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‘Freya said she went to school there,’ says Tony. ‘I looked it up and there’s an independent school there called King’s. It looks very posh from the photos.’
‘Follow it up,’ says Nelson. ‘But we need to tread carefully. Superintendent Archer made a statement this morning confirming that the bones are Emily’s. There’ll be a lot of press interest in the case.’
Nelson watched the press conference from the safety of his desk. Leah, who’d found the link for him, watched it too and said she thought Super Jo had had her roots done specially. Nelson couldn’t comment on that– he always used to be in trouble for failing to notice when Michelle had been to the hairdresser– but he thought Jo had done a good job of handling questions. The police were reopening the case, following several lines of enquiry, please respect the parents’ privacy, etc. They won’t, of course.
‘We need to check everything,’ he says now. ‘We should look at any forensic exhibits too. Forensics has come on a lot since 2002. I don’t suppose Leo Ballard still has the same car, for example?’
‘I wouldn’t think so,’ says Tanya. ‘There was a car in his drive. It looked newish.’
‘What make was it?’ asks Judy.
‘I don’t know. I’m not like you. I don’t readWhat Car?magazine.’
‘It was an electric Kia EV6,’ says Bradley Linwood.
‘Well, he certainly didn’t have that in 2002,’ says Nelson. ‘But we could try to trace his original car if it hasn’t gone for scrap. And we need to talk to anyone who saw Emily that weekend.’ He glances at Judy. She must know that this includes Cathbad. But Judy’s face is blank. Nelson has always admired the way she can keep her emotions in check but he wishes he knew what she was thinking.
He goes on. ‘We need to talk to the other students– particularly Thomas Westbourne– and the assistant lecturer, Mark Oldbury. There might be other contacts too. We should work closely with Cambridgeshire CID.’
‘We’ll have Dave Clough in here every day,’ says Tanya. ‘Eating chips and telling us what to do.’
‘He’s a reformed character,’ says Nelson. ‘He tells me that he’s practically vegan these days.’
Though Cloughie had insisted on stopping at a burger van just outside Lincoln.
Ruth is surprised to see that the lecture hall is full for the emergency general meeting. She’s also surprised to learn that she’s chairing the meeting.
‘Just give an update and then take questions,’ says David. He has put a table and three chairs on the dais, one for him, one for Ruth and one for the branch officer of the University and College Union, Becky Smallwood.
‘We should have a ballot on industrial action,’ says Becky. ‘This isn’t any way to run a university.’
Ruth agrees whilst disloyally wondering if anyone will notice if university lecturers go on strike in the summer. She looks out over the raked seats. Shona and Phil are sitting together at the front, which is rather disconcerting. But Ruth also spots a lot of her students as well as all the staff members of the archaeology and history departments. At the very last minute the university vice-chancellor, Colin Bland, slides into the room and stands by the back wall. Ruth squares her shoulders and takes hold of the microphone.
‘Thank you for coming,’ she says. ‘You may have heard that last Friday the executive board made the decision to close the archaeology department at UNN.’
‘Shame,’ shouts someone.
‘I think it is a shame,’ says Ruth, looking in the direction of the speaker. ‘It’s a shame that this decision was taken in private with no members of the department present. It’s a shame that it was announced on Twitter. It’s a shame that the board took the unilateral decision to close down a department rated amongst the top in the world for archaeology.’
This is stretching it a bit but UNN is number thirty-six in the QS world rankings for archaeology. Cambridge is number one. Ruth is surprised at the warm applause that greets her words. Getting into her stride, she continues, ‘I first came to Norfolk to participate in the excavation of the Bronze Age henge on the Saltmarsh. It’s an area that is uniquely rich in history and archaeology. UNN Archaeology has been involved in some of the highest profile research in recent years, from the causeway across to the marshes to the Second World War bodies at Sea’s End and the recent medieval grave in Tombland.’ She pauses. All these discoveries have also been linked to modern deaths and more recent trauma but now is not the time to go into that. ‘The decision to close the department will not only harm the academic reputation of the university, it will harm the global study of archaeology.’
David stands up. ‘Dr Galloway can hardly say this herself, but she is a leading figure in British archaeology. She has published three books, appeared on television, and is an advisor to the police. She left a highly prestigious position at Cambridge University to lead the department here. The university will make itself look ridiculous if it sidelines its most prominent academic.’
More applause and shouts of ‘Good old Ruth’. Colin Bland raises his hand.
‘Let’s hear from the vice-chancellor,’ says Ruth.
Colin is Australian and Ruth suspects him of overdoing the accent because it makes him sound charming.
‘No one is a bigger admirer of Dr Galloway than me,’ he says. ‘But these are tough times. Covid has hit us for six. And archaeology student numbers are down. It’s a trend we’ve seen across all British universities. I hope that Dr Galloway will continue her research and post-graduate teaching.’
‘Where will the archaeologists of the future come from?’ asks Ruth. ‘We need to run undergraduate courses in order to have post-graduates in the future.’
Colin seems disinclined to answer this. Becky Smallwood stands up. ‘The UCU is going to fight. We will not accept this forced closure or the compulsory redundancies. We will ballot our members on immediate industrial action.’
‘You can help,’ David tells the audience. ‘Write to the vice-chancellor, write to your MP. Sign our petition. Details on Twitter. Hashtag SaveUNNArch.’
Ruth asks for questions and several people ask about timing. The existing students are reassured that their courses will be completed. Eileen Gribbon, one of Ruth’s second years, asks if there will still be a third-year field trip.
