Page 97

‘You also wanted to know about the injection needles, didn’t you?’ Mr Cockrun says. ‘Why we keep them locked up.’

‘Well … yes. Why do you?’

Mr Cockrun folds his fingers together. ‘Lloyd Neilson again.’

I raise an eyebrow. ‘He seems to be your answer for everything.’

‘That’s because he usuallyisthe answer for everything.’ Mr Cockrun stands and paces back and forth, hands spread like he’s giving a speech. ‘Look. A few months ago, things started going missing. Personal stuff belonging to the children. Money. And then medical items. Prescriptions would be given to the school office. Painkillers, antibiotics and so forth. And they’d vanish.’ He eyes me meaningfully. ‘Do you understand where I’m coming from?’

‘Yes. You’re saying Lloyd was stealing meds.’

‘We caught him red-handed. He seems to have a fascination with the stuff.’

‘What about injection needles?’

‘We keep them locked up so he can’t get to them. I hope that answers all your questions. As you can see, we’re just a hard-working school trying to meet government requirements while dealing with some very difficult children.’

It makes sense, I suppose. Leanne has a prescription medication addiction. Children often imitate what they see at home. But I feel there’s more to this than the headmaster is telling me.

‘So has Lloyd ever got hold of injection needles at school?’

‘We’ve only caught him stealing tablets. The diabeticsshallhave their insulin!’

‘So the tablets the caretaker caught Lloyd with – weretheytaken from the school medicine cabinet?’

‘Unlikely. You can see we keep everything locked up now. But not impossible. You never know with Lloyd.’

‘And the medicine bottle at the back of the field?’ I ask, leaning closer.

‘My guess is Lloyd again,’ says Mr Cockrun. ‘Look, I know you’re going to say I blame Lloyd Neilson for everything. But it’s happened before. Lloyd has … persuaded kids to bring medicine in for him.’

‘So you think Tom Kinnock brought in medicine for Lloyd? The bottle in the school field had Olly Kinnock’s name on it – Tom’s father.’

Mr Cockrun blinks. ‘I thought the father wasn’t on the scene.’

‘That’s what I thought too.’

‘Well.’ Mr Cockrun continues to pace. ‘Who can say how that bottle got there? Perhaps we’ll never know the truth. All I can tell you is we truly care here, Mrs Noble. We’re on the ball. No child left behind. You can see from our results that there aren’t any problems at this school. We’re one of the best in the country.’

I laugh. ‘I work in the public sector, Mr Cockrun. I know first-hand how results can be … shall we say affected? Not tell the full story?’

Mr Cockrun walks to the door. ‘And on that note let’s call it a day, Mrs Noble.’

‘Mr Cockrun—’

‘We’ve said everything we need to say and this situation has taken up too much of my energy.’ He opens the office door. ‘I wish you well, Mrs Noble. I hope you realise we’re just doing our best. You and I are probably more alike than you realise. I can see you’re ambitious. Hard-working. Someone who rises to a challenge.’

‘Yes. I am.’ Although sometimes, the tired, overworked me wishes I’d followed Tessa’s advice and buried Tom Kinnock’s file in some back drawer.

Lizzie

I’ve always felt safe in hospitals. I suppose that’s why I trained as a nurse – medicine seemed safe. Reassuring. But right now, I don’t feel safe at all. Tom isstillunconscious and I’m terrified.

What if he doesn’t wake up?

I feel sick with worry. I can’t bear this.

We’re in intensive care, a nurse seated next to Tom’s bed. I’m relieved that we’re getting close attention, but I’m still terrified.