“Oh, don’t think I’m being callous. But I never knew the woman, so it would be hypocritical of me to pretend I’m heartbroken about her death. What worries me is that no one seems to be able to work out quite how it was done. I mean, from what I can gather—though we probably shouldn’t be gossiping about it—there’s no question of it being an outsider. It had to be someone who knew the layout of the building. I hope to God they clear it up quickly. I mean, no responsible parent would leave their child at a school with a homicidal maniac on the loose, now would they?”

Lindsay changed the subject as diplomatically as possible and managed to get Chris chatting casually for a while about other topics. They were interrupted by Caroline, who breezed up to them, excusing herself perfunctorily. “I was wondering, Miss Jackson, could we beetle off back to Longnor now? The coppers have seen all the girls from the Houses; it’s only main building girls who are left. And Miss Callaghan said we shouldn’t come back on our own. I suppose it’s in case we get bumped off en route. So can you or Miss Gordon take us across?”

Chris looked a question at Lindsay, who nodded, “Of course I’ll go back with you. If you don’t mind waiting a few minutes till Miss Brown is finished with the police, then we’ll all go together.”

“Fine, that’s that solved at least,” said Chris, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just go and check there are no girls hanging about in the music department. Thanks, Lindsay.”

She strode off, leaving Lindsay once more with the effervescent Caroline. Nothing, not even murder, seemed to take the bounce out of her. “How did you get on with the police?” Lindsay asked quickly, hoping to avoid diving deep into dialectical dialogue.

“Oh, they were okay. I was surprised. I expected them to be a lot heavier. They asked all the questions you’d expect. About who was where and when, and if I’d been down to Music 2. I told them I’d only been as far as the storeroom for more programs and that I didn’t see a sausage. Mind you, I told them they’d probably find no shortage of people with axes to grind about Lorna Smith-Couper, judging by the stories you hear. That woman left a trail of human wreckage in her wake. Not entirely surprising that someone finally did her in, really,” she said, barely pausing for breath.

“What makes you say that?” asked Lindsay, more to pass the time than from any strong curiosity. But before Caroline could elaborate any further, the double doors swung open and Cordelia appeared, looking drained but relieved. There was nothing in Lindsay’s world at that moment except concern for Cordelia. She immediately rose and went to her. “Okay?”