‘The Janssens are super rich,’ Charlie pointed out. ‘I’m sure JJ could pay someone to do his dirty work.’

‘So where were you between the end of school on Wednesday and the locker explosion this morning?’ O’Banyon asked, her purr now more of a roar.

‘I want a lawyer,’ Charlie insisted.

O’Banyon pointed up at the camera. ‘What would a jury say if they saw this recording?’ she asked. ‘If you’re as innocent as you claim, why can’t you answer a simple question about what you were doing last night?’

O’Banyon looked unbearably smug. Charlie would have loved to grab the water jug and smash it over her head.

‘My sister, Fawn, was there when I got home from school,’ Charlie said angrily. ‘But Ed was getting sick. He made a mess in the bathroom and was crying. Fawn suddenly walked in wearing this stupid party dress and tells me she’s going to a club with JJ. We had a blazing row. But she stormed off and there was no possible way I could leave Ed.’

‘So Fawn left,’ O’Banyon said, back to purring. ‘Who else saw you between the time Fawn left and the time of your arrest?’

‘I was looking after Ed the whole night,’ Charlie said, her chest shuddering as she wondered if there was more to this than O’Banyon trying to trick her into an admission.

‘Would Ed make a reliable witness?’ O’Banyon asked.

Charlie narrowed her eyes. ‘You know he wouldn’t.’

‘And did Ed go to sleep?’

‘You’re making this stuff up,’ Charlie insisted. ‘The shirts and the steak knife. Accusing me of planting the bomb, so the other stuff seems less serious.’

‘Who are you trying to kid, Charlie?’ O’Banyon groaned, standing aggressively, then leaning in with her knuckles flat on the desktop. ‘If I told lies in this room, your lawyer would watch the tape and claim I’d tried to entrap you. I’d get yelled at by my boss, investigated by internal affairs and this entire interview would be ruled inadmissible by a judge.’

Can she really not lie? Charlie wondered. Or is that a lie too …

‘All I’m doing is laying out the real evidence, Charlie. All you’re doing is burying your head in the sand and making your situation worse.’

‘I didn’t do this,’ Charlie shouted, then gasped with delight as she had a brainwave. ‘They have CCTV in the hallways at my school. They must have it in the High School too. Since you’re so sure I did this, I’ll bet you two years of your salary, that you will not see me anywhere near Deion Powell’s locker.’

‘The video was looked at,’ O’Banyon explained, unruffled. ‘The closest camera is sixty feet from Deion’s locker and only gives a blurry view. But you knew that already, didn’t you?’