On the day I last saw him, I had been in hospital for two days, and then by the time I was discharged the following day he was gone from the flat, leaving me not only with scars but also a mountain of debt. Anna wouldn’t let me sink into the pit of despair that lay in front of me, and dragged me back from the brink. She was also the one who helped me find a way to avoid selling the flat, though even now my finances were still in dire straits because of the mess he’d left me in. What was he doing here, working in a school for the deaf? The last job he’d had when I knew him was in a call centre, though he’d lived off my earnings for the last two years of our relationship. He hadn’t been able to sign before we met, had never even met a deaf person until I introduced him to my sister, Anna, and Gemma, my best friend. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but it rankled that he’d taken the skills I’d taught him and used them to get himself a better job when I was the one still struggling financially.
Shaking myself, I focused on the task in hand. I couldn’t let Mike’s presence affect the way I did my job. It would be humiliating if I screwed up just because he was there, watching me.
‘I need you all to pay attention, please,’ Singh said, addressing the group. He paused to give me time to interpret what he’d said, and I was pleased to see how easily we slipped back into a good working partnership.
‘At the moment we don’t know if Leon has left the grounds of the estate or not. We have police officers and park staff out searching, but there are three hundred acres to cover. There are also police officers going into the local area to see if anyone has any information; if anyone saw him walking outside the park or waiting for a bus. I need all of you to think carefully about anything Leon said or did yesterday that was unusual, or different. If any of you can think of where he might have gone, it’s very important that you tell us. We need to make sure Leon is safe. He won’t be in trouble when we find him.’ He looked at Liz Marcek. ‘We’re still trying to get in contact with Steve Wilkinson. The number you’ve given us is going straight to voicemail.’
A couple of the teenagers turned to look at each other, one continued to stare straight at Singh and the other looked at the ground. It had been thirteen years since I’d left school, and it felt like a lot longer, but I tried to put myself in their position. The five of them were all in care, with the residential part of the school acting as a care home year-round for those students who needed it. Foster carers who could use BSL were rare, so the arrangement worked well and ensured consistency for the students. Anna had gone to Lincoln School for the Deaf, so I knew a little about it already, although I had only been to the school a couple of times when I was a teenager, to watch Anna starring in drama performances.
Just because they all lived together didn’t necessarily mean they were friends, but I knew from Anna’s stories it was likely the residents knew each other pretty well. Leon was fifteen, and there could be all sorts of reasons a fifteen-year-old would run away, but until the police discovered why he’d gone it might be harder to figure out where he’d gone. I cast my eyes over the group again, and realised one of the girls was looking at me, her head tilted slightly to one side, one hand fiddling with the pendant around her neck. She was dressed in very drab clothes, dark jeans and a grey jumper that was too big for her, and her mud-brown hair hung limply.
I decided to take the initiative. Have you thought of something? I signed to her.
The girl looked over at the staff members, then shook her head.
Cassie, it’s okay. If you know something, you should tell them, Miss Marcek told her, but the girl shook her head again.
I don’t know where he went, she signed, and I interpreted for the detectives. She looked at me again, something like defiance in her eyes. He’s been looking forward to this trip for weeks.
Forest and Singh had a quick whispered conversation, then asked if they could take the staff aside to speak to them for a few minutes. We went through a doorway off the living area, which led to a small kitchen, leaving the students with the uniformed officers.
‘We need to decide how to proceed from here,’ Singh said. I began to sign his words, at the same time as Mike did.
I turned to him, but still did not look him in the eye. ‘I’m here to interpret, please try not to confuse the situation.’
Singh must have noticed the tension between us because he gave me a look before he spoke. ‘Paige is right. Whilst we appreciate your help earlier, Mr Lowther, we find it best if we use our own interpreter.’
Mike held up his hands. ‘Sorry, it’s just automatic, you know?’ He flashed Singh an apologetic grin, and I felt heat rise up my neck. Swallowing hard, I nodded at Singh to continue.
