Page 45 of Twisted Lies

A woman in a navy pinstripe trouser suit appeared to be awaiting their arrival at reception.

‘Anna Lennox,’ she said, offering her hand.

Both of them held up their identification.

‘Please, follow me,’ she said, as though trying to get them out of sight as quickly as possible.

They followed into a small room, just off the reception area, which the woman opened with a single key. The office was a small, windowless room with a desk and a couple of chairs. The sparseness indicated it was a spare office no longer in use. Did the woman not want her own working space infected with their presence?

‘Unnerving and distracting,’ she explained. ‘If the students see you wandering around, it’ll disrupt their studies. Now, how may I help you? Are the boys okay? They’ve not come to school today, and I’ve had no call from their mother.’

The woman wrung her hands and Kim detected more than just concern for the boys, and she instantly guessed why.

‘We have no reason to believe the boys are not in the custody of their mother and that they are safe and well.’

The pile of school uniforms told her that they’d returned home from school. This woman and her staff had done nothing wrong.

‘You just never know. Even though the woman is an authorised party and the necessary checks were made—’

‘What checks?’ Kim asked.

‘Well, most children have two nominated adults, often parents, but we allow more for the purpose of grandparents and other family members. Even so, we don’t just allow the children to be collected at any time of the day by people we’ve never met before, even if they are listed on record.’

‘So Leanne had never collected the boys from school before?’

Anna shook her head. ‘No, it was always the mother and just occasionally the father. We called Mrs Phipps to verify that everything was in order, and she confirmed it was.’

‘Did she offer any explanation for removing the boys in the middle of class?’

‘No, she said only that it was a family emergency and that Ms King, her sister, was to bring the boys home.’

Bryant took out his notebook and made a note of the name.

‘Address?’

‘Yes, I can get that from the office before you leave.’

‘And were there ever any issues with the boys?’ Kim asked.

‘Not that I’m aware of. I don’t know every child individually; I rely on their form teachers to address any immediate problems but to keep me informed.’

‘And neither of their teachers have alerted you to any concerns?’

‘Not at all.’

‘May we speak to Tommy’s teacher first?’ Kim asked.

‘Yes, let me get him for you. He’s a supply teacher, but he’s been with us for some time.’

‘Thanks,’ Kim said. Clearly Anna was not going to let them leave the office.

The woman paused at the door.

‘Of course, we don’t know what kind of trauma the boys suffered before they came here.’

‘Trauma?’ Kim asked.

‘Well, something had clearly happened some time in their past. Why else would they both need counselling?’