Lost Souls by Jenny O'Brien (android e book reader txt) 📕

of her that made her realise how much she missed it. Malachy’s roof terrace was a sterile space with two designer chairs set around a wrought-iron table, a great bonus after a long day at work but hardly a replacement for the oasis she’d lost. It wouldn’t take much to brighten it up. A planter or two and perhaps some winter-flowering pansies now that autumn was only around the corner. She’d discuss it with him as soon as she returned to the station and, if she had the nerve, she might pinch some hydrangea cuttings on her way back to the car.

The playground to the left was deserted as were the sports fields in the distance, hardly surprising as it was the height of the holidays. But schools like this never closed. Most of the teachers might be off enjoying their well-earned vacation but the headmaster lived on site as did the groundsman. She’d even learnt during her quick phone call that the clerical staff took it in turns to man the phones, working through the stream of paperwork that never seemed to reduce whatever the time of year.

Within minutes, she found herself sitting at an empty desk in the front office.

‘Tell me again exactly what it is you need,’ Mrs Newton said, her eyes sharp behind her tortoiseshell-framed glasses.

‘It’s a long shot really but a chat with anyone who would have known Katherine Jane prior to her retirement and move to Llandudno.’

‘The old teacher who went missing last year? Poor soul. Well, not me for one. While I knew her, of course, we weren’t by any means friendly. What exactly is it you want?’

‘That’s the problem.’ Marie opened the envelope she’d been holding and, withdrawing some photos, handed them over. ‘These were taken soon after her disappearance. Obviously we’re aware that she worked at the school in the years up to her retirement. We were wondering if there were any of her friends still among the staff who would know if these images ring true as to the kind of possessions she’d have on display?’

‘Isn’t it a bit late to be asking?’ she said, sitting back, her lips compressed. ‘Surely …?’

‘It’s never too late to re-examine what happened. You may have read in the papers that it was a very unusual case? People of that age don’t usually up and disappear into thin air like that. We’re looking for closure.’

Mrs Newton picked up the first photo, studied it a moment and repeated the action with both the second and the third. ‘Miss Jane was a bit of an oddity. As clever as you like, a Latin scholar with an Oxford degree, but a loner all the same who didn’t tend to mix with the other teachers.’ She glanced up briefly. ‘And certainly not with the likes of the humble office staff. The students hated her en masse – not that she’d have bothered about that sort of thing. I think you’ll be lucky to find any who would have been invited across to her flat except the students she used to take on privately to tutor up for their exams. There was a steady stream of those but, of course, as we don’t keep records of any private arrangements between parents and teachers, that’s not going to help you.’ She returned to the first photograph, which featured the lounge and the wall-to-wall bookcases. ‘As I said already, we weren’t close but I did see the inside of her flat on one or two occasions when I had to gain access for the maintenance team.’

‘And?’

‘And I would have to say that she had a fine collection of silver frames, genuine at a guess. Also some crystal. Yes. I remember now, quite a nice collection.’

‘What about jewellery?’

‘I never saw her wear any, maybe a gold watch but I can’t really remember and I don’t think anyone else would.’

Marie stood, holding out a hand for the photos and returning them to the envelope.

‘There is her leaving present, of course.’

‘Her leaving present?’

‘Yes, here. I happen to have one ready for the next presentation.’ She pulled out the bottom drawer of her desk and removed a long slim box. ‘These are quite a collector’s item and nearly worth working at the school until retirement to get one.’ She managed a laugh. ‘I have a few years left until I get mine. Made especially by a firm in London.’

Marie focused on the gold pen, a flicker of interest flaring into a bright flame. ‘What’s that on the top?’ she said, her fingernail pointing to the red and blue engraving.

‘The college crest.’

Chapter 42

Ronan

Tuesday 4 August, 11.50 a.m. Caernarfon

‘Mother, what the hell do you think you’re doing here! You scared the sh—’

‘Mind your language! You’re not on the streets now, my boy. I could ask the very same thing about you and, believe me, I fully intend to.’

Peering down through the hole in the ceiling, Ronan felt as if he’d woken up from a nightmare. No. He hadn’t woken up. The nightmare was still continuing just like his life. One big, long fucking nightmare with no end in sight.

He turned his head, suddenly remembering that it wasn’t just the two of them. ‘It’s okay, Ellie. You can come out. There’s no need to be scared, it’s only my mum.’

Back in the kitchen with the kettle on – why adults always had to resort to hot drinks in times of crises was one step too far for his juvenile outlook – he asked the question that had been filling the gap in his mind.

‘How did you find me?’

‘I saw you yesterday morning in the clos. I knew then that something must be up but by the time I returned, after dropping the boys off, you’d disappeared. It didn’t take me long to discover that the key to the farmhouse was missing out of the top drawer in your fa— in the office.’

She couldn’t even mention his name now. That’s what hurt the most. The man his