‘In the three decades I worked at that school, we never had a single major issue until the incident that lost me my job. And now this, only a few months later. I feel there must be a connection of some sort.’ Her eyes were flicking between the two of us, searching in earnest for a sign that we agreed with her. Or maybe she wanted us to disagree, then she was absolved of any connection between herself and the murder of the man who replaced her.

I looked around the room, and for the first time I noticed the photos on the end wall – they were the same as some of the ones I’d seen in the entrance hall of Lincoln School for the Deaf, whole school photos stretching back thirty years. I wondered if Jane had every photo from her time at the school.

‘I think we’ve lost you,’ she said, bringing me out of my reverie.

‘Sorry,’ I said, nodding at the wall in front of me. ‘I just noticed all of the photos. How long did you work at the school?’

‘For most of my career,’ she replied. ‘Thirty-two years, nineteen of those as head teacher.’ The look on her face was a mixture of sadness and pride, and I wondered how deeply her swift exit from the school had hurt her.

‘You must have seen a lot of people come and go,’ I said.

‘Yes, students and staff.’ She turned to Singh. ‘I don’t think my replacement employed any new staff though, so if you want the gossip on any of the murder suspects, do let me know.’

I thought at first she was joking, and the curve of her lips suggested she was, yet there was a flintiness to her eyes that surprised me.

‘Did you ever meet Steve Wilkinson?’ Singh asked.

She sniffed. ‘No. They didn’t even give me a decent handover period, which would have been for the good of the school and everyone in it. As it was, I expect the first few weeks were a bit hectic for him. I can’t say I had any interest in meeting him; I know it wasn’t anything to do with him, me getting shunted off into retirement early, but I still felt bitter about it. And now the poor man’s dead,’ she said, shaking her head.

‘Who do you think would murder him?’ I asked. ‘I mean, you should be a suspect, he took your job.’

Jane laughed at that. ‘If only I had it in me to kill someone. No, I’m sure the police will cover all bases but they’ll discover I wasn’t anywhere near the poor man. If it could have been anyone at that school, I’d say Jess Farriday would be one to look at. The woman has naked ambition like I’ve never seen before.’

Singh and I shared a look.

‘Ambition for what?’ he asked.