Jessica heard a small sob come from the man but she didn’t want to interrupt the flow.

‘I’ve always found him a little creepy. It’s the way he looks at some of the girls. Sometimes you’ll see him watching them leave or whatever. I know he’s always had something for Si. I think she probably knew too. It turns out that, on the night she told her dad she was at mine, she was actually at his. Si didn’t want to say because he’s married. She feels really bad about it. She reckoned there were pictures of his wife in the living room and everything. I really don’t know why she went through with it. Apparently Aidan’s wife was on a work trip or something but I don’t know why she chose to lose her virginity to him. I said that she should tell someone but she didn’t want to. I think she’s in love with him. Either that or she thinks she is.’

Aidan’s solicitor interrupted. ‘What are you hoping to achieve through all of this?’

Jessica looked at Aidan, ignoring the other man. ‘Do you want to tell him or shall I?’ Aidan said nothing but reached for a tissue from the table.

‘Fine,’ Jessica said.

‘I didn’t know if I would be able to write this down but I figured maybe someone will read it one day. I know I should go and tell people but I have no proof. I’ve been hoping Si told someone else what was going on but, if she did, no one else is saying it. I don’t know how to even write this because it somehow doesn’t seem real. Maybe I’m hoping that, by writing it, it helps me to figure out what happened. I know I’m going to re-read these next few words over and over but . . . Si is dead. It sounds like she killed herself but I don’t know. She said she was going to the cinema with Rebecca but then I don’t know what happened. They’re saying she slit her wrists. I can’t believe it. I’ve just read the last sentence over and over and I still can’t believe it. My phone rang earlier and I thought it might be her, even though she’s gone. She told me Aidan was going to leave his wife for her but then she seemed really upset yesterday and didn’t want to talk about it. She was avoiding me this morning but I think it was because she knew I would ask about things. I don’t know what to do. I’ve already told the officers I don’t know anything. I think they’ll be back but, if I tell them something then, it will seem suspicious. I just want to cry. I wish Si was here.’

Jessica’s throat was feeling dry. She took two long sips from a cup of water on the table, carefully watching Aidan. His solicitor had been furiously making notes throughout the previous entry but the tutor seemed largely unmoved. The earlier tears had stopped but still stained his face as he continued to stare at the photocopies Jessica was reading from.

‘A couple more,’ she said.

‘I went to see Aidan today. I told him that I knew about him and Si. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so scared. He asked me what I was going to do. I said I wanted him to tell the headteacher and if he didn’t, then I would. He asked if I could leave him over the weekend because he’d have to tell his wife. I thought it sounded fair enough.’

Jessica shuffled onto the final page. She flipped it around to show both men. ‘I could read this out for the tape but I won’t. As you can both see, the “c” word has been written over and over in capital letters. I’ll continue from the next page.

‘I went to see Aidan again today. He lied about talking to his wife. He said that I had no proof and that, if I thought about going to the head or the police or anyone else then he would “fucking do me”. He said that he would make sure no university would take me and that he would spread rumours through the school. At first I thought he wasn’t serious and tried to say I’d tell the police anyway but he grabbed my arm and spat in my face. He told me not to mess with him and kept going on about how I have no proof. The thing is that he’s right. All I’ve got is Si’s word and she’s not here. I miss her so much. I started writing a poem about her last night but couldn’t finish. Mum and Dad have invited me out with them for lunch tomorrow but I can’t stand it. It’s not them, I just don’t know what to do. I wish there was someone I could talk to.’

Jessica put the pages down and looked up, waiting until Aidan caught her eye. ‘Molly North killed herself the next day,’ she said quietly. A fury was raging inside of her but she kept her tone calm. ‘Are you proud of yourself?’

Before Aidan could speak, his solicitor cut in. ‘This is ridiculous. How are you ever going to convince a court those words you’ve just been reading aren’t something you’ve made up? What are you even going to charge him with? As far as I can tell, from everything you’ve described, no criminal offence has taken place.’

Jessica didn’t want to speak, partly because her throat was hurting but also because she didn’t know if she could stop herself from saying something she would regret. Taking the hint, Reynolds cut in and spoke to say he was ending the interview. Aidan and his solicitor looked on, each as confused as the other.

Both officers stood up. ‘You can leave,’ Reynolds said, nodding towards the door.

Aidan slowly got to his feet, his solicitor packing the pad he had been writing on into his briefcase. ‘Did you really just bring us here to read all of that?’

Jessica watched Reynolds stare at Aidan. Because of the way he usually acted like a mixture of her father and older brother, she had forgotten how fearsome he could be.

‘No, we brought you in here to let you know that we know what you did,’ Jessica said. ‘Whether we can prove it – and whether it’s technically a criminal offence – is another matter.’

The solicitor took his client by the wrist and led him out of the room. Jessica started to speak but Reynolds barely let her get a word out. ‘Not here.’ In silence, he led her along the corridors until they were in his office.

‘What do you think he’s going to do?’ Jessica asked.

‘I couldn’t care less. We could go into abuse of trust or something like that but Sienna was over eighteen and the only proof we have of anything is the diary of a dead girl. We already knew that. Neither of us really thought he’d confess, not with a solicitor there.’

‘It was worth a try though. He’ll be looking over his shoulder every time he sees a blue flashing light now.’

‘Oh, he’ll be doing more than that.’

Reynolds had spoken with a fearsome tone in his voice and Jessica felt intimidated by such a change in the man she thought she knew.

‘What are you going to do?’ she asked.

‘I’m going to send photocopies of this diary to every newspaper and TV channel in a ten-mile radius. I don’t even care if it comes back to me – there’s no way he’s getting away with this.’

‘I’ll do it,’ Jessica said.

‘No you won’t. If I end up getting it in the neck for this, I want you to get my job.’

‘Why would you do that?’

The inspector put an arm around Jessica. ‘Because you’ve already done enough.’

32

Jessica relaxed into the large reclining chair and put her feet up on the desk. ‘About time you got a new one,’ she said approvingly.

She watched Andrew relax into his own matching chair. ‘I didn’t think I could put up with you moaning about it any longer.’

‘How did Harley take the news about his daughter and her teacher?’ Jessica asked.

‘I don’t know. I called him the night before you told me it was going to drop in the papers. I thought he’d be angry, which he sort of was, but I think he’s been through too much to really take it all in. He said he’d pay me. I kept telling him it was nothing to do with me but he wouldn’t listen.’

‘What are you going to do with the cash?’