smiled and shook her head.
By the time Hatton arrived, Jane had been through most of the footage from the previous night and had identified fourteen boys she thou ght to be of interest, all but two arriving in pairs. She had made a note of the times that each appeared and began by fast forwarding to the relevant point in the film and showing Hatton a freeze frame shot of each possible pupil. Hatton identified three of them. One cam e as an unpleasant surprise: the head boy, Gabriel White. The other two were no surprise at all: Simon Gittens and Nigel Lloyd.
Hatton was unable to identify any of the others boys either from those singled out by Jane or from a trawl through the rest of the film.
‘I suppose I should be grateful there’s only three of them,’ said Hatton.
Jane then loaded the DVD from the night Isobel Swan had been murdered. This time there were four, including two girls, but only two of them had been in on both nights. Gittens and Lloyd.
‘It seems Inspector Dixon was right.’
‘It does,’ replied Jane.
‘I gather that you and he are a couple?’ asked Hatton.
‘Yes.’
‘I didn’t think that sort of thing was allowed in the police.’
‘It isn’t. We’re only working together now because of the unusual . . .’ Jane hesitated, ‘. . . situation.’
‘David Charlesworth told me he went to St Dunstan’s?’
‘He did.’
‘Was he there when the girl disappeared?’
‘You’d need to ask him that,’ replied Jane.
‘Come now, Constable Winter, we both know the answer to that question, don’t we?’
Jane blushed. ‘Were you?’
‘I left the year before,’ said Hatton, smiling. ‘Been checking me out, I see.’
‘We check everyone out, Sir.’
‘Of course you do. I’m guessing now but I imagine that David Charlesworth doesn’t know about Nick’s personal connection to the case ?’
Jane stared at him.
‘I’ll take that as a “no”, then. Well, he won’t hear it from me. From where I’m sitting it makes him the ideal man for the job.’ Hatton stood up. ‘Is there a car available to take me back to the school?’
‘I’ll organise that now, Mr Hatton.’
‘And you’ll be sending a car for Gittens and Lloyd, I suppose?’
‘Yes. We’ll need to speak to the others too but we can do that at the school.’
‘I’d better let their parents know.’
Jane waited until Hatton had left the station and then ran into the ladies toilet. She sat in a cubicle and took her phone out of her pocket. First she sent a text message to Dixon, then she switched to the pay as you go SIM card and sent another.
‘I think you and I need to have a chat, don’t you?’
‘We do,’ replied Rowena Weatherly. She looked at Dixon and smiled. ‘How’re you getting on these days?’
‘OK.’
‘You haven’t changed much.’
‘You certainly have,’ replied Dixon.
‘Well, I’m older and fatter, for a start. Married and divorced too.’
‘You’ve been busy. Children?’
‘No.’
‘How did you end up here?’
‘In the wrong place at the wrong time.’
‘I’m assuming you know why I’m here?’ asked Dixon.
‘I looked you up on the Internet. Hope you don’t mind.’
‘So, why didn’t you say anything?’
‘Figured I wasn’t supposed to let on. The hero of the hour at Taunton Racecourse. It’s on YouTube.’
‘Oh, no, is it?’
‘It was in the papers too. And if I’ve spotted it . . .’
‘That’s a chance I’ve got to take.’
‘What happened to you after you left St Dunstan’s?’ asked Rowena.
‘It’s a long story but I got there in the end.’
‘Where?’
‘Now, there’s a question. Not over it. I just came to terms with it, they said, which is bullshit for just getting on with it.’
‘Fran was a good friend.’
Dixon smiled. She was more than that to me .
‘And you think the two cases are connected?’ asked Rowena.
‘I’m hoping they are. Because then I come face to face with whoever took
By the time Hatton arrived, Jane had been through most of the footage from the previous night and had identified fourteen boys she thou ght to be of interest, all but two arriving in pairs. She had made a note of the times that each appeared and began by fast forwarding to the relevant point in the film and showing Hatton a freeze frame shot of each possible pupil. Hatton identified three of them. One cam e as an unpleasant surprise: the head boy, Gabriel White. The other two were no surprise at all: Simon Gittens and Nigel Lloyd.
Hatton was unable to identify any of the others boys either from those singled out by Jane or from a trawl through the rest of the film.
‘I suppose I should be grateful there’s only three of them,’ said Hatton.
Jane then loaded the DVD from the night Isobel Swan had been murdered. This time there were four, including two girls, but only two of them had been in on both nights. Gittens and Lloyd.
‘It seems Inspector Dixon was right.’
‘It does,’ replied Jane.
‘I gather that you and he are a couple?’ asked Hatton.
‘Yes.’
‘I didn’t think that sort of thing was allowed in the police.’
‘It isn’t. We’re only working together now because of the unusual . . .’ Jane hesitated, ‘. . . situation.’
‘David Charlesworth told me he went to St Dunstan’s?’
‘He did.’
‘Was he there when the girl disappeared?’
‘You’d need to ask him that,’ replied Jane.
‘Come now, Constable Winter, we both know the answer to that question, don’t we?’
Jane blushed. ‘Were you?’
‘I left the year before,’ said Hatton, smiling. ‘Been checking me out, I see.’
‘We check everyone out, Sir.’
‘Of course you do. I’m guessing now but I imagine that David Charlesworth doesn’t know about Nick’s personal connection to the case ?’
Jane stared at him.
‘I’ll take that as a “no”, then. Well, he won’t hear it from me. From where I’m sitting it makes him the ideal man for the job.’ Hatton stood up. ‘Is there a car available to take me back to the school?’
‘I’ll organise that now, Mr Hatton.’
‘And you’ll be sending a car for Gittens and Lloyd, I suppose?’
‘Yes. We’ll need to speak to the others too but we can do that at the school.’
‘I’d better let their parents know.’
Jane waited until Hatton had left the station and then ran into the ladies toilet. She sat in a cubicle and took her phone out of her pocket. First she sent a text message to Dixon, then she switched to the pay as you go SIM card and sent another.
‘I think you and I need to have a chat, don’t you?’
‘We do,’ replied Rowena Weatherly. She looked at Dixon and smiled. ‘How’re you getting on these days?’
‘OK.’
‘You haven’t changed much.’
‘You certainly have,’ replied Dixon.
‘Well, I’m older and fatter, for a start. Married and divorced too.’
‘You’ve been busy. Children?’
‘No.’
‘How did you end up here?’
‘In the wrong place at the wrong time.’
‘I’m assuming you know why I’m here?’ asked Dixon.
‘I looked you up on the Internet. Hope you don’t mind.’
‘So, why didn’t you say anything?’
‘Figured I wasn’t supposed to let on. The hero of the hour at Taunton Racecourse. It’s on YouTube.’
‘Oh, no, is it?’
‘It was in the papers too. And if I’ve spotted it . . .’
‘That’s a chance I’ve got to take.’
‘What happened to you after you left St Dunstan’s?’ asked Rowena.
‘It’s a long story but I got there in the end.’
‘Where?’
‘Now, there’s a question. Not over it. I just came to terms with it, they said, which is bullshit for just getting on with it.’
‘Fran was a good friend.’
Dixon smiled. She was more than that to me .
‘And you think the two cases are connected?’ asked Rowena.
‘I’m hoping they are. Because then I come face to face with whoever took
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