Instead, I said gently, ‘Just a few routine questions; it’ll only take a few minutes. Can you tell me about yesterday evening? Starting with your first study period?’

‘We were in here. But we didn’t do anything. If anything got, like, stolen or broken or whatever, it wasn’t me. I swear.’

Pinched little voice to match, rising towards a whine. Conway was right, Alison was scared: scared that she was screwing up, that everything she said and did and thought was wrong. She wanted me to reassure her that she was doing things right. Seen it in school, seen it in a million witnesses, patted it on the head and said all the right words.

I said, soothing, ‘Ah, I know that. Nothing’s gone missing, nothing like that. No one’s done anything wrong.’ Smile. ‘We’re just checking something out. All I need you to do is run through your evening. That’s it. Could you do that for me, yeah?’

Nod. ‘OK.’

‘Beautiful. It’ll be like a test where you know all the answers and you can’t get anything wrong. How’s that?’

Tiny smile back. Tiny step towards relaxing.

I needed Alison relaxed, before I whipped out that photo. That was what had got me my answers from Orla and from Gemma: the ease I had made for them, and the fast shove out of it.

Alison gave me the same story again, but in chips and snippets that I had to coax out of her, like playing pick-up sticks. Telling it made her tense up even more. No way to know if there was a good reason, a bad reason or none.

She backed Orla on who had left the art room when – Gemma, Orla, her, Joanne – and she sounded a lot more sure than Orla had. ‘You’re very observant,’ I said. Approving. ‘That’s what we like to see. I came in here praying we’d get someone exactly like you, you know that?’

Another scrawny smile. Another step.

I said, ‘Can you make my day? Tell me you had a look at the Secret Place, somewhere along the way.’

‘Yeah. When I went out to the . . . On my way back, I had a look.’ Quick glance at Houlihan. ‘I mean, only for a second. Then I came straight back in to do the project.’

‘Ah, lovely. That’s what I was hoping to hear. Spot any new cards up there?’

‘Yeah. There was one with this dog that was, like, so adorbs. And someone put up one of . . .’ Nervous smirk, duck. ‘You know.’

I waited. Alison twisted.

‘Just a . . . a lady’s, like, her chest. In a top, I mean! Not . . .’ High painful giggle. ‘And it said, “I’m saving up so the day I turn eighteen I can buy ones like this!”’

Observant, again. It went with the fear. Prey animal, watching everything for a threat. ‘That’s it? Nothing else new?’