Page 46 of Twisted Lies

‘Both of them needed therapy?’ Kim queried.

‘Yes, they both visited the same therapist once a week.’

Thirty-Five

It was an athletic-looking man in his mid-thirties who knocked and entered the small office. His smile was warm and open.

‘Liam Docherty, Tommy’s teacher.’

Bryant stood to offer his hand and introduce them both, while Kim couldn’t help but wonder how many of the girls he taught had secret crushes on him. Not that he appeared to do anything to emphasise his natural good looks. He wore a pale blue shirt and black trousers, but he wore them well. He sat in the seat previously occupied by Anna Lennox.

‘Mr Docherty, we—’

‘Please call me Liam. By the end of the day, I am sick to death of my last name.’

‘Okay, Liam, can you tell us about the Phipps boys?’

‘Well, I don’t know either of them well. I probably spent just a little more time with Tommy, the older boy; even so, I didn’t really know him.’

‘But you’re his teacher?’ Kim queried. Teachers were trained to look out for all kinds of signs.

‘I’m actually his temporary teacher. I’m supply, not permanent. I get called in to cover sickness, holiday, maternity leave. I’m here right now and could be in Staffordshire or Leicester next week. I teach many children, so rarely get the chance to form real bonds with them.’ He smiled. ‘I have all the same responsibilities: lesson plans, marking and all that.’

‘But you prefer to be casual?’

‘It suits me for now. I don’t have to get bogged down in the politics of a place, the gossip. Let’s be honest, every place has that, but as it doesn’t affect me, I get to come in, teach and leave.’

He offered a smile that while not smug indicated he’d found a system that offered him the best of both worlds.

‘So you didn’t notice anything—’

‘Aah, I didn’t say that,’ he said pleasantly. ‘I said I didn’t know him well. I immediately saw that he was what I would call a middle child.’

‘A what?’ Kim asked. Tommy had only had one brother.

‘In my experience, a class is filled with three types of kids on the social spectrum: the introverts, who don’t want to interact at all; the extroverts, who want all the attention; and the ones in the middle that would like to interact more but hold themselves back. Those are the ones you aim for, the ones you try and nurture towards confidence. I’d see Tommy in class, watching the extroverts shoving their hands in the air to answer every question. I could tell he wanted to contribute more, so I started to call on him for answers, but he’d always close right back down again.’ He thought for a moment. ‘It was like he was scared of letting go, of joining in. He was a clever lad, always writing things down.’

Like his own name, Kim thought.

‘Did he ever reveal anything about himself or his family?’

Liam shook his head. ‘They seemed like any normal family. A bit reserved but—’

‘You met Keith and Diane?’

‘Yes, parents’ evening about four months ago. Though it wasn’t a long meeting, they were very attentive.’

‘It wasn’t a long meeting because?’

‘There were few issues to discuss with them. He needed a little more attention to Maths, but overall Tommy worked hard, got good grades and wasn’t a disruptive child in class, which is why I chose to keep the one minor incident to myself.’

‘Minor incident?’

‘Just a scuffle with another boy. It was over in seconds. Just a disagreement. The boys shook hands and moved on.’

‘Any idea what it was about?’

‘Neither boy would say but both assured me it wouldn’t happen again, and it didn’t.’