‘What that means is that we’re now certain that we’re looking for someone who has done this before.’
That sets everyone whispering, wriggling, flapping. Celeste soldiers on calmly.
‘In the next few days we’ll be releasing a detailed profile of who we’re looking for, what this person might be like. What the media will say is that this person has to be connected with your school.’
Celeste scans the room, grave but calm. A buzzing noise builds in my head, threatening to drown everything out. I shouldn’t be confused at all because I remember what Ol’ X-Ray-Eