‘Is this why you’ve been so keen for us to have a relationship. Are you just using me?’ Cam could hear how pathetic he sounded but he couldn’t help himself. He’d allowed himself to be tricked and there was nothing he could do about it.
‘Honestly, Cam, no. I like you and I thought you liked me. Nothing has to change.’
‘And if I refuse?’
‘I’ll get the money elsewhere.’
‘And you won’t drop me in it with the governors?’
Penny’s smile was slow and lazy. ‘I never said that.’
16
‘It’s Tom!’ Cam yelled at Ruth Warnesford as he passed the telephone handset back to her.
‘On the phone?’ she looked puzzled.
‘No. It’s Tom who’s hurt. That’s who they need the first aid supplies for. I need to get over there.’
‘Over where?’ Pearson asked, stepping through the doors that led to the main school. Cam stared at him, trying to make sense of his presence. Who was he? He couldn’t remember for a second and then it came back to him. His mind was playing tricks. He’d left Pearson talking to the students who’d been allowed out of the humanities block; that must mean they were all on their way to the leisure centre.
‘What’s happened?’ Pearson asked, looking from Cam to Ruth.
‘They need first aid,’ Cam said. ‘For Tom. I need to see him.’
Pearson laid a restraining hand on Cam’s arm, the pressure firm. ‘No. You can’t help if you go charging in. What did the man on the phone say?’
Cam felt his legs weakening and just managed to get himself to one of the soft chairs outside his office before he collapsed. ‘He’s been hurt. They need bandages and everything they asked for before. Ruth’s supposed to take it over, but I think it should be me. He’s my son.’
Cam looked at Pearson for confirmation, but the detective was shaking his head. ‘We have to do exactly what they say,’ he said. ‘If they see you approaching instead of Ruth, who knows what they might do? What were the instructions?’
Cam rested his head in his hands, unable to think clearly. Tom was hurt badly enough to need bandages and pain medication. What the hell had happened to him?
‘What did he say?’
‘Not much more than before. They still want the bandages and painkillers. But he made it clear that it’s for Tom. Do you think they’re just trying to mess with me?’
Pearson was frowning at him as though he’d said something odd.
‘Do you?’ he responded. ‘We still don’t know who these men are and what they want. Could it have something to do with you? Are you in some sort of trouble? You need to be honest with me this time, Mr Cleaver. I need to know.’
Cam leapt to his feet and was gratified to see a flash of fear in the detective’s face as he stepped back. ‘I don’t know why they’re here!’ he yelled. ‘And I don’t know why they’ve hurt my son. What I do know is that we’ve been waiting for some sort of backup, backup that you requested over half an hour ago. If anything happens to Tom, I know exactly who I’m going to blame.’
He bristled at Pearson’s patronising smile.
‘I’m running this investigation, Mr Cleaver. You might not like how I’m doing it but, for the moment, we do things my way. I’ll be extremely glad when my colleagues arrive and take over and you’re free to take up your grievances with them. For now, though, I need you to co-operate. If we’re going to help your son, we need to do exactly what these men want. We know one of them is frightened and potentially volatile. We also know that they’re very organised and seem to know a lot about the school. One false or stupid move could cost you dearly. Are you with me?’
Cam nodded. What choice did he have? If he went charging over to the humanities block it wasn’t only Tom who was at risk – there were others in there and, while Cam didn’t care about them anywhere near as much as he cared about his son, he didn’t want anybody else to get hurt. The school didn’t need that sort of publicity. ‘So, what do we do?’ he asked, sitting back down.
‘We get the supplies over to the humanities block and we wait.’
‘Don’t I get a say in it?’ Ruth asked. ‘I’m the one they’ve asked to go over there. Why me?’
Cam took a deep breath. This was his school and he was supposed to be in charge. Ruth was his PA and a valued colleague – he couldn’t allow Pearson to bully her. ‘Ruth,’ he said, walking over to the reception desk. ‘Nobody can make you go over there if you don’t want to.’ He leaned on the wooden countertop, bringing his face closer to Ruth’s and tried his most winning smile. From Ruth’s expression he could see that it had no effect – he suspected that it probably looked grotesque given the circumstances. He tried again. The receptionist’s expression softened – he’d got it right on the second try.
‘What can I do to make this easier?’
Ruth lowered her head, her eyes flicking randomly between the items on the counter as though the answer might lie in the visitor signing-in book or the parcels that were awaiting distribution around the school. ‘I’m scared, Cam,’ she said. ‘I know I should be heroic, should want to help the kids and Donna. And I do. But I’m terrified. What if they keep me over there? What if they decide to shoot me just because they can?’
Cam turned to Pearson. ‘Can I have a private chat with Ruth in my office? I think you being here might be adding pressure.’
Pearson shrugged but Cam knew that, one way or another, he was going to make the PA walk over to the humanities block unprotected. Cam wanted the same outcome, but he needed Ruth to think she was doing it
