While he’d been out, Carmella had been through the book from the Eleven O’Clock Club and entered each of the parents’ names, and Jemima Walters had sent over the names of the staff. He scrolled through the lists. Each of these names was being run through HOLMES to see if they had a record, along with the Violent and Sexual Offenders Register, ViSOR.

Patrick squinted at the list. He really needed to see an optician; the edges of the letters were blurred, the words not quite in focus. Or maybe it was tiredness, though he didn’t feel tired at this moment. His whole body was popping with adrenalin.

He was about to get out of his seat and go to talk to Carmella, when a name on the list caught his attention. Denise Breem. Why did he know that name? He opened his web browser and Googled it, remembering in the split second before her image appeared who she was and what she was notorious for.

‘Fuck,’ he whispered. He jumped out of his seat and dashed out of the room, calling Carmella as he went.

Chapter 17

Chapter 17
Alice/Larry – Day 3

‘Seriously, I’ve had it with living here. Can’t we get a place together?’

Even as Alice said it, she knew she didn’t mean it. Larry smelled far too bad for her to want to actually live with him. She, Georgia and Larry had only been in her bedroom for five minutes and she was dying to open the window. She leaned into his neck, experimentally inhaling his smell of sweat, weed and old socks, and wrinkled her nose. Would it be uncool to ask him to have a shower next time they went to bed together? Last time she had been almost gagging whenever his armpit came near her face. Shame, because she really loved him. He was so nice to her, and the first one she had ever Done It with. Besides, all boys stank, didn’t they?

‘Sure, darlin’, if you got a spare twenty-five grand a year to rent a one-bedroom flat round here . . . That’s a shitload of weed to sell,’ he replied, putting his arm around her shoulder.

‘That much?’ Alice and Georgia chorused, shocked. Then Alice giggled. She was a little high, she realized. ‘Actually I changed my mind. I wanna live with you, Georgie.’

‘Course you can, babes,’ Georgia said through narrowed eyes as she blew a neat smoke ring. ‘My mum fucking loves you. You could move in tomorrow.’

‘Really?’ Alice sat up. ‘I’m going to open the window, I’m boiling.’

‘Yeah. Wouldn’t that be cool?’

‘Yeah. And you smell so gooooood,’ Alice opened the hopper window then flung herself on top of Georgia on the bed and they rolled around together, half-wrestling, half-hugging.