Page 30 of The Serial Killer's Sister
The pause is too long; the silence deafening. I open my eyes to check he’s still in the room. He offers a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. ‘I’m afraid I can’t have you back in school for at least another month.’
I open my mouth to argue, put up a fight, counter this ridiculous plan, but he continues, dropping the bombshell like it’s nothing.
‘And I actually think it might be an idea for you to begin applying elsewhere,’ he says.
Tears come now and I shake my head. ‘No, Craig, please. You know how much I love this job; how much I put into it. This is my life we’re talking about. I didn’t even do anything wrong; this is insane.’
‘It’s not coming from me, Anna. It’s the board of governors and the PTA. The publicity is bad for Seabrook. We’re an exclusive school, and we have to be seen to take action about something so serious. Parents spend a lot of money to send their children here.’
‘You can’t allow them to bulldoze you into this, Craig.’ I leap from the chair and slam my hand down on his desk. He flinches. Losing my temper, together with using his first name in this situation, isn’t going to get me what I want, I realise, and I sit back down. ‘Mr Beaumont,’ I say, ensuring my tone is softer. ‘Please get them to reconsider. You’re the headteacher – you’re the one who knows my worth. I’ve given eight years to this school; it’s not just a job to me.’
‘I’m sorry, Anna. Maybe if you’d stopped to thinkthrough your actions and the possible repercussions of them the other morning … and now, in fact.’ His eyes are lost in his furrowed brows.
My cheeks flare as my rage does too. I ball my hands into fists, digging my nails into my palm so as to stop myself losing it.You’ll lose your headsprings into my mind. Henry is behind this. He knew what releasing the footage would do to me.
‘You do know it’s a smear campaign, right? You’re all going to look pretty foolish when the truth comes out.’
‘You’ll remain on full pay, but you won’t be allowed onto the premises until a formal review has been conducted. If there’s evidence to prove a … a “smear campaign”, as you suggest this is, then I’m sure the decision will go in your favour and you’ll be allowed to come back.’
I hold out no hope of this, though; not from the way he’s coming across – it’s a done deal as far as he’s concerned. He’s only been in post for six months, and he’s probably itching to show those who questioned it that his appointment at such a young age was worthy – that he’s not afraid to make the more uncomfortable decisions for the sake of the school’s reputation. Or maybe he is in on this. I reel at this possibility, but now I consider it, it has merit. Craig Beaumont is a few years younger than me. I know very little about him outside of school. He might’ve wanted me gone because of what happened – because he felt I’d humiliated him in front of everyone at the Christmas party and might go on to be a threat to his meteoric rise. And now I’ve given him the perfect opportunity. He knows a lot of influential people; no doubt he has links with the police and the highways. He could have gained access to the CCTV footage and leaked it himself. The timing with Henrycould have been a complete coincidence, and I’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Or Craig BeaumontisHenry.
The thought comes from nowhere, and although ludicrous, it somehow makes some sense. I’ve not seen Henry in so many years – I might not recognise him any longer. When I did see Henry last, he was the same colouring as Craig is now and was a similar scrawny build. Since he started here, I’ve found Craig to be aloof – a little odd. Creepy even. Is there a reason for that? Something buried in my past that affects my view of him without conscious awareness?
I stand to leave.
‘I’ll see you soon,’ I say firmly as I walk towards the door. Passing the wall of framed photos, I pause. I stare at the one taking pride of place. It’s teacher training college – the class of 2009. I focus on each male face in turn, and another thought strikes me. What if Henry is in this group? What if he knows Craig, and that’s how he’s infiltrating my work life this easily?
‘What are you doing?’ Craig asks, his voice sharp. I ignore him as I continue to look at the people in the picture. ‘Anna? I have to get on if you don’t mind.’ He stalks past me and opens the door. I move to leave. When I come level to him, I stop, squaring up to him.
‘That’s a great photo,’ I say.
‘Right, okay. Er … thank you.’
‘Which one is you?’ As I step away from him and walk back to it, he lets out a juddering breath. With an agitated stride, he jabs his finger at the young man in the centre of the photo and I move up close to see.
‘There. I’m that one. Right, as I said, I need to get on.I’ll be in touch, Anna.’ He lays his hands on my shoulders and physically turns me towards the door. I shrug him off me and head out.
It takes me a while to walk back to my car, my feet heavy, slow. You don’t always see what’s right under your nose. Has Henry been watching me more closely than I ever thought was possible? Or is Craig Beaumont someone else from my past who wants to see me suffer?
Chapter 20
FINLEY HALL CHILDREN’S HOME
Thumping music greets the girls as they round the corner and they look at each other, eyes wide, then link arms and giggle. Anna has managed to get them invites to what is supposedly going to be the coolest party in Sutton Coldfield by sucking up to Mason Lamar from her English Lit class – offering to do his essay onAn Inspector Callsin return for getting them in. The kids from ‘the scabby home’ weren’t high on the list of desirables, and certainly very few had ever been invited to social gatherings outside of school time. Mason’s status, having been put back a yeartwice, offered their best chance yet at showing the rest of their peers that they were just normal teenagers, wanting the same things as everyone else – to hang out, get drunk and dance. This opportunity had to be snapped up. Anna and Kirsty knew going to a party where there was alcohol was bad enough given they’d only just turned fifteen, but being out after their curfew made it doublybad and was punishable by a Frank beating, so they had to make the experience a worthwhile one.
‘You did hide our backpacks well, didn’t you?’
‘Kirsty, stop worrying – you watched me stuff them between the rocks.’
‘Yeah, sorry. Hope it doesn’t rain.’
‘If it does, it does. Come on, let’s just enjoy the moment.’ Anna begins to run towards the house, dragging Kirsty behind her. ‘You do want to go, don’t you?’
‘Course,’ she says. Her usual enthusiasm is lacking, though, and Anna turns towards her friend. ‘Something’s wrong. What’s the matter?’
Kirsty pauses, her eyes warily looking towards the house, then back to Anna. She sucks in a breath. ‘I know how I come across … confident, you know?’
