Carter. ‘A word, please?’
As the two walked back down the stairs, talking confidentially, Allie wondered what they were saying.
‘Come on, Allie. You should be inside.’ Grabbing her hand, Zoe dragged her into the grand entrance hall where Nicole waited for them.
Usually dimmed at this hour, the chandeliers were all aglow. It gave the empty hallway an oddly festive feel, like a party to which no one had shown up.
The two guards were still with them – Karen walked well ahead; Peter had dropped behind. When they reached the common room they flanked the doorway – letting the girls in first then closing ranks outside the door.
After hours out in the cold, the deep leather sofas and Oriental rugs looked inviting. A fire crackled merrily in the large fireplace; nearby, a tea tray had been set out piled with sandwiches and biscuits.
Needing no more invitation, Nicole and Zoe dropped into chairs by the fire.
‘This is much better,’ Nicole said, stretching her legs out towards the flames.
But Allie stood just inside the door, staring around her blankly. It was all too civilised and ordinary – as if they’d just come back from a jolly afternoon of ice skating or shopping. She couldn’t make sense of it. There were
And yet she was starting to believe if Nathaniel wanted to, he could walk right past them.
She was so lost in thought she never heard Carter approach.
‘You OK?’
At the sound of his low voice, Allie’s breath came out in a sigh. When she turned towards him, his dark eyes surveyed her with concern.
The memory of how she’d felt in the training room when he hadn’t come over to say hello came back to her, unbidden and bitter.
‘I’m OK,’ she lied.
‘Raj told me about the note…’ He shook his head, at a loss for words. ‘Are you really fine?’
‘No, I’m not.’ Her voice was thick with emotion. ‘I’m freaking out and I don’t understand any of this. I hate myself for not catching Nathaniel and I hate Raj because he can’t catch him and… I’m just scared. About what’s going to happen next.’ She covered her mouth with one hand as if to shut herself up. ‘I’m sorry. I think it’s all making me crazy.’
Carter shook his head. ‘You’re not crazy. The world is crazy. It’s not our fault. We didn’t make it this way; we just inherited it.’
As she looked into those familiar depthless eyes, her heart ached. She hadn’t realised until this moment how much she’d missed his calm rationality. The way he got her. The way he could calm her down when she lost it.
It still worked. Her lips quirked into a shaky smile. ‘I think the world’s in trouble if we’re the sane ones.’
‘Doomed,’ he agreed, grinning back to her.
Footsteps in the hallway interrupted her thoughts and the moment dissipated as suddenly as it began.
Zelazny, Raj and Isabelle walked into the room together. Their grim expressions made Allie’s stomach tighten.
Motioning for the other students to stay where they were, Isabelle turned to face her. ‘Allie,’ she said. ‘Please come with us.’
THIRTEEN
‘There’s nothing new in the note,’ Zelazny said dismissively.
‘I disagree.’ Raj’s voice was low but firm. ‘You have to look beyond the superficiality of words on paper to what he’s really saying. And I think his message has changed.’
They were all crowded into the headmistress’ small office – Isabelle sitting at her desk with Raj and Allie in the chairs facing her. Zelazny stood with his back against the door, arms crossed.
With so many people in it, the room felt hot and stuffy. It smelled faintly of sweat.
‘I’m not sure I see that – what’s the new message?’ Isabelle asked, frowning. With her dark blonde hair loose, she looked younger – more like a student than a headmistress. But her demeanour was authoritative. And angry.
‘The note is addressed to Allie but it was meant for us. He’s telling us he’s about to make his move,’ Raj said. ‘He’s not asking Allie to come to him. He’s asking us to
The room fell silent.
Icy prickles of fear ran down Allie’s spine. Now that Raj had said it, Nathaniel’s underlying message seemed so obvious. He was giving Isabelle a way out. Inviting her to betray Allie and Lucinda.
Giving her one last chance.
Isabelle made an impatient sound. ‘If so, then this was a waste of his time.’
The headmistress turned to Raj. ‘We can discuss Nathaniel’s wishes later. My immediate concern is how this happened. How was the chapel not secured and why didn’t your guards discover the intrusion before my Night School students encountered it? This was a serious lapse.’
Her tone was ominous, and Raj shot her a sharp look.
‘Actually, we don’t believe there was an intrusion.’
‘What does that mean?’ Zelazny barked. ‘Clearly someone was in the chapel.’
Raj kept his eyes focused on Isabelle – Allie saw her pale as she realised what he was about to say.
‘There’s no indication that anyone entered the grounds last night. The note may have come from outside the school – it could have even come through the post. But the scene at the chapel was arranged by one of us. It was an inside job.’
Isabelle slapped her hand on the desk hard. They all looked up at her in surprise. Allie could see she was fighting to control her temper. When she spoke, frustration was clear in her voice.
‘Why haven’t we been able to find this person, Raj? How have they eluded you? What are we missing?’
Raj just shook his head – if he knew the answer he’d have told her. What was there to say?
‘August?’ She turned to Zelazny but he tightened his lips and held up his hands.
Isabelle rubbed her eyes tiredly and turned back to Allie.
‘Is there anything you haven’t told us, Allie? Anything at all?’
Allie hesitated.
‘Allie.’ Isabelle looked at her with intense focus. ‘Whatever it is, don’t be afraid to tell us. You don’t want to keep it to yourself and find out later it was important.’
Allie knew she was right but could she tell them? Could she do that to Eloise?
Then she remembered that note stabbed into the wall.
‘It’s just that… I thought…’ Allie felt like a traitor, but she made herself continue. ‘I thought I saw something the other day. It’s probably nothing. But you should know.’
A heavy silence fell as the three teachers stared at her. Raj was the first to speak. ‘What did you think you saw?’
The glare of their attention unnerved her and she twisted the hem of her jumper around her finger tight enough to hurt.
‘It was just… Eloise.’
‘I don’t understand.’ Isabelle had gone very still. ‘What about Eloise?’
Isabelle and the librarian were friends; surely she’d given her a key. This was all a horrible mistake, Allie thought with a hot surge of panic. She had no evidence. She couldn’t just go around accusing people of murder.
But she was in it too far now. She had to explain.
‘I was looking for you after class.’ She turned to the headmistress. ‘You were in London but I didn’t know so
