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‘But you lied, Tristan. You told them she never started the camera.’
His forehead is covered in a sheen of sweat and he wipes it off. ‘It’s not enough to put me in jail. But it’s enough to end my career. And that, as I think you all know, has consequences for everyone in our family.’
‘It’s too late though, dear,’ says Mina. ‘Georgia is out there somewhere. I’d guess she’s already sent it to the police.’
He grits his teeth. ‘Georgia will just have to delete all her copies. I will not stop protecting my family.’ He smiles as if he’s pleased to have found such a simple solution. And then his phone rings.
85
BEFORE
The policewoman inhaled a sausage roll before getting out of the car, her lanky partner extracting himself like a praying mantis exiting a pinhole, limbs first.
I opened the door before the knock. ‘Are you here about Jenna?’ I asked, letting worry scribble itself all over my face.
‘Detective Bevan,’ said the woman. She had straight dark hair and deep purple shadows beneath her eyes. She tilted her head at the man. ‘PC Croft.’
I let them in. ‘Tea or coffee?’ I asked.
‘Coffee,’ they both said.
It was just after midnight. I’d had a message from Neil at nine, which I’d previewed and left unread:
Still no JBB. Mum has called police.
So, they were only alerted around the time I’d got home.
‘She’s still missing, then. Neil must be so worried – and Frances, of course,’ I said, carrying through steaming mugs.
‘When did you last see Jenna?’ asked Bevan.
I shook my head. ‘This morning. She was upset. Neil must’ve told you?’
Bevan waited, and I discovered that my usual ability to remain stone-cold had deserted me. I was being questioned by the police; I was expected to somehow not mention the tape.
I cleared my throat. ‘She was very upset. I think she might be being bullied. She’s told me things aren’t right at home.’
‘And you didn’t see her after that?’
I shook my head. ‘Her best friend told me she’d gone home ill. I thought she probably just cut my class. I knew she didn’t want to be in the rehearsal. I thought I’d let it slide. After the bell I marked in my classroom until about six.’
‘And then?’
I wondered how easy it would be for them to check. I didn’t believe there were cameras on the roads between here and my dad’s retirement village. And then I started sweating because I remembered there were cameras all over the retirement village, in my dad’s house, and my bringing the girls in would have been recorded.
‘I went to the beach.’
‘One of your students is missing, and you went to the beach?’ said Croft.
‘Which beach?’ asked Bevan.
I took a sip of tea to give myself a moment. ‘Piskie,’ I said. It’s a beautiful little pebbled beach. Enough people would have been there for me to have melted into the crowd without it being strange that I didn’t bump into an acquaintance. ‘Honestly, I’m sorry – I just assumed she’d turn up.’
‘You didn’t check in with the head?’ said Croft.
‘I thought he’d call.’ I took out my phone and grimaced. ‘Oh, dear. It’s on silent.’ I put it away, but not before I noticed the missed calls and messages counting up in my notifications bar. I clenched my teeth.
Bevan sighed.
