“Will you keep it secret?” Kayleigh looked up at her with streaming eyes.
“I can’t promise to keep it secret because there might be someone who can help you better than me. But we will do whatever we can to stop you from being sad.” Which possibly included taking a sledgehammer to Father Kendrick’s testicles if he was the one putting her in any form of harm.
“I saw a man with a gun.”
Rayah stroked her hair. “When did you see him?” Facts. Basic questions. Nothing leading. Just ascertain the facts.
“This morning. He was in my room.”
Oh hell.
“Who was he?”
Kayleigh shook her head. “I don’t know. He was new. He had a black coat on and school pants.”
“Like Mr Whatmore?” She mentioned the deputy head who was always in a suit.
Kayleigh nodded. “But black hair. He didn’t look old.”
“What did he have in his hand?”
Kayleigh started to sob, clearly absolutely terrified. Behind the girl, the head of the school was standing, her expression sombre.
“A gun. It looked like the gun that Kale played with when it was toy day. Is he going to shoot me?”
Rayah shifted he girl onto her knee. Technically, you weren’t meant to do this, but the kiddie was sobbing and afraid and there was no way Rayah was letting her feel alone.
“No one is going to shoot you. Mrs Lester is here now and she’s going to listen to me tell her why you’re upset and then we’re going to speak to your mum. We will make sure that you’re looked after.”
The head teacher sat down next to them, Rayah seeing a whole epic series of concerns in her eyes.
No one brought guns into Severton. It was the home of alpacas and weird traditions and gin distilled by grandmothers.
Not guns.
The police were waitingfor Rayah as soon as the children in her class had departed to take her statement. It was all routine, that she knew. Kayleigh had gone home with her mother, who was apologetic with the teachers that her daughter had been so over dramatic yet again. According to her, the gun had been a toy one that one of the visiting children had brought in, and the man hadn’t been in Kayleigh’s room at all.
Rayah slumped down in her chair in the tiny office she shared with the other assistant head. Her cousin perched on the desk while his new boss took the other seat, tapping his pen against the arm.
“So she told you she saw a gun and she described the man? I think we have all that. Does she lie?”
Rayah narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t keen on how he was phrasing the questions. They suggested that if Kayleigh had seen something, then she’d completely misinterpreted it. Given that it was Severton, and secrets didn’t exist here, Rayah could half understand his distrust of what the girl had said.
“No. She doesn’t lie. She’s very anxious and she’s easily worked up, but she doesn’t outright lie.”
“So she could’ve seen something that looked like a gun, like a toy or an ornament?”
“I suppose so. She’s only seven, Inspector.” Rayah looked at Alex who had his curious face on. “But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know what she saw.”
“It makes her an unreliable witness. Anyway,” he stood up, “it’s been checked out. Mum said there was no man in her bedroom and we can’t see any evidence to suggest there was. It’s all been logged, so of course, if you have any other concerns then contact us as you would. I’m pretty sure you won’t do. The girl’s just a bit of storyteller.”
Rayah felt her blood pressure rise and heat coat her face. One of the things she had learned in nearly a decade of teaching had been to never dismiss a child, especially one as young and sensitive as Kayleigh. Yes, children might perceive things differently, but that didn’t mean they made something up.
“What follow up is planned?”
The inspector looked puzzled. “What do you mean, follow up? It’s all put to bed. The girl was telling stories.”
Rayah shook her head. “Kayleigh isn’t a story teller. She’s seen something that’s made her incredibly upset and worried.”
