‘The victim and her form tutor,’ explained Brady as he handed Conrad the photograph. ‘I’ve checked the dates of a school trip to Germany the victim recently went on and those calls begin the same night Sophie and her teacher returned from that trip.’
‘That’s her teacher?’ questioned Conrad sceptically.
Brady nodded.
‘I think we need to ask him a few questions, don’t you?’
‘I take it that you’re here about Sophie?’ asked Ben Ellison, politely standing aside to let Brady in, followed by Conrad and Jenkins.
Brady nodded. ‘DS Conrad and DI Brady,’ he flatly stated. ‘And this is Dr Jenkins who is assisting us with the investigation.’
Jenkins moved towards him and shook his hand.
Brady couldn’t help noticing Ellison turning on his boyish charm for Jenkins.
‘Sorry for the mess,’ he apologised as he cleared a pile of books from a chair for her benefit.
‘Thanks,’ said Jenkins as she sat down.
She slowly crossed her long, slender legs, forcing her skirt to ride further up than she had intended. Brady realised his weren’t the only eyes on her. Embarrassed, Ellison quickly diverted his gaze.
Brady had asked Jenkins along to get a second opinion. He already had a gut feeling that there was something more than a teacher-student relationship between Ellison and the victim. But he wanted Jenkins’ professional opinion before he started making any accusations.
‘You’re lucky you caught me. I normally leave by 5 pm,’ Ellison said as he looked at Jenkins. ‘Especially on a Friday.’
Brady ignored him as he quickly took in the pokey, cluttered, first-floor office. Two desks sat at either side of the room, strewn in papers, books and piles of folders. He then turned his attention to the victim’s form tutor. He was the kind of guy you hated at school. Tall, athletically built and a natural on the sports field. He made ordinary guys feel like dicks. Which meant he was the kind that typically got the girls. Brady could see why. It wasn’t just his boyish, chiselled good looks and messy, short blond hair. He had startlingly bright, compelling, azure-blue eyes. Altogether, it was a fatal combination; particularly around hormonal teenagers.
Ellison casually sat down on the edge of his desk. He followed Brady’s eye to the sports posters on the wall behind him.
‘Snowboarding, rock climbing and surfing … that’s what I do. That is, when I’m not teaching,’ Ellison modestly explained for Jenkins’ benefit, rather than Brady’s.
‘I see,’ Brady replied, disliking him even more.
He could understand the allure of surfing in the dazzling warm waters off Australia or the West coast of America, but the gripping, black North East waters that battered Tynemouth beach just didn’t do it for him. There were better ways of spending your cold, drizzling weekends in Whitley Bay. And freezing your bollocks off in the sewage-strewn, icy waters of the North Sea didn’t come close.
‘Do you want a seat?’ Ellison suddenly offered, realising that Brady and Conrad were still standing. ‘Sorry it’s so cramped in here,’ he added as he moved an assortment of sports gear off one of the chairs and dumped it on the floor.
‘Thanks,’ Conrad said as he took a seat.
‘I’m fine standing,’ Brady answered.
His leg was really giving him some gyp and the last thing he wanted to do was to sit down and have it seize up on him in front of Surfer Boy. Not with Jenkins there.
‘So, what can I do for you?’ Ellison asked in a deferential tone as his boyish eyes rested on Jenkins.
‘We were wondering what you could tell us about Sophie?’ Brady began.
Ellison lifted his bright, azure-blue eyes up to Brady’s as he thought about the question.
He shook his head and shrugged apologetically.
‘I really don’t know what I can tell you.’
Brady noticed that despite the relaxed voice, Ellison seemed slightly agitated. Brady couldn’t specifically put his finger on it, but he felt it. He didn’t need some fancy PhD in psychology to know when someone was lying or uneasy about something. It was simple: Ellison seemed too cool for Brady’s liking, considering the circumstances.
‘We were hoping that you might be able to tell us if she seemed worried at all? Perhaps preoccupied in lessons? That kind of thing,’ Brady explained. ‘We’re just trying to get a clearer picture of what was going on in Sophie’s life.’
‘No … I can’t think of anything …’ Ellison answered. ‘I mean … I still can’t believe that this has happened … why would someone …?’ His confused, hurt gaze returned to Jenkins.
‘That’s why we’re here, sir,’ Brady stated.
Ellison looked at Brady.
‘I don’t know what to say. She was a very popular girl. Everyone liked her … I can’t say she ever seemed distracted or worried to me. She was always such a hard-working, sociable student,’ Ellison replied. ‘I can’t imagine anyone doing such a dreadful thing …’
‘Someone did,’ Brady pointed out. ‘Someone who personally knew her.’
Ellison shrugged.
‘I believe that Sophie had been teaching Year 6 maths on a Saturday morning for the past eight weeks?’
‘Yes, that’s right. She was gifted at maths and had already started her A-level module, even though she hadn’t completed her GCSE,’ answered Ellison.
Brady raised his eyebrow, intrigued that Ellison knew so much, given the fact he was just her form tutor.
‘I was also her maths teacher. I teach Year 10 and 11 maths. And then A-level maths,’ explained Ellison.
Brady was surprised. Ellison definitely didn’t look like a maths teacher from his day. If Ellison had said that he was some jock who taught PE then Brady wouldn’t have thought twice about it.
‘What about the school trip to Germany?’
‘What about it?’ Ellison questioned as he distractedly ran a hand through his short, stylishly messy hair.
‘We have reason to believe Sophie began a relationship with someone while on that trip.’
For a second, Brady swore that Ellison looked surprised.
‘I’m afraid I still can’t help you. I was just her teacher. Maybe one of her friends would know?’
‘We’ve tried that, but no luck,’ Brady answered. ‘However they did say that she was allegedly seeing some older guy. You wouldn’t have any ideas as to who that would be, do you?’
**‘No … no, like I said I’m just her maths teacher and form tutor.’
Brady waited for more.
Uncomfortable, Ellison turned to Jenkins.
‘Maybe you got it wrong?’ he suggested.
‘I’m afraid not, Mr Ellison. Mobile phone records don’t lie. They show that she started a relationship with someone directly after the German school trip. And then there’s the autopsy report,’ Jenkins calmly replied.
‘I’m sorry?’ replied Ellison uncomfortably. ‘Are you saying what I think you are? That Sophie was …’ Ellison faltered as he looked from Jenkins to Brady.
‘Sexually active?’ Jenkins asked.
Ellison nodded awkwardly.
‘Yes,’ answered Jenkins as she caught Brady’s eye.
They both waited for Ellison to say something.
‘I’m really sorry about all of this but there’s nothing more I can tell you …’ Ellison finally replied.
‘A student of yours was found murdered in the early hours of this morning. I’m sure there’s a lot more you can tell us, sir,’ Brady firmly stated.
Ellison looked at him.
‘I don’t know what you’re expecting from me. As I said, I was just her form tutor,’ Ellison insisted with an
