‘Okay, Ruth,’ Cam began when they were seated at opposite sides of Cam’s desk, the door firmly closed behind them. ‘I understand your fears, I do. I’m scared to death for Tom and the rest of them.’
Ruth couldn’t look at him.
‘Do you have any connection with any of the students, or with Donna, beyond a professional one?’
The PA shook her head.
‘Do you know why these men are here? Who they are?’
Another head shake.
‘So there’s no specific reason why they should have asked for you?’
‘No.’
‘Do you know why I think they chose you?’
Ruth looked up at him, eyes full of hope.
‘Because you’re the only person on site who can do this. I can’t go, I’m the head teacher and Tom’s dad. Penny can’t go because of Annie. You’re neutral. You have no agenda. Do you see?’
A reluctant nod, the hope fading, turning to resignation. ‘What if I say no?’
‘Nobody can make you do this, Ruth,’ Cam said, making his voice low and gentle. He was good at manipulating people – Penny had told him as much only a few days ago – and he was determined to get Ruth to help him protect his son. ‘But I honestly think that they’ve chosen you because you work on reception. You’re not invested in the same way me or Penny would be.’
Ruth sighed and shook her head. ‘I don’t really have much choice, do I?’
‘Of course you do. But I would count it as a massive personal favour if you’d do this to help my son. And I’ll make sure DI Pearson does everything he can to keep you safe.’
‘Okay. Let’s get on with it.’ Ruth stood up abruptly and went to the door. ‘I don’t want to change my mind.’
Cam followed her back into reception where Pearson and Penny appeared to be deep in conversation. ‘Where’ve you been?’ Cam asked Penny. He felt he should know, should have been paying attention but he couldn’t even remember what she’d said to him the last time they spoke.
‘I’ve been in the library, getting things set up for the police team. I think it’s all sorted. The desks are clear and the PCs are all unplugged so the specialists can set up their stuff as quickly as possible.’
‘Okay, good. Ruth’s going to take the first aid supplies over to the humanities block.’
He looked at Ruth for confirmation, but she simply stared at him, pale and visibly shaking. Pearson nodded and grabbed the package of bandages and painkillers that had been abandoned on the reception desk.
Ruth held out her hands robotically and clasped the items to her chest, looking from Cam to Pearson. ‘It will be all right, won’t it?’
‘You’ll be fine, Ruth. These men have no reason to want to harm you.’
Penny scowled at Cam’s reassuring tone. He knew she could tell that he was lying. In truth he had no idea what might happen to his PA but it was worth the risk to save his son. If he had to sacrifice this woman for Tom he’d do so in a heartbeat and he knew that Penny would have done the same thing if it was Annie who was hurt.
He followed Pearson and Ruth through the corridors to the main school hall and the door which led out to the playground. It would take Ruth less than two minutes to walk from there to the door to the humanities block where Pearson had instructed her to drop the supplies and walk calmly back to the main school. If any of the men holding the students gave her an instruction, she was to follow it to the letter.
The woman stood at the door for what seemed like an age and then stepped out into the chilly December air. She wasn’t wearing a jacket and the cold instantly added to the shivering but Cam wasn’t going to call her back and give her a coat. He needed this to be done quickly.
Ruth took two steps and then turned, her face a raw plea for reprieve – she was terrified.
Cam opened the door. ‘Go on, Ruth. You can do this. Just drop the stuff and come back. Two minutes – max.’
She nodded and turned towards the humanities building. Taking a visible deep breath, her chest heaving with the effort, arms holding the first aid rising and falling, she set off.
‘She’ll be fine,’ Pearson said. ‘She just has to drop the stuff at the door and back away.’
Cam could hear the doubt in the detective’s voice, as though he were trying to convince himself that Ruth was in no danger.
‘I know. She’s strong. Reliable.’
Ruth crossed the playground steadily and purposefully, each stride seeming measured and calculated, until she reached the steps leading up to the door of the humanities block. There she hesitated and looked back to where Cam and Pearson were waiting. Cam gave her a thumbs up, but Pearson frowned.
‘Something’s not right. Why’s she looking back? What’s stopping her from leaving the package?’
Narrowing his eyes, straining to see anything beyond the glass of the doors on the far side of the playground, Cam willed Ruth to drop the first aid. He didn’t want her in any danger but, more selfishly, he wanted Tom to get help as quickly as possible.
‘What’s she doing?’ Pearson asked again as Ruth started to climb the steps. ‘She shouldn’t be going up there.’
‘They won’t want her to leave the stuff at the bottom of the steps,’ Cam realised. ‘That means that one of them has to come out and they don’t know if we’ve got armed police officers on site. It’s safer for them if she leaves it at the top of the steps.’
They watched in silence as Ruth reached the top step and stood on the level area outside the double doors.
‘Put it down,’ Pearson whispered. ‘Put it down.’
Almost as if she’d been listening, Ruth lowered the package that she’d been carrying clutched close to her chest