Why the hell did Steve go on his own? Liz Marcek signed, shaking her head. This is completely unprofessional, he knows the school policy for dealing with an incident like this. When Mike let me know what had happened I thought I’d better come up.
Singh nodded. ‘I understand. I’m sorry to keep you waiting around here, but at the moment I think it’s safest if we keep the children all in one place.’
Can we help with the search? Sasha Thomas, the social worker, asked, her eyes bright with concern.
Forest seemed to consider this for a moment. ‘There’s no reason why you can’t go with a uniformed officer and help,’ she replied. ‘We need all of the help we can get to cover this amount of land. I’ve only got half the number of PCs I’d like for an operation of this size, but they’re all I was allowed.’
One of us will need to stay with the students, Liz Marcek told Sasha.
‘I’ll stay,’ Mike said quickly. ‘Paige and I can catch up while you’re out there searching.’ The smile he aimed at me looked charming, but I wasn’t going to fall for it.
‘No, we’ll leave a PC with you,’ Forest said brusquely. ‘Paige will need to accompany Ms Thomas, if she’s joining the search party.’
I breathed a sigh of relief. Forest had probably said that in order to stop me from putting my feet up while I was being paid to interpret, but I didn’t care what her motives were as long as she didn’t leave me alone with Mike.
Singh led Sasha and me back outside, where he introduced us to a PC.
‘Ryan, I’m adding you to the search party, with Paige and Sasha here.’ Singh pulled a map out of his pocket and handed it over, indicating which part of the estate hadn’t been covered yet. ‘If in doubt, follow your own footprints back here again.’
The uniformed officer nodded and set off away from the cabin, taking us further from the hall and deeper into the woods. Before we turned a corner and lost sight of the cabin I looked back; someone was watching us from the window, but I couldn’t see who it was.
It’s getting darker, I pointed out to Sasha. I think it’s going to snow again.
She shook her head. I told them we shouldn’t have come, with this forecast. But Steve was determined not to cancel. A bit of snow will make it all the more exciting, he said. She rolled her eyes. This is more than just a bit of snow, but he wouldn’t listen, and he’s the head so has the final decision.
Why did you come with them? I asked.
They needed a woman, she replied with a wry smile. None of the female staff could come this weekend, or so they said, so Steve asked me.
PC Ryan was walking slightly ahead of us and glanced back at us occasionally, but as he couldn’t follow the conversation he carried on trudging through the snow in silence. Sasha and I stopped signing for some time, as we looked around us, searching for any sign of Leon or Steve as we went. The trees along the side of the path were thinning out, and the expanse of virgin snow ahead of us was widening.
‘We’ll go as far as that stand of trees, there,’ PC Ryan told me, ‘then loop back around. According to the map we’re getting closer to where the southern end of the estate meets the road, so we’ll go that way to check for potential entrances or exits.’
I signed this for Sasha and she nodded. How do we know he’s even in the park?
‘We don’t,’ the PC replied with a shrug. ‘But we still have to look.’
As we walked, I wondered why this particular part of the park was so open. The area in front of us was completely clear of trees, and it was an almost perfect square. It was only when I spotted a low, snow-covered building on the far side that I realised where we were.
‘Is this the cricket club?’ I asked Ryan, and he frowned, pulling out the map.
‘Er, yes. Yes, it must be,’ he said, his tone of voice not filling me with confidence. I hoped we were going to be able to find our way back to the cabin.
‘In which case, we’re closer to the road than you thought,’ I pointed out, but he didn’t say anything.
‘We should check the pavilion,’ he said. ‘It would be an ideal place to shelter.’
I signed our conversation for Sasha, and she nodded.
That’s a good idea. If he’s still in the park it’d be a good place to hide. Nobody is going to be playing on this pitch for a little while.
The three of us crossed the pitch and approached the small building.
‘Look,’ I said, pointing to where a pane of glass had been broken.
PC Ryan put out an arm. ‘Don’t come any closer,’ he said. ‘There might be evidence and we don’t want to compromise it.’
