Page 31 of Dying Truth

‘So, what next?’ he asked, picking up his pen and rolling it between his fingers.

‘We’ll regroup in the morning before the press conference and then I’ll announce Sadie’s death as murder,’ she said.

Woody shook his head. ‘No, you won’t.’

She made no effort to hide her surprise. Normally Woody pushed her to deal more with the press.

‘Won’t what?’ she queried. ‘Announce it as murder or take the press conference.’

‘Neither,’ he answered.

‘Sir, we need to announce it. We’ve found no clear motive for the murder of Sadie Winters. No forensics to try and match. How do we know other kids are not at risk? I appreciate you giving me the day to find out, but we really now have to be fair to the parents who may want to remove their children from the school.’

‘Murder is not to be mentioned by us, do you understand, Stone?’

‘No, sir, I don’t,’ she replied. ‘Please explain why we are going to risk the lives of more children by not being honest about Sadie’s death.’

‘I will not explain my decisions to you,’ he roared.

‘But are they yours?’ she asked, unable to stop the words shooting out of her mouth.

He stared at her for a long minute. ‘That’ll be all, Stone,’ he said, shortly.

‘Sir, I really must protest. We cannot put more children—’

‘I said, that’ll be all. Now get out.’

She headed for the door and even though she knew she had already said too much she turned back for one last attempt to voice her argument.

But her boss had already picked up the phone.

Twenty-One

The cards filed into the candle room one by one, their shoes shuffling along the bare concrete. Casual dress but no trainers. Always shoes.

The dark space beneath the bell tower had been the meeting room of the Spades since 1949 and now had a single light bulb in the centre of the fifteen foot square space. It wasn’t switched on. Instead the room was lit by a tall candelabra in each corner, casting willowy shadows around the room. It was tradition.

The Joker waited until all the cards stood behind their chairs at the round table, the King to his right and the Jack to his left. His own chair stood before the framed black Spade sewn together from pieces of the graduation gowns of the first eleven cards back in the early fifties.

He sat, and the others followed.

This was an unscheduled late-night meeting. There was an empty chair. One card was missing and that was the reason they were there.

But that would wait for a short while.

‘You all know that Sadie Winters is dead?’ asked the Joker, gravely.

He watched as they all nodded in turn. As was customary, a card did not speak unless spoken to directly.

‘Is there anyone here who knows anything about the incident?’ he asked, looking around the circle.

Heads shook in the negative.

The Joker held the gaze of the King for a second longer. A couple of cards had clashed with Sadie Winters, but the King had been closer than most.

The King shook his head.

‘Spades don’t take the law into their own hands,’ said the Joker, to ensure they all understood. ‘Punishments are discussed and agreed,’ he said, nodding towards the empty chair.