, seeing the ground rushed towards you, knowing it was going to slam into you, unable to stop.
Up in her room, April sat on the window ledge, looking out across Pond Square, remembering that night when she had first seen Gabriel.
Where are you Gabriel? She checked her phone for the hundredth time that day. Why hadn’t he called? Why hadn’t he come back? DCI Johnston had said he was “keen to talk” to Gabriel, but that didn’t mean he was in trouble – after Calvin’s murder, she doubted the police would be very interested in pursuing the fight between him and Gabriel – so there was really no reason to hide. So where was he?
Surely he hadn’t contacted Chessy – no, that was just stupid. But he had gone off with her at that Valentine’s party at Davina’s, hadn’t he? Come on, April, get a grip.
Actually, a more likely scenario, and a more worrying one, was that he had gone off in search of the King. What if he found him? Gabriel could already be dead for all she knew. It was so hard not knowing. April heard the door creak and Davina put her head around.
‘Knock knock,’ she said with a weak smile.
‘It’s okay, come in. I thought you were bonding with my mother.’
Davina shook her head. ‘She’s having a little lie-down. I think it’s gone to her head.’
‘And you’re okay?’
April hadn’t meant to sound disapproving, but it came out that way. She’s entitled to let off a little steam, she reminded herself. However, Davina didn’t seem to have noticed; she just sat down on the bed and looked at her hands.
‘So I guess DI Johnston told you the latest about my dad?’
‘Not much, just that there was another car.’
Davina nodded. ‘Rammed him from behind, sent him into a skid which flipped his car over. Apparently forensics found paint from the other car on the wreck.’
‘So you think he was deliberately killed? But why?’
‘Why not? He knew just about everything there was to know about Agropharm – and in a company that size, there are always plenty of secrets they want to keep.’
‘But what about Ravenwood? Was that involved?’
Davina turned to face her, her eyes blazing. ‘Oh, grow up, April – of course it was! What do you think has been going on there for the last year? It’s one big hot-house: brainy kids for industry, rich kids to be used as influence over their parents. Ravenwood was fundamental. If they couldn’t persuade the Establishment to come over to their side, they’d always have the option of holding their kids to ransom. By any means necessary, remember?’
April thought of the gathering in the Crichton Club and wondered if such a thing would be necessary. It certainly didn’t look as if the Establishment would require much persuasion to join the vampires. Just a matter of dangling the right carrot.
April reached over for her bag and pulled ou
t a folded sheet of paper. ‘Here, I think this is what you wanted,’ she said. ‘A list of everyone attending the lunch.’
Davina looked up, a surprised smile on her face. ‘Wow, good work, Sherlock. How did you get this?’
‘No special detective skills, I just asked the lady on reception. Said I wanted it for the school paper.’
She sat down next to Davina as she looked over the list. ‘So, is the King Vampire on there?’
Davina shrugged. ‘I doubt it. Why would he expose himself? That place is far too public. But I think at least a handful of these people know where to find him.’
‘David Harper, maybe?’
‘Perhaps. Rumour is that he is being lined up for a new cabinet post. I doubt he would have got that far without being part of the inner circle.’
‘He was very smug,’ said April, wrinkling her nose.
‘Well, they all are until they feel teeth on their jugular.’
‘Davina! My dad, remember?’
‘Oh, yeah. Sorry.’
‘You really think the vampires killed Nicholas because he knew too much?’
‘Who knows? But humans are expendable to the vampires. Like this David Harper. He plays his cards right, it’s possible he might even make it to Prime Minister. But he won’t have any real power; he’ll be doing exactly what the King says. And if he gets out of line – whoosh! – he’ll be straight off to landfill.’
April gave Davina a sideways look.
‘What?’ she asked. ‘Why are you looking at me funny?’
‘I just don’t understand how you can be so blasé about death and yet be so upset about your father and brother.’
‘Because Benjamin and Nicholas were mine,’ she said with feeling. ‘Maybe they weren’t a real family, but however unorthodox my home there was, it’s the only one I can ever remember. They protected me, looked after me, and whoever took them away from me is going to pay. You of all people can understand that, surely?’
April nodded.
‘But these people?’ said Davina, tapping the list. ‘These people are here because of one thing – greed. They think they’re making a smart move, making friends with the wolves before they overrun the village, but they’ll find you can’t make deals with wild animals. When the time comes, they will all be herded into the fields with the rest. Everybody dies, April.’