“Secondment from Manchester.” Alex sounded guarded. “He requested it when news about McKay got out. Apparently he was burned out from a murder case he was working, an unsolved.”
“Does he have connections to the area?” Rayah was still standing.
“I have no idea. He hasn’t said and not much gossip has been going round. Look, Ray, I said before I’d keep an eye on things. You need to give this a rest. Your pupils are going to need you.”
The school was a mess. There was no way parts of it would be usable for months. Thousands of pounds of equipment had been damaged, children’s work and belongings burnt to ash. But there had been no loss of life.
“Do you think this was a warning, Al?” Jonny asked.
Alex was quiet for a moment, never one to make a comment without considering. “Maybe. If someone wanted to cause the most upset, it would’ve gone off when the children were in or just when they were leaving. You think this is the same guy as the apartment?”
“The explosion was caused the same way. Forensics will have more of an idea, but my gut tells me it was.” Jonny was almost certain, but science would verify it.
“Alex, that dickhead inspector needs looking at...”
“Not that simple, but I don’t trust him either. But you need to trust me.” Alex’s tone was insistent.
Jonny watched Rayah as she stood still, her lips pressed together, eyes scanning the room and he was filled with fear.
Years ago, back when they were teenagers, maybe she wasn’t even thirteen, he’d seen her wear the same expression. She’d been contemplating sneaking out of her house and following her brothers to a carnival in Astley, one with a reputation for being rough and unsuitable for a girl of her age. She’d slipped away and they’d spotted her a couple of hours later telling one of the carnival workers exactly why she wouldn’t do whatever it was he was asking her to do.
Jonny had intervened before her brother or cousins, knowing that if it had been them, the lad would’ve been skinned alive. He’d walked her home, leaving Scott, Zack and Jake to their own devices, knowing that they would be mad at Rayah for putting herself in danger.
They’d been half-way across a field when Rayah had burst into tears as she’d realised what danger she’d put herself in. He remembered holding her, the skinny girl with the thick blonde hair who’d he’d always adored.
Still did. Just in a different way now.
Only now he was scared.
Rayah was still that girl who took risks and he didn’t know what he’d do if one day, like Grace, she didn’t come home. Or what his kids would do.
“Ray, you need to leave it to Alex. Tell him what you think and leave him to look into it. If you’re right and there’s more to Garrison than a man who’s come here for a break, then you could be putting yourself in danger. I’m sure he’s nothing more than a shit cop, but you need to leave it.” He nearly called her ‘baby’, wanted to desperately. Just like he wanted to gather her into his arms and hold her while she mourned her school because everything had changed.
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
He saw her eyes flash and her fists tighten.
“Jonny’s right, Rayah. This isn’t your job. Leave it be. And that’s me telling you what to do as a cop and not your cousin. Do anything that puts yourself in danger and I’ll arrest you for interfering with an investigation.”
She turned back round to look out of the window. “Fine.”
Somehow Jonny didn’t believe her.
Chapter Eighteen
The stench of burnt something was still in the air as if bonfire night had a hangover. Rayah walked from her house to the school without noticing the flowers that were blooming in the early spring gardens or the sounds of birds singing from the trees. Instead, she was focused on the smell and the silence.
Fridays in Severton were usually filled with fun. For the local farmers, it was a night to go out and have a few drinks with each other after a hard week and listen to live music. For the children, it was two days where they could run free without the restrictions of school in a town where it was still safe to play out. For the others, it was a time to relax, enjoy.
But not this Friday.
The sky was a shade of grey that Rayah didn’t recognise. The smoke had polluted it, turning it an unnatural hue and as she drew closer to the building where she’d probably spent more hours than anywhere else for the last few years, the silence became loud.
The old building stood closed and empty, it’s hundred-year-old frame as it had been yesterday. To the side and further back there was the blackened shell of the new extension.
She stood on the road in front of it, the crime scene tape blowing in the breeze. A forensics team were working nearby, scouring the ground for any evidence. Two police officers were talking and pointing. There was no sign of Garrison or Alex.
Rayah wandered to the side of the building where there was a footpath that led around the back of the school and down to one of the rivers that passed through Severton. The school was closed for the next two weeks while it was a crime scene, maybe a little bit less, maybe a little bit longer. Nothing had been said yet about plans, just that they needed to assess the safety of the building that hadn’t been affected by the blaze and then look at a couple of other buildings in the town that could be used as temporary classrooms before making any announcements.
