31

Jessica knew there was no good way to contact Cole that night, so she reluctantly left it until the following morning. As he refused to answer her call on his mobile, there was only one thing for it. She had never heard the chief inspector swear in the entire time she had known him and he had raised his voice fewer than half-a-dozen times. After telling the operator she was his wife and being put through, the DCI broke the habit of a lifetime by both swearing and shouting at Jessica in the same sentence.

If she hadn’t had something so serious to tell him, she would have felt strangely proud.

It was only because of the content of what she had that he didn’t threaten any further disciplinary measure. Jessica told her supervisor everything she had found – and said she would bring him the proof, assuming she was allowed on the premises.

Reluctantly, he not only agreed to that but, with her standing firm, he said she could take part in the questioning if Reynolds agreed.

Jessica knew he would.

After driving to the station and talking Cole, Reynolds, Cornish and Rowlands through what she had discovered, Jessica allowed them to take Molly’s diary. She wanted to make the arrest but the chief inspector gave her the choice of either sitting in on the interview – with special emphasis on ‘sitting in’, not ‘taking part’ – or simply going back to her flat to rest.

Jessica took the interview option, although everyone was aware the chances of her sitting quietly were slim.

Within a couple of hours, the suspect had been arrested, brought to the station and had spoken to a solicitor. Jessica was waiting in the interview room, as Reynolds made sure the recording equipment was working.

‘Are you going to be all right?’ he asked.

‘Definitely.’

‘Jess, I’m serious.’

‘Me too. I’m fine.’

‘You know you shouldn’t be here.’

‘None of us would be here doing this if it wasn’t for me.’ Jessica wasn’t trying to brag but she wanted to make a point.

‘If you’re sure.’ They sat in silence for a few moments before the inspector added, ‘Dave’s been missing you, by the way.’

‘Rowlands?’

‘Yeah, who else?’

‘What’s up with him?’

‘Something about him breaking up with his girlfriend.’

‘Chloe?’

‘I don’t know. What you kids get up to is your own business. I try to stay out of it all. He’s spent the last few days moping around though.’

Jessica didn’t have time to reply before there was a knock at the door and it swung open. A solicitor in a smart suit entered first, followed by his client. They sat in the chairs opposite the officers, as Reynolds announced everyone’s name. The inspector had given up any hope of keeping Jessica quiet and allowed her to take her usual seat. As she pointed out, she knew the case better than anyone anyway.

After the announcements had been made, Jessica stared at the person in front of her. ‘How are you doing, Aidan?’ she asked. ‘Long time, no see.’

‘I don’t know why I’m here,’ the tutor said, looking to his solicitor for guidance.

Jessica knew she couldn’t specifically talk about Ryan’s drawings because she shouldn’t have had them in the first place.

She realised her mistake at the college. She suspected that, after they had asked the tutor about Ryan, Aidan had sketched them himself as a way of deflecting their investigation. He knew they could never be used as evidence.

Instead, Jessica mentioned the other reason they had brought in the teacher. ‘Sienna Todd.’

Aidan seemed instantly defensive. He shuffled backwards in his seat, crossing his arms. ‘What about her? I thought it was a suicide?’

Jessica opened a cardboard wallet and took out the photocopies they had made of Molly’s diary. ‘I’m just going to read you a few things and you can say if they sound familiar. I’ll go from the earliest entry, if only to give your solicitor the full picture. Is there anything you’d like to say first?’

Aidan said nothing, staring at Jessica with his mouth open. She could tell he was terrified.

‘Okay, well, if you’re sitting comfortably then I’ll begin,’ Jessica said, then started to read.

‘I know there’s something that Si isn’t telling me. She’s been weird ever since that time she told her dad she was staying over at mine but really didn’t. I keep wanting to ask her what’s going on but don’t want to fall out. At first I thought it was because Rebecca was telling people that Si fucked two lads in the college toilets. I don’t know why Si puts up with it. It’s not as if being a virgin is anything to be ashamed of. Everyone thinks she sleeps around. If only they knew.’

Jessica looked up at Aidan. ‘Anything to say?’ She glanced across at the man’s solicitor and, from the nervous look on his face, she knew that he must have a good idea where things were going.

‘Nothing?’ she continued. ‘All right then, how about this from five days later.

‘Oh my God. I can’t believe it. I feel like crying. Si told me tonight that she’s not a virgin any longer. She didn’t want to say who but it’s definitely a boy. I can’t even think about it. Some of the lads are going around school saying horrible things but it can’t be any of them. Si told me she was only stringing them along. I wish she would tell me the truth but maybe it’s my fault for not telling her how I felt sooner?’

Aidan still wasn’t reacting and Jessica knew she was going to have to read everything she had. ‘This next one’s around eight weeks later,’ she said.

‘Today I’ve spent most of the day in my bedroom with Si. Usually that would be brilliant but I finally found out why she’s been feeling ill all week.’

Jessica raised her eyes. ‘Just for your benefit, this next sentence is in capital letters,’ she said.

‘SHE’S FUCKING PREGNANT. As in there’s a baby inside of her. It’s a good job Mum and Dad were out because there’s no way they wouldn’t have heard. Si went through almost a whole box of tissues. She didn’t want to say who the father is but she didn’t want her dad finding out either. She spent the whole day stressing. I was trying to say it was going to be all right but we both knew that was bollocks. I don’t know what she’s going to do.’

Jessica took a breath and brought out another sheet from the wallet. ‘I’m skipping through a bit here but you’ll get the gist. Anyway . . .

‘I didn’t think she was going to do it but Si eventually told her dad about being pregnant today. She asked me to be there with her, partly because she thought he might shout a bit less. Fat chance! He was horrible to her. He called her a slut and a slag and said she was a whore just like her mum. He screamed at her to tell him the name of the boy but she wouldn’t. I think he might have killed whoever it was if she had. Eventually, he just said he’d pay to make it go away. I felt really bad because Si was going to go to the clinic without telling him but I thought she would feel better if she told her dad. I didn’t know he would react like that. Si said she was all right but I don’t know how she could have been. I thought it was just a jab or something but there are these sit-down interview things. I’ve told her I’ll go with her wherever she wants.’

Aidan was white as Jessica finished reading. He was staring at the back of the sheets of paper she was reading from, as if he could somehow see the words. ‘Just a couple more,’ Jessica said.

‘I don’t know what I thought an abortion was but I didn’t think it would be like that. It’s really messy and poor Si just cried and cried. I don’t think it was the procedure itself, more the fact she had to go through everything with just me. Her dad was somewhere else on business and she said the father refused to come. I asked her who it was, expecting her to say nothing like always. I actually felt guilty when she told me because it felt like I’d taken advantage of her when we were sat in the waiting room. She just said, “It’s Aidan.” At first I was like, “Aidan who” but then it dawned on me that she meant our tutor.’