‘There’s less snow around the door, as if it was pushed open from the inside,’ I pointed out, and Ryan nodded, already on his radio. He explained where we were and what we’d found, so we then had to wait for the detectives to come and find us. Sasha kept shifting from foot to foot and trying to peer through the window, anxious to see if Leon was inside.
After a few minutes had passed, I felt something soft brush my cheek and looked up.
‘It’s snowing again,’ I said, as more fat flakes drifted down.
‘Just what we need,’ Ryan muttered.
Come on, let’s check round the back, I signed to Sasha, who had been pacing restlessly. She nodded her agreement and followed me. Leaving Ryan waiting for Forest, we stomped through the snow and looped round behind the pavilion.
I feel responsible, she told me. I should have realised something was wrong.
Don’t say that, I replied, trying to reassure her. Nobody knows what happened, yet.
I know, but … She stopped and paused. What’s that?
What?
That, over there?
I followed where she was pointing and squinted into the trees. As I moved closer I spotted what looked like a pile of material at the base of one of the trees, half covered in snow.
I don’t know. Stay here, I’ll have a look, I said, pushing my way through the frozen undergrowth. Sasha shook her head and followed me, and we approached together. As we got closer, we saw it wasn’t a pile of material, but a person.
Oh God, is he okay? I asked as we got closer to the man on the ground. He was lying on one side with his back to us. I could see a head of well-styled grey hair, some high-quality outdoors clothing and an expensive pair of walking shoes, one of which had come off and was lying about a metre away. A thin layer of snow covered him, setting off alarm bells in my head.
Sasha reached out to shake him, and the man’s head lolled in a sickening way. As his head tipped to the side I saw a huge gash on the side of his neck, and a vibrant splash of red on the snow to the side of him, spilling out from the wound. It was clear he was dead.
I retched and took a step back. My head was spinning.
Who is it? I asked, though I was sure I already knew the answer.
Steve Wilkinson, Sasha replied, her face pale. The head teacher.
Chapter 3
It took nearly an hour for the forensics team to arrive from Scunthorpe, with the snow coming down thick and fast by the time they arrived. Sasha and I were back in the cabin with the rest of the school group when Singh came in looking like he’d just returned from an expedition to the North Pole. Forest had informed Mike and Liz that Steve was dead and it didn’t look like an accident, but they hadn’t told the students yet. They knew something was wrong and kept asking questions, so the tension in the atmosphere was almost unbearable.
Singh beckoned to the staff and we all gathered in the kitchen once again.
‘There’s no sign of Leon, but it looks like someone has been in the pavilion today. The forensics officers are collecting evidence at the moment.’
What happened to Steve? Liz asked. I can’t believe this is happening.
‘I can’t answer that question right now,’ Singh replied. ‘We’ll need to wait for a post-mortem.’
Do you think Leon is dead as well? Did someone attack them both?
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, shaking his head gently. ‘I really don’t know, but you need to trust us to do our jobs. I promise you we’ll do our best to find out what happened.’
He looked back into the room where the four students were huddled together on a sofa, signing to each other.
‘I see no point in you and the students staying here now,’ he told Liz. ‘The roads have been gritted, and were cleared this morning, but I don’t want you to be here any longer than necessary and risk getting stuck. We’ll need to speak to each of the students tomorrow to see if they have any idea what might have happened, and when they last saw Leon and Steve. I think it’s best if we come to you at the school rather than asking you to bring them to a police station.’
Liz Marcek nodded. I think that’s a good idea. I can sit in on the interviews as an appropriate adult.
Sasha frowned and turned to her. As the children’s social worker, I think it would be more suitable for me to be with them.
For a moment I thought the deputy head was going to argue, but she inclined her head.
Of course, she signed.
‘I’d appreciate that, thank you. Now, could you ask the students to collect their belongings and we’ll escort you all back through the park to your minibus.’
What about Steve’s belongings? Sasha asked. His bag and everything are still here.
‘I can pack them up,’ Mike said. There was an eagerness in his eyes that I remembered well, and I wondered if Steve had any valuables that might somehow end up in Mike’s possession, but Singh shook his head.
