Mike was a gambling addict. Maybe he had his addiction under control at the moment, but when we were together it had ruled his life. When he wasn’t at work, he was playing online games or going to the casino in Lincoln. Each month, when his own wages ran out, he started on mine. At first it was small amounts here or there near to the end of the month, with promises to pay me back. Then the amounts got bigger and the length of time before he ran out of his own money got shorter. If he was still gambling, I knew he’d do pretty much anything for money, and throwing his own workplace under the bus wasn’t outside the realms of possibility. Of course, if the school was closed down due to safeguarding concerns he would lose his job, but he’d never been very good at looking ahead to the consequences of his actions.

I wondered if I should tell the police this aspect of Mike’s history, but was it my place? There was no suggestion that money had been involved in the crime itself, and I didn’t even know if he was still gambling. Maybe our break-up had been the catalyst he had needed to stop for good, and I would be maligning him by bringing it all up again.

I looked around the entrance hall and wondered what would happen to the school now. Such a major failure in safeguarding procedures could put the whole place at risk. It would be a huge blow if it closed, both for the past students who remembered it fondly and for those potential future students who wouldn’t get the benefit of its existence. Schools for the deaf were becoming rarer, with most deaf children attending their local mainstream school, but I felt there should always be an option, an alternative choice for deaf children and their parents. Many children could thrive in their local schools, but others needed the tailored curriculum and environment a school like this could offer. Where would the current students go if it closed? Would they go to their local schools? Would the five students in care end up in a children’s home, in an environment where others struggled to communicate with them?

I didn’t want to shatter Anna’s memories of the school by telling her about the safeguarding concerns, but I knew she would probably read it herself soon enough, so I decided to be proactive and sent her the link before I set off.

Almost immediately, I got a text back from her.

I’ve already seen it. I need to talk to you when you get home.

I was about to send a reply when Samira appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide with distress.

Please could you come over to the residence? she asked, looking at Singh. Something’s happened.

Chapter 24