Fleet stole a glance in the opposite direction, back across the courtyard. The southern wing of the building had been completely engulfed by the fire. The wind was blowing the smoke away from them, down the hill towards the chapel, but the flames were creeping around the quad. The northern wing of the building was now the only section of the school that wasn’t ablaze, yet if they stayed in the clock tower much longer, the fire would consume them from the bottom up.

‘Zack, listen to me. Whatever you want those people down there to know, you can tell them from a place of safety. You’ve got everybody’s attention. I guarantee they’ll listen to what you say.’

‘They’ll listen,’ Zack agreed. ‘But it’s not from me they need to hear.’ He shoved Richardson even closer to the edge, and someone down below let out a scream. ‘Go on,’ Zack spat. ‘Tell them. Tell the world what kind of person you really are!’

Richardson bucked against Zack’s grip. He was furious, Fleet could see, but that didn’t stop the terror from showing in his eyes. He focused his anger on Fleet. ‘For Christ’s sake, do something, will you?’

Zack jerked Richardson around, moving the knife to his kidneys and forcing him to face the crowd.

‘Tell them!’ Zack roared. ‘Tell everybody what you did!’

‘I didn’t do anything!’ Richardson shot back. ‘Whatever you think you know, nothing happened! It was just talk, that’s all. A stupid game!’

‘A game?’ Zack spluttered, and Fleet saw spit speckle Richardson’s cheek. ‘You tried to murder Ben Draper! You planned to frame Father Steiner! Your game ruined my life!’

His voice carried out across the crowd, and Fleet registered the gasps.

‘You didn’t know that part, did you, Detective Inspector?’ said Zack. ‘What did you think, that I meant to kill Ben? I shouldn’t have even been there! Ben shouldn’t have been there! He was only out in the woods that day because Callum and the others meant to throttle him and toss his body in the lake!’

Fleet’s eyes locked on to Richardson’s, and he knew immediately that Zack was telling the truth. That was the scheme Richardson and the others had come up with: their plan to destroy the school. Father Steiner was the target, just as Fleet had suspected, but the reason they’d involved Ben was because he was a target, too. An allegation of a sexual relationship, this time, was only supposed to have been the beginning – a prelude to something far worse.

But how did it get to the point that Zack had killed Ben instead? An accident, the headmaster had called it. Benjamin Draper was the one to attack him.

‘He thought you were one of them?’ Fleet said to Zack. ‘Is that how it happened?’