It was hardly an unreasonable request. Natasha Tillotson had proved herself to be one of the worst students the department had ever had the misfortune to recruit. Three months after her arrival at Avon Cullen had more or less given up on her. Her work was always late and she seldom if ever completed the required reading. At the end of her first academic year she was put on notice. Then something strange happened. After Cullen had caught Natasha and Ratner in flagrante he’d checked the girl’s academic records, hoping to find an excuse to get rid of her, and spotted a disturbing pattern. So far as Cullen could see, she was still the same lazy, unmotivated student of only average intelligence she had always been but in the last few weeks, he noticed from checking the records, she was routinely coming top of the class. Which didn’t make any sense unless someone was giving her a leg up.

That someone was very likely to be Mark Ratner, who also happened to have begun an affair with Natasha in the last few weeks. Evidently, he had been doctoring Natasha’s grades hoping that no one would notice, and no one would have done, if Cullen hadn’t caught the couple cavorting half naked in the biosciences lab and had taken it upon himself to look up the girl’s records.

At the time Cullen had decided to let the infraction go, thinking it better not to draw attention to failings of oversight in the department that were ultimately his responsibility. There were other reasons for staying under the radar too. But Jessica Easton’s death makes it inevitable that all eyes will be on the department for a while and the conduct of staff must be seen to be 100 per cent above board. Time to sweep the department clean of corrupting influences. Which means Natasha Tillotson. The girl simply has to go.

Making his way to a dull meeting room with a suspended ceiling and a whiteboard, he offers a brief greeting to the occupants and with no apology for his intentional lateness, takes a seat at the head of the grey conference table.

He waits for Keane to stop nervously scrolling through a file of papers. Then opening his laptop and resting his elbows on the table he turns to Natasha and says, ‘Has Dr Keane explained why we asked to see you?’

Natasha Tillotson nods but does not look up. He cannot tell whether she is nervous or defiant but it makes no difference to him either way.

‘I’ve explained the Fit to Study assessment,’ Keane says, with her customary delight in jargon. Turning to Natasha, in a bright voice she adds, ‘We’re here today to help you succeed.’

Cullen thinks he detects an eyeroll from the girl.