Retribution by Jay Nadal

Author:Jay Nadal [Nadal, Jay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-01-05T00:00:00+00:00

25

Scott left the room in the hands of SOCO after they’d arrived. With it being a derelict part of the school, it attracted little attention as pupils and school life carried on around them which in itself worried Scott. There was a sense of suspended reality to this place, the school had carried on as normal, teachers delivered classes, pupils appeared unfazed and the atmosphere felt controlled, clinical and sanitised. It certainly wasn’t what Scott had expected, but then again, he wasn’t sure that this was a normal school.

Collier, the principal, was seated in his red leather wingback chair facing out through a large leaded window over the front of the school. He had his back to Scott but nevertheless heard his footsteps tap across the parquet floor as he strode along the corridor. For a man leading a school engulfed in a series of murder investigations, he seemed unabashed, which should have surprised Scott, but having witnessed the man’s demeanour on several occasions and the general atmosphere around the school and staff, nothing surprised him now.

“Mr Collier, you and I need a chat,” Scott said firmly as he walked in.

Collier replied with nothing more than an, “Ahem.”

Scott placed himself between Collier and the window, his arms crossed, staring intently at the principal. “I’ve just come from the old music room, and it appears that despite it being out of bounds, it’s been used recently. I need answers, Mr Collier, and I need you to start talking now.”

The harsh, firm tone in Scott’s voice left Collier with little doubt as to the gravity of the situation the school faced. Collier sat with his elbows resting on the armrests, his fingers joined in a steeple that supported his chin. His eyes were firmly fixed in a glaze, a vacant stare that seemed to bore through Scott and out into the gardens beyond. He looked weary, the events of the past week had clearly taken their toll on him. Fatigued and stressed, the past was slowly catching up to him, and he had neither the strength nor energy to fight off the growing tide of suspicion that engulfed the school.

With a jaded sigh, his shoulders dropped and his eyes slowly rose from over the top rim of his spectacles to meet with Scott’s. Pulling himself up straight and out of the chair he looked at Scott, resignation etched into the creases across his forehead and around his eyes.

“Walk with me, Inspector?” he asked as he turned and trudged towards the door.

An eerie silence followed the pair as they made their way back out through reception past Mrs Hilary, who watched open-mouthed unsure as to what was happening. She’d already locked horns with Scott earlier as he’d breezed past her, ignoring her grating voice that echoed in the air as he left her behind.

Stepping out into the sunshine, Scott squinted. The mood didn’t change as they walked slowly around the grounds of the school. Their footsteps were muffled as they trod across the closely cropped lawns.

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