‘No, thank you, the forensics team will want to take those. That’s another reason it’s a good idea to get the students out of the cabin as soon as possible.’
Of course. I’m reluctant to leave without all of the students we brought, though. Liz looked at Mike and Sasha. Could one of you stay here in case Leon turns up, then get a taxi back to school? You can put it on the school account. I’ll drive the minibus, and come back for my car tomorrow. I would feel more comfortable knowing one of us was still here.
‘Sure, I can do that,’ Mike replied, jumping in before Sasha could respond. He kept his hands behind his back as he spoke, flashing me a triumphant smile, as if he expected praise for not signing his response. I ignored him, interpreted what he’d said and waited for Singh to agree to their proposal. Once he had, we went back through to the main room. The four teenagers were signing to each other but stopped the moment we approached.
Miss Marcek explained to them that they were going back to the school but refused to answer any of their questions, and they all looked dismayed.
Can’t we stay here and help? one of the boys asked.
No, the police have it all under control. I need to make sure I keep the rest of you safe and get you back home.
But what if something’s happened to Leon? What if he’s been kidnapped?
Mike walked over to the group and signed something to the boy, but he had his back to me so I couldn’t see what had been said. Whatever it was, it must have allayed some of the boy’s fears, because a moment later they were all collecting their bags. We led them out of the cabin, where a group of uniformed officers took over, to guide them back to the car park. I turned to Singh as Mike started walking back towards us.
‘What about me? Do you still want me here?’
‘For now, yes please. If Leon does come back, or we find him, we’ll need an interpreter.’
‘I can do that,’ Mike replied as he approached us. ‘You don’t need Paige here. I’m sure she’s got better things to be doing with her Saturday.’
I ignored the comment and continued to look at Singh, who was clearly trying to work out what the issue was between the two of us.
‘I’m afraid that wouldn’t be appropriate, Mr Lowther.’
‘Why not? I can communicate well with Leon. I’m a familiar adult, he’ll respond well to me if he comes back.’
‘Because you’re one of the last people to have seen a murder victim alive, and it would be a conflict of interests,’ Singh replied, his voice terse. Mike held up his hands in defeat, his charm having failed for once. I was stunned: Mike was a suspect in Steve’s murder.
‘I believe you were sharing a room with Mr Wilkinson. While we’re waiting, can you identify which items in the room belong to him?’ Singh asked. ‘Then you can pack your own belongings.’
Part of me wanted to speak up, to tell Singh not to trust Mike with anyone else’s possessions, but I knew I couldn’t say anything, not without good reason. My stomach was churning with the stress of being physically close to Mike, my mind flooded with negative memories, and I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe.
‘I’m going outside,’ I told Singh, holding up my phone. ‘Call me if you need me back.’
Before he had a chance to protest, I turned on my heel and walked away in the direction of the woods.
For about ten minutes I kept my head down, paying attention to nothing around me, only focusing on my own breathing. I watched my feet as they made fresh imprints in the newly fallen snow. The snow was already finding its way in through a gap between my hat and scarf, and I wasn’t following one of the paths the police had marked, but I didn’t care; I wasn’t thinking about anything other than the situation I’d suddenly found myself in.
I’d been pleased to receive another call from the police – not pleased that a teenager had gone missing, of course, but pleased to be working with them again. Back in February, I’d hoped I could get some more regular work for the emergency services, but the Deaf community is a small one and so my work had gone back to being sporadic. In the last few weeks I’d even been toying with the idea of signing on with an agency again; they controlled so many contracts and, being freelance, it was hard to get a look in. If it hadn’t been for my debts, I would have been financially stable with the work I was getting, but as it was, I was only just scraping by. And the one person I could safely lay the blame on for it was suddenly back in my life.
Now I had a dilemma. I could quite easily pass this job on to another interpreter, in order to avoid seeing Mike again. But I wasn’t in a position to give up work, and by walking away I felt like I would be proving Mike right about some of the things he used to say to me, some of the things that still haunted me in weak moments. My involvement with the school would last as long as the investigation into the head teacher’s death and until Leon was found. I’d just have to put up with him until then, and avoid him whenever possible.
