‘I thought it was a good opportunity to check the kids’ bags for contraband.’ Contraband? Mike swore silently at himself for being such a moron.

‘You can’t search students’ bags without their permission,’ Steve replied, his voice grave. ‘And why did you suddenly feel that it was necessary?’

Mike didn’t answer. Did he know about the thefts from last year? Steve hadn’t been at the school then, so maybe nobody had told him about it.

‘I saw Bradley and Leon talking about smoking,’ Mike said, drawing himself up to his full height and pushing his shoulders back in a show of confidence. ‘I was concerned that the boys were developing bad habits, and thought it best to nip it in the bud straight away. Especially with Kian being so young and impressionable.’

Steve watched Mike for a moment, studying him closely. ‘Still, that doesn’t give you the right to go through the students’ belongings. If you thought they’d brought cigarettes with them, you should have told me, then I could have asked them and given them the chance to be open with me.’

Fat lot of good that would do, Mike thought, knowing that this group of kids was far from open with the adults around them, but he said nothing.

‘I’m going to have to inform the rest of the senior management team about this,’ Steve added, then stepped aside, gesturing for Mike to lead the way back to the main room of the cabin. All the way down the corridor, Mike could feel the head teacher’s gaze on the back of his neck, and it made his palms itch. If he told Liz about this, she’d definitely make the link to the thefts. He couldn’t let that happen. Balling his hands into fists, he focused on his breathing to keep himself calm as he rejoined the group.

Chapter 19

Thursday 29th November

Before I left Max’s flat the following morning I called Singh and told him how Jane Villiers had come to leave her post as head teacher. I could tell from his voice that he was annoyed at me for keeping it from him, though I wouldn’t have wanted to involve him if it had turned out to be completely unrelated. He wanted me back at the school so he could talk to Liz about it, and why the safeguarding issues had been deliberately kept from the police. I was secretly glad that I would be involved in that conversation, because it was something I was dying to know the answer to myself. He came to pick me up, because I didn’t have my car at Max’s, and as I was waiting I felt a bit weird about it. I was committed to Max, I really was, but my feelings for Singh often left me feeling confused.