‘We’re going to the school now,’ he explained. ‘We need to interview the staff who knew Steve and Leon, as well as all the students who were on the trip. One of them knows more than they’re letting on about Leon’s disappearance, and Steve’s death.’

Chapter 7

It took me a little longer to get to the school than I’d hoped, not because of the snow, but because with thoughts of Mike and the bad memories he brought with him swirling around in my mind I missed the turning. By the time I pulled into the drive, I was annoyed and frustrated.

The main building of Lincoln School for the Deaf was an old house, with a couple of purpose-built annexes off to one side, and the residence building out the back. I couldn’t see anyone in the car park, so I walked towards the main entrance, looking around me as I went. Someone had cleared a path to the front door and put grit down, though it looked as if the snow hadn’t fallen as heavily here as it had in the park.

The main building had seen better days, although one of the newer blocks must have been built since Anna was a pupil. I wondered how many they had on roll – since the change in inclusion policies and the development of better assistive technologies, most deaf children now went to mainstream schools. Many schools for the deaf had closed, and those that had remained open often had to find ways to diversify in order to make them more attractive to a wider variety of students. Some opened up their doors to students with autism and communication difficulties, who benefited from the use of sign language to help them access the curriculum and express themselves. Others, like Lincoln, registered as children’s homes, so deaf children in the care system could have a consistent supportive environment and social services didn’t need to worry about finding foster carers who could sign. I had sometimes been involved in meetings when deaf families were looking at different school options for their children, and I knew that the schools for the deaf weren’t above trying to tempt students away from their local authority schools.