‘Thank you for coming to see me today,’ Nas smiled. The girls moved in unison, unconsciously mirroring each other. Freddie recognised the intensity of teen friendships. Ruby was hugging her large purple leather satchel. Now Melisha was closer, Freddie could see that her eyes were rimmed red. She’d been crying recently. And not sleeping.
‘I’m sorry for what happened to Chloe.’ Nas deliberately avoided the word suicide. ‘I understand you were close?’
‘We were best friends,’ Melisha said. Ruby nodded, still staring down at the carpet tiles.
‘You must miss her very much.’
Ruby’s lip trembled. Melisha’s eyes dropped to the floor too. ‘Yeah.’
‘I understand Chloe told her parents she was staying at yours on Friday the eleventh of March, Melisha?’ Nas said gently.
‘She never told me.’ Melisha’s sentences carried the silent but implied teenage duh! This girl didn’t see them as equals. Ms Bradshaw: the teacher. Nas: the cop. Adults. Melisha and Ruby were in a different generation. She felt old.
‘I wondered if you could help me put together a better picture of what Chloe was like before she died. What kind of person was she?’
Ruby’s face lit up. ‘She was brilliant. Like not just at school, and sports and all that, but, like everything she did, you know?’
Nas nodded. ‘What kind of things – I mean apart from school?’
‘She had this summer job last year, in the Pepper Pot – the tearoom near the abbey. She started as a waitress, but she was so good at it, talking to all the old ladies that went there and stuff.’ Freddie guessed Ruby was the quietest of the three under usual circumstances. Shy. ‘She persuaded the manager to let her start making and selling gluten-free cakes. Then everyone started going there and wanting to eat these cakes – it’s better, like for your weight and stuff.’ Neither Ruby nor Melisha needed to worry about their figures. ‘The cakes were so good the manager promoted Chloe. Gave her a job at weekends when school started up again.’
Melisha shot a glance at Ruby, whose face dipped suddenly behind her hair again.
Nas caught it but didn’t react. ‘And was Chloe still working at the Pepper Pot recently?’
‘No.’ Melisha shook her head.
‘That’s a shame. Why was that?’ Nas asked.
‘I dunno. Got bored, I guess,’ Melisha said.
‘She quit a job she loved?’
‘She didn’t really talk about it,’ Melisha said.
The two girls were sitting so close they were almost touching. They had that tactile ease many teen girls have with each other. They also had that ability to communicate with just a look – she’d seen it pass between them. They knew something else about why Chloe left her job, but they weren’t saying anything.
‘Did Chloe have friends from the cafe?’ Nas pushed.
‘Don’t think so,’ Melisha said.
‘What about anyone else outside school – any friends, boyfriends from anywhere else?’
‘Don’t think so.’ Melisha was doing a fine impression of a stereotypical monotone teen.
‘What about you, Ruby, did you know of anyone outside of school that Chloe was friends with?’ Nas’s tone was upbeat, friendly. Ruby shook her head. ‘No one new in her life?’
Melisha shrugged.
‘And would she have said? Did she tell you her secrets?’
Ruby’s face snapped up. ‘We didn’t have secrets. We were best friends.’ Her voice wavered on the last words. Melisha put an arm round her and hugged her friend. Freddie remembered putting an arm round Nas when they were at school, comforting her over some slight. Though their friend, their third wheel, hadn’t died. Just.
‘Did Chloe ever take drugs?’ Nas asked.
Caroline shifted so she wasn’t leaning against the glass anymore. ‘We don’t have a drugs problem at this school, Sergeant.’
Melisha twisted to look over her shoulder at the teacher.
‘Chloe would never do that – she didn’t even like taking paracetamol.’ Ruby’s face was panicked. ‘It made her gag. Tell them about her – you know,’ she whispered at Melisha, her eyes dropping down to the floor again.
‘She got stomach cramps,’ Melisha said. ‘And she really struggled to swallow tablets. Like it almost made her vom.’
‘We used to get her a Maccy D’s milkshake – try with that.’ A wistful look took over Ruby’s face.
‘Did anyone Chloe knew take drugs?’ Nas said. ‘A boyfriend perhaps?’
‘She didn’t have a boyfriend,’ Melisha answered too fast.
