Disordered Minds

'It doesn't mean she hadn't been introduced to sexual activity,' said Jonathan.

'I agree. And if her father was responsible it would explain why she didn't want him to know about the assault. He'd certainly believe she provoked it. It's how molesters and rapists excuse their behavior-it's not their fault, it's the fault of the victim for arousing them.' She tapped her pen on her notepad. 'The same arguments would apply to her mother. I came across a case study that showed that as many as twenty-five percent of sex-abuse offenses are committed by women. Any number of dynamics might have been operating within the family.'

'Or outside it,' said Jonathan. 'A neighbor or relative might have been grooming her-perhaps her father was as troubled by her sexual precocity as her teachers, and didn't know how to deal with it. He may have been guilty only of heavy-handed discipline.' He looked inquiringly at the headmistress. 'What sort of man was he? Did you know him well?'

'Not really. I spoke to him once about Priscilla's truanting and once after she disappeared. On both occasions he was very angry. There was no meeting of minds. On the first occasion he told me it was the school's responsibility to ensure his daughter's attendance, and on the second he took me to task for suspending Priscilla and not Louise. He said that had he realized that Louise Burton was the other girl in the fight, he wouldn't have upheld my punishment.'

'Why would he say that?'

She considered for a moment. 'Each set of parents thought the other child was to blame for the truanting, but I believed then-and still believe-that Mr. Trevelyan was trying to shift the blame onto me. If he could place on record that all he'd done was reinforce a school punishment, then he could excuse whatever it was that caused Priscilla to run away.'

'You didn't like him?' said George.

'Indeed I did not,' said the old woman firmly. 'He was an overweight bully who shook his fist under my nose and expected me to agree with him. I made it clear both times that I had no responsibility for Priscilla when she was off the premises-other than to report the fact to her parents and the relevant authorities-so he promptly blamed the school for her difficulties.' She shook her head. 'We'd held her back ... she was bored ... we weren't challenging her enough ... she was too bright to be at Highdown. It was very depressing.'

'And all reported in the press?'

'Indeed.' Another sigh. 'And there was nothing we could say in rebuttal. It would have been shabby to contradict their assessment of Priscilla, shabbier still to suggest the Trevelyans were-' she canted her head toward Jonathan-'inadequate. It was very much a case of: de mortuis nil nisi bonum.'

Jonathan eyed her curiously. 'Is that a figure of speech or did you believe she was dead?'

'Both. A missing child inspires intense emotion ... we all grieved for her. Everyone expected a shallow grave to be found somewhere, and when it wasn't...' She broke off with an unhappy shrug. 'Her parents continued to hope, but no one else believed she could survive on her own.'

He nodded. 'So why did the police abandon the investigation?'

'I don't think they did. They kept the case open for years, but they were really just waiting for a skeleton to turn up. As one of the inspectors said, she vanished into thin air after she left her parents' house, almost certainly abducted by one of these monsters who prey on children. She could be buried anywhere:'

'Her father was questioned and ruled out,' said George. 'Do you know why? He seems the most obvious suspect.'

'He was working a night shift that week and her mother said Priscilla was still at home after he left for work. He reported her missing when he came home at six o'clock in the morning and found her bed hadn't been slept in, but his work colleagues said he hadn't left the factory all night.'

'What was his job?' asked Jonathan.

'He was a foreman at Brackham & Wright's tool factory. It closed a few years later and they used the site for the new comprehensive school.'

There was a long and thoughtful silence.

'What was that you said about linkage and synchronicity?' asked George, leveling her pen at Jonathan. ''Don't be tempted by it ... coincidences happen.' Well, I am tempted.' She switched her attention back to Miss Brett. 'Do you remember Grace Jefferies's murder? Her body was discovered a week after Priscilla went missing.'

The old woman nodded. 'It was very shocking. You mentioned her killer earlier.'

'Howard Stamp,' said George. 'His mother, Wynne-Grace's daughter-also worked at Brackham & Wright. It stretches the imagination to think a single workforce should be hit by an abduction and a murder within seven days of each other. Surely the two events must have been connected in some way? Did the police ever suggest that to you?'

'Not to me, although I do remember being surprised during the trial to learn that Mrs. Stamp worked there ... but that was a year after Priscilla vanished, of course.' Miss Brett fell into a brief reverie, staring toward her window as she sifted through memories. 'It seems an obvious connection to make with hindsight,' she said, 'but it wasn't obvious at the time. Brackham & Wright was a major employer in Highdown in the 1960s-at a rough estimate there were two thousand on the payroll-and a large number of my parents worked there. I believe Louise Burton's father was also a foreman, and many of our pupils went into their training schemes.'

'What sort of people were the Burtons?' Jonathan asked before George could speak.

'I don't believe I ever met the husband-there wasn't a great deal of contact with parents in those days-but I spoke to Mrs. Burton about Louise's truanting. She was rather more amenable than Mr. Trevelyan, accepting some responsibility for her daughter's behavior, but she blamed Priscilla for it. She wanted me to separate the girls but, as I pointed out, it would achieve nothing while they continued living so close to each other.'

'How close were they? We know the Burtons lived in Mullin Street but we haven't been able to find an address for the Trevelyans.'

'If memory serves me right, they were in Lacey Street.'

'Two on,' said George, making a note. 'Do you know which number in Lacey Street?' she asked Miss