I’d carried on walking as I thought, and when I looked up I couldn’t place where I was in the park. Walking away from the cabin, further away from the mansion house, I’d wandered into part of the park I was unfamiliar with. I knew I should turn around and follow my own footsteps back to the cabin, but I didn’t want to face Mike again until it was absolutely necessary.
Ahead of me was a stand of trees, so I continued in that direction for a few minutes, trying to focus on the job ahead of me rather than think about my ex. There was a crunch of footsteps behind me, however, and I looked round to see Mike approaching. He’d put on a bulky coat and thick gloves before leaving the cabin, and I wondered how long he’d been on my tail.
‘Do they need me back?’ I asked.
‘No,’ he said, stopping before he got too close. ‘I just thought we could talk.’
I looked around me at the snow-covered fields and the woods surrounding them. There was nobody else around, and our voices sounded eerily flat. Part of me was instinctively on edge, being alone with Mike, even in such a wide-open space.
‘What about?’ I replied.
He spread his hands wide. ‘Anything. Everything. We didn’t exactly get any closure, did we?’
I folded my arms and didn’t reply. What did he expect me to say? Anna and Gem had removed all of his stuff from the flat while I was in hospital, and had the locks changed just in case. He’d never tried to talk his way back into my life, although I’d had a few calls from him to begin with that stopped when I continued to ignore them.
‘How have you been?’ he asked, taking a step forward and giving me the smile that used to make me melt. I reminded myself that it had probably worked on dozens of women before and after our relationship, and during as well. I knew I had to stay strong in the face of his charm, though.
‘I’m not interested in catching up, Mike. Let’s just both do our jobs and leave it at that.’
He came closer again, but I turned and took a few steps towards the stand of trees.
‘Paige, I think there are things we need to talk about, to work through.’
I was about to reply when I heard a shout.
‘Where did that come from?’ I asked.
‘Does it matter? I’m talking to you, Paige.’ I detected a tone in his voice that set off alarm bells in my head. Even after three years I recognised when his emotions were on the edge; the difference was this time I didn’t care.
Pushing past him, I set off back in the direction of the cabin, wondering what had happened. Suddenly I felt a tug on the back of my coat, one of my feet slipped and I sprawled face first into the snow. The fall knocked the wind out of me, and I lay there for a couple of seconds before rolling onto my side.
Mike loomed over me, and I instinctively pushed my body away from him along the ground. He reached down and took my arm but I shook him off.
‘Don’t touch me,’ I snapped.
‘Oh for God’s sake, Paige, don’t be so pathetic. I’m just trying to help.’
I ignored him and struggled to my feet. My trousers were soaked through from the snow, but at least it had been a soft landing. Keeping my back to Mike, I set off towards the cabin again, trembling slightly. I told myself it was from the cold, but I couldn’t shake off the memory of the tug I’d felt before I fell.
Chapter 4
The forensics team arrived at the cabin at the same time Mike and I did, so Singh led us back to the hall and out of their way.
‘What happened?’ he asked, looking at my snow-covered clothes.
‘I slipped,’ I muttered.
Singh cast a glance at Mike, but didn’t ask any more questions. He led us into a room in which a few uniformed officers were drinking cups of tea; Mike took it upon himself to join them, but I sat as far away from him as I could. Singh fetched me a drink then disappeared, reappearing a few minutes later with a shiny silver emergency blanket for me.
‘What’s that for?’ I asked, feeling my face flush.
‘You’re soaked, and I don’t really want you freezing to death,’ Singh replied, concern in his eyes. He started carefully tucking the blanket around my legs then stopped, looking embarrassed. I couldn’t help but smile at him. Even when he was busy and stressed he found the time for little moments of kindness, and it was one of his most endearing qualities. I told myself he would have behaved that way with anyone, though I secretly hoped I was getting special treatment.
