Kim looked around and shook her head. ‘No, I think we’ll be just fine right here.’

His mouth opened to respond but good manners prevented him laying total claim to the workspace so soon.

Whitehouse gathered some belongings from the top of the desk and headed towards the door. ‘Courtney will be with you shortly.’

As the door closed behind the Acting Principal, Bryant chuckled.

‘What?’ she asked, taking the chair behind the desk.

‘Nothing, Guv.’

He moved one of the chairs to the side of the desk and sat down.

Kim assessed the placement of the remaining chair for the interviewees.

‘Move that one back a little.’

Bryant moved the chair so that it was closer to the door. Adrift. There was nothing to lean on or sit against. Now she could observe the body language.

A light knock sounded on the door. They both shouted ‘come in’ at the same time.

Courtney entered with a piece of paper and a smile that was trying to climb out of her mouth. So, Mr Whitehouse was not all that popular.

‘Mr Addlington is outside when you’re ready.’

Kim nodded. ‘Please show him in.’

‘Can I get you anything else? Coffee, tea?’

‘You most certainly can. Coffee for both of us.’

Courtney headed to the door and reached it before Kim remembered. ‘Thanks, Courtney.’

Courtney nodded and held the door open for the first interviewee.

Six

By four fifteen p.m., after twelve identical conversations, Kim’s head hit the desk. There was something satisfying about the thunk of her skull on wood.

‘I know what you mean, Guv,’ Bryant offered. ‘Looks like we’ve got ourselves a real life saint in the morgue.’

He took a pack of mentholyptus cough sweets from his pocket. By her count that was his fifth.

Two years ago a chest infection had prompted an instruction from the doctor to give up his habit of thirty cigarettes a day. In an effort to get rid of the ripping cough Bryant had popped the sweets non-stop. The smoking had gone but an addiction to the cough sweets had remained.

‘You really need to cut down on those, you know.’

‘It’s that kind of day, Guv.’

And like a seasoned smoker, he indulged more when stressed or bored.

‘Who’s next?’

Bryant consulted the list. ‘Joanna Wade, English Language.’

Kim rolled her eyes as the door opened. In stepped a woman wearing tailored black trousers and a lilac silk shirt. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail revealing a strong square jaw and little make up.

She sat without offering her hand and crossed her right ankle over her left. Her hands landed neatly in her lap.

‘We won’t take up too much of your time, Mrs Wade. We just need to ask you a few questions.’

‘Ms.’

‘Excuse me.’

‘It’s Ms, Detective, not Mrs, but please call me Joanna.’

The voice was low and controlled with a hint of a northern accent.

‘Thank you, Ms Wade. How long have you known Principal Wyatt?’

The teacher smiled. ‘I was employed by Principal Wyatt almost three years ago.’

‘How was the working relationship between the two of you?’

Ms Wade fixed her gaze on Kim and cocked her head slightly. ‘Really, Detective, no foreplay?’

Kim ignored the innuendo and returned the gaze.

‘Please answer the question?’

‘Of course. We had a reasonable working relationship. Not without its ups and downs, which happens between most females, I find. Teresa was a very focused Principal, rigid in her beliefs and convictions.’

‘In what way?’

‘Methods of teaching have evolved since Teresa’s time in the classroom. Creativity is often needed to instil knowledge into young, fertile minds. We have all tried to adapt to a changing culture but Teresa believed that quiet, disciplined, book learning was the only way to teach and anyone who tried anything different was suitably advised.’

As Joanna Wade talked, Kim assessed her body language to be open and honest. She also noted that the woman had not glanced at Bryant once.

‘Can you give me an example?’

‘A couple of months ago one of my students turned in a paper whereby half of the prose had been written in abbreviations more commonly used to communicate by text message or on Facebook. I sent all twenty-three students to their lockers to retrieve their mobile phones. I then insisted that they spend the next ten minutes texting each other in correct, grammatical English including appropriate punctuation. This process felt completely alien to them and they all got the point.’

‘Which was?’

‘That the methods of communication don’t translate. It hasn’t happened since.’

‘And Teresa wasn’t happy with this?’

Ms Wade shook her head. ‘Not at all. She felt that the boy concerned should have been given detention and that would have sent a clearer message. I dared to disagree and Teresa made a note of insubordination on my file.’

‘This isn't the picture we’ve been getting from other members of staff here, Ms Wade.’

The woman shrugged. ‘I can’t speak for anyone else, however I would say that there are teachers here who have given up. Their methods of reaching young minds no longer work and they are treading water until retirement. They are content to remain uninspired and uninspiring. I, however, am not.’ Again her head cocked to the side and a small smile tugged at her mouth. ‘Teaching today’s teenagers to appreciate the beauty and finesse of the English language is truly challenging. But, I firmly believe that one should never shy away from a challenge. Don’t you agree, Detective?’

Bryant coughed.

Kim offered a small smile in return. The woman’s confidence and open dialogue was a breath of fresh air after twelve identical responses. The blatant flirting was amusing.

Kim sat back. ‘What can you tell me about Teresa, the woman?’

‘Would you like me to toe the line and offer the politically correct epitaph reserved for the recently deceased – or should I be candid?’

‘Your honesty would be appreciated.’

Ms Wade re-crossed her legs. ‘As a school Principal, Teresa was driven and focused. As a woman, I feel that she was quite a selfish person. As you will see from her desk there are no pictures of anything or anyone important to her. She thought nothing of keeping staff members here until eight or nine o’clock.

‘A great deal of her time was spent at spas, shopping for designer clothes and booking expensive holidays.’

Bryant made a couple of notes.

‘Is there anything else you feel might be of help to the investigation?’

The woman shook her head.

‘Thank you for your time, Ms Wade.’

The woman sat forward. ‘If you’d like an alibi, Detective, I was at Liberty Gym practicing my yoga moves. Excellent for muscle flexibility. And if you're interested, I’m there every Thursday night.’

Kim met her gaze. The clear blue eyes sparkled with challenge. She sauntered towards the desk and held out a business card.

Kim had no choice but to hold out her hand. The woman placed the card in Kim’s palm and turned the contact into a handshake. Her touch was cool and firm. Her fingers lingered over Kim’s palm as the hand withdrew.

‘Here’s my number. Please feel free to call if I can be of any further assistance.’

‘Thank you, Ms Wade, you’ve been most helpful.’

‘Jesus, Guv,’ Bryant said as the door closed. ‘You didn’t need a book to read those signals.’

Kim shrugged. ‘You’ve either got it or you haven’t.’

She placed the card into her jacket pocket. ‘Any more?’