‘What do you mean by “unexplained absences”? Is that something we should be looking for?’ Anusha forgets to raise her hand.

‘It means if someone suddenly changes their routine and is out of the house a lot more, or goes on holidays or weekends away more than usual. That’s all.’

I try to will someone to ask the right questions, but they don’t. My earlobes get oh-so-hot so I tug on them and still the buzzing grows louder.

Bridie lifts her hand. ‘Is it true that we should pee ourselves if someone attacks us? Or say we have our period?’

Our self-defence teacher had been no help on this matter. Mr Wright tries to chameleon himself into the whiteboard.

Celeste is stoic. ‘If you ever feel physically threatened by anyone it’s better to focus on getting away from them, or attracting attention and help.’

This isn’t enough for Bridie. ‘I have another one. Should we try to escape or should we not try to escape?’

Everyone knows that she’s asking because of the ‘In the Unlikely Event of ’ email.

‘No one involved in the investigation thinks that this offender will strike again in the near future,’ is all that Celeste will say.

Predictably, Petra’s hand shoots up, shoots for the sky. She wiggles her fingers and bounces in her seat like we all used to do in Junior School before we realised how dorky that looks.

‘About the profile and the other cases and the possible connection to the school,’ she says in that posh debating-team voice of hers. She’s holding a piece of paper in her hands as if she’s prepared notes for a speech. ‘What about Emma-Maree Jones? Don’t you think that her abduction is important? She was on the waiting list for Balmoral.’

Celeste finally looks freaked. She whispers to Mr Wright and he hands her a whiteboard marker. He has to push her over to the smart-board side so she doesn’t write on the actual wall. She writes ‘PREJUDICIAL’ in large letters on the board.

‘We understand that you’re all really worried about Yin, and you need to air your worries, but some of the information that’s being shared could affect the court case when we catch the perpetrator.’

Petra’s arm goes ballistic again but Celeste ignores it.

‘We’ve already had to shut down the “Find Yin Mitchell” page and a few others that have cropped up. It’s not because we don’t want you to be informed, it’s because we’re trying to protect the investigation, and Yin and her family.’

‘I know what prejudicial means,’ Petra calls out again in a desperate voice. ‘My father is a barrister. But you haven’t answered my question.’