6 years ago—Lisa Wu—10 years old—abduction, 2 hours, returned safely, no connection to Balmoral?

5 years ago—Emma-Maree Jones—12 years old—attempted abduction, on waiting list for Balmoral

3 years ago—Karolina Bauer—14 years old—abduction, 20 hours, returned safely, exchange student at Balmoral

2 weeks ago—Yin Mitchell—16 years old—abduction, Balmoral student, still not returned

The list is so clinical, so unexpected.

I look at the words ‘returned safely’ next to Lisa Wu and Karolina Bauer’s names. Why is it different with Yin? Two weeks have passed, which is so much more than twenty hours, so why hasn’t she been released?

The bell must have rung because the corridor floods with girls. A pair of shiny shoes come into my line of vision. Petra stands with her hand out, a tight expression on her face.

‘Where did you get this from?’ I ask.

‘It’s mostly from the Cold Crimes website.’ She swallows. Her voice is barely audible above the clamour of locker doors slamming and people stampeding their way to the next class. ‘There are a lot of people interested in the case and they post and share information in online forums. I’ve been doing my own research. It’s been obvious from the start that it’s a serial offender, but it’s very significant that the police are making it official now.’

‘Cold Crimes.’ I file the name away. I hadn’t thought to look at any forums. ‘What are you, a girl detective?’

‘It’s wrong to assume we can’t do anything. Last year there was a group of high school reporters who interviewed their new principal and exposed her as a fraud. It turned out her resume was completely fabricated. So.’ Petra waits but I don’t respond. ‘Can I please have it back now?’

My head is busy, full, exploding. ‘No. I’m keeping it.’

Petra opens her mouth to argue but then closes it, perhaps remembering self-defence class. Instead of leaving though, she lingers.

‘What?’

‘Yin lent me her physics notes.’ Petra swallows hard. ‘You know, before she disappeared. Now I don’t know what to do with them…do you think I should give them to a teacher? Or her parents?’

‘Can’t you hang onto them?’

But I can tell from Petra’s face that she doesn’t want something belonging to a maybe-dead girl in her possession.

‘It seems wrong to throw them out.’ Pause. ‘She was so generous to loan them to me. Especially because we were—I mean, we are—neck-and-neck, grades-wise.’

I can picture Petra harassing the Mitchells or the police with this. ‘Give them to me if it’s bothering you so much.’

‘No, no, I’ll use them. We’ve got a test coming up.’ Petra has blushed from her toes to her scalp. ‘She was better than me. Nicer. And a better clarinet player too. Perfect tone.’