‘Oh,’ Nas said lightly. ‘I thought she was going out with William Taylor?’
‘That was a mistake.’ Melisha developed two pink spots on her cheeks.
Ruby’s fingers tightened around her bag. ‘It was nothing. You wouldn’t call them boyfriend and girlfriend.’
Nas puckered her face in an act of confusion. ‘I’m sure someone mentioned in the report – to my colleagues – that Chloe and William were dating? So he wasn’t her boyfriend?’
‘He wished!’ Melisha’s pink spots radiated.
Nas lowered her voice and leant forward, as if she were telling a friend they had spinach in their teeth. ‘Melisha, why did you say Chloe’s death was William Taylor’s fault on his Facebook page?’
Ruby flinched and Melisha’s mouth clamped shut. Her lips pursed into a sulk. She folded her arms and slumped back in the chair, staring at Nas. Nas waited. Freddie felt the urge to fill the silence, to say something. Anything. Nas was trying to draw it out of them. Ruby moved, her mouth open. Melisha put a hand on her knee – a warning? Ruby gave an involuntary shudder, and Freddie saw that she was crying, mascara snaking down her face in black streaks.
‘I want to help,’ Nas said softly. ‘I need to know the truth about Chloe. To build a picture of what she was really like. Any detail you have could be important, though it might not seem it.’
A sob juddered out of Ruby.
‘I think that’s enough, Sergeant,’ Caroline said. ‘The girls are clearly distressed.’ She passed a tissue to Ruby, who took it and blew her nose.
Nas took cards from her pocket and placed one on the table in front of each of the girls. ‘If you ever want to talk to me, about anything, you can contact me here.’
‘I think we better get you girls some fresh air. Come on.’ Caroline’s voice was cool. She turned and looked at Nas. ‘Please do not speak to William until I’m back.’
Ruby’s eyes went very wide, twisting to see Nas over her shoulder.
As soon as the door closed Freddie hissed, ‘When she said you were talking to William, Ruby looked petrified.’
‘Why deny William was Chloe’s boyfriend? It makes no sense. Her parents are on record saying they’d recently split up.’
‘Because they’re teenagers?’
‘Perhaps.’ Nas chewed on the inside of her cheek.
The door opened and Caroline Bradshaw came back in quickly. ‘Those young girls have been through a very traumatic experience, Sergeant. They’re still in shock. You said this was just a few background questions?’
‘We were led to believe, by Chloe’s parents, by you, that Chloe and William had been in a relationship together.’ Nas’s voice was unwavering.
‘These children are my responsibility and I will not have them upset.’ Ms Bradshaw, perhaps used to dealing with difficult teens, was holding her own. ‘I think it’s time we put a stop to this. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get complaints from the girls’ parents.’
You have twenty hours to save luscious Lottie. ‘But they were lying!’ The words flew out of Freddie’s mouth. If she just knew what was at stake.
‘I will be sensitive with William, but we do need to talk to him,’ Nas said.
‘No, you don’t.’ Ms Bradshaw’s arms were crossed. Defiant.
She couldn’t let this woman stand in their way. Melisha had felt sure enough to accuse William Taylor of killing Chloe in public. What if he was wrapped up in Lottie’s disappearance too? They couldn’t drop this now. ‘This is important,’ Freddie said. ‘Life or death!’
Ms Bradshaw looked at her incredulously. ‘What are you talking about?’
Nas glowered at Freddie, and stepped towards the teacher, her palms open in supplication. ‘Ms Bradshaw, another girl has sent a suicide note. Similar to Chloe’s. But this time it looks like it might have come from someone else.’
‘What do you mean?’ Ms Bradshaw asked.
‘There is the possibility that the girl has been taken. That the note was sent against her will.’
‘Oh my god!’ Ms Bradshaw’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Do you think that’s what happened with Chloe?’
‘This information is not in the public domain, and we ask that you keep it that way,’ Nas replied. ‘I need to speak to Chloe’s friends to try and find out if there was anyone worrying in her life. I would very much like to speak to William, please, Caroline.’
Caroline nodded, her face the same shade as the walls. ‘Okay.’ There was a knock at the door. The teacher composed herself, before opening it with a smile on her face and only the faintest wobble in her voice. ‘William. Come in.’