Lindsay hurried to her and crouched beside the chair, putting an arm round her shaking shoulders. “How could I know?” she asked desperately. “I thought she was lying to protect him. I didn’t know if she was doing it because she knew he was guilty or because she only suspected he might be. I really didn’t think she had killed Lorna.”

Cordelia’s head came up. “She killed Lorna?”

“She left a confession. I think we’d better prepare ourselves for a sticky session with the police.”

Pamela Overton moved over to them. “Do you mean to say that you may have had something to do with Sarah’s suicide?”

“We uncovered some new information today. We also discovered that Sarah had lied in her statement to the police. I rang and left a message about an hour ago to say that we wanted to talk to her again. That’s all.”

The headmistress stared hard at Lindsay. “I had thought you were a reasonably sensitive and civilized human being,” she said. “Please tell Inspector Dart that I will be in my study in the main building when he wants to see me.” She turned on her heel and left.

Cordelia wiped her eyes and blew her nose noisily. “We really screwed up, didn’t we?”

“I suppose so,” said Lindsay angrily. “And since I’m now credited with being uncivilized and insensitive as well as just stupid, I’ll put the finishing touches to everyone’s low opinion of me.” So saying, she went to the phone and dialed through to the Daily Clarion’s sister Sunday paper’s copy room.

“Hello? Lindsay Gordon here. I’ve got a belter for you. Ready? Murder squad detectives were called in today after a pupil at a top girls’ boarding school was found dead. The detectives were already investigating the murder of internationally famous cellist Lorna Smith-Couper at Derbyshire House Girls’ School a week ago. A teacher at the school, Miss Patricia Callaghan, has been charged with the murder, but sources close to the police investigation revealed today that there was some doubt as to whether the killer was still at large. The dead girl was Sarah Cartwright, eighteen, whose father James Cartwright is a builder in the nearby town of Buxton. He is currently locked in a dispute with the school over his proposal to turn the school’s playing fields into a luxury timeshare development.

“Sarah was found dead in her study bedroom at the school where she was a sixth-former. She had knife wounds to both arms. A keen gymnast and hockey player, Sarah hoped to become a PE teacher. Police said last night there were no suspicious circumstances. No one is being sought in connection with her death. End copy. Note to newsdesk; the girl left a note confessing to the Smith-Couper murder.”