‘I understand,’ he said. ‘I truly do. But I’ve said more than I should have already. If I had proof, I would have presented it long ago. And I have no wish to influence the course of your investigation now.’

Unless that’s precisely what you wish to do, thought Fleet. He regarded the chaplain appraisingly. ‘The headmaster didn’t seem to approve of Callum Richardson either, I noticed,’ he said.

‘That doesn’t surprise me. Mr Harris has always prided himself on being in charge, but at Beaconsfield, Callum Richardson was a law unto himself. Nobody ever dared challenge him, because the school couldn’t afford to risk losing his father’s donations.’ The chaplain’s expression clouded. ‘Although it wasn’t just about the money. The other children were wary of Callum, too. They craved his approval, but at the same time, even when Callum Richardson was a teenager, there was something about him that was … unsettling.’

‘I take it you won’t be voting for your school’s alumnus if he ends up standing in the next general election?’ Nicky asked.

The chaplain turned to her. ‘I will not. And by the way, Beaconsfield is not my school. I don’t approve of its values. And I don’t believe the pupils who study here should be sleeping anywhere but in their own homes. Boarding school, to my mind, is an unnecessary evil.’ He spoke forcibly, but in something approaching a whisper, as though conscious of the blasphemy in his words.

‘With respect, Father Steiner,’ said Fleet, ‘if you do not believe in what Beaconsfield stands for, why have you remained in your position for all these years? From what I gather, you’ve been here almost as long as the headmaster has.’

‘I joined Beaconsfield about five months after Mr Harris did. And it’s because I don’t believe that I have stayed so long,’ the chaplain said. ‘There are children here – children very much like Ben – who stand to benefit from having someone sympathetic to talk to. Someone who has no interest in whether the school succeeds as an institution – only that they do, as individuals, in whichever capacity they choose.’

So that perhaps explained the headmaster’s animosity towards the chaplain, Fleet reasoned. Assuming both men truly believed in the principles they claimed to.

‘Going back to Ben’s disappearance,’ Fleet said. ‘Did you see Ben and his friends on the day he went missing? From what they told investigators at the time, the four of them were playing hide-and-seek in the grounds, and Ben vanished after running off to hide.’

The chaplain shook his head. ‘I did not.’

‘But you were here, on campus? What were your movements? You will understand, I hope, why I have to ask.’