‘Right. Shall we follow suit?’ Jazz suggested.

‘I can take you across, yes, but as you might have been told, I’ve called the whole school together for assembly.’

‘Good. Perhaps we can drop in on DS Roland beforehand? I should meet him before we address the school. He may have something to contribute,’ said Jazz.

‘Of course. Follow me.’ Robert Jones indicated the door.

Detective Sergeant Roland was a nondescript man in his mid-forties. As she shook his hand, Jazz could feel the negative vibes emanating from him. And who could blame him? She wouldn’t want her toes trodden on by some bigwigs from the Met CID either. However, she needed to get him on side so things could proceed as smoothly and as effectively as possible.

‘DS Roland, it’s good to meet you. Shall we talk on our way to assembly? Obviously I know a little about the case, but I gather you were actually there with the body in situ. I’ll need you to take me through what you saw. Perhaps we could go and see where Charlie Cavendish died straight after assembly?’ She turned to the headmaster.

‘I’m going to address the staff and teachers very briefly, but if there’s anything you’d like to add, please feel free,’ said Robert Jones.

‘Thank you.’

They entered the hall where the entire school was gathered waiting for them. Jazz felt a thousand eyes bore into her as she followed the headmaster to the front of the hall and up the steps onto the dais.

‘Good morning, everyone,’ he began. ‘As I’m sure the school grapevine has already informed most of you, we’re to have three detectives as our guests for the next few days. They are here to investigate the tragic death of Charlie Cavendish. I’m going to hand you over now to Detective Inspector Hunter of the CID who will talk you briefly through what will happen.’

Robert Jones turned to Jazz and she stepped forward and smiled.

‘Good morning, everyone. I’m DI Hunter, and these are my colleagues, DS Roland and DS Miles. We hope to complete our investigation as speedily as possible. We’ll be conducting interviews with both staff and pupils who had close contact with Charlie Cavendish and when I’ve spoken with Mr Jones, I’ll pin a schedule on the noticeboard.’

Jazz paused and looked down at the sea of faces in front of her. ‘I’m sure you’re all aware of what happened to poor Charlie. At present, we’re assuming it was a tragic accident, but we obviously need to be absolutely sure. Therefore, I would ask anyone who thinks he or she can throw any light on the events of that night to come to me. Any information given to myself and my colleagues will be treated with the utmost confidence, so please don’t be afraid to come forward. The sooner you do, the faster we’ll all be out of your hair and things can return to normal. DS Roland, is there anything you’d like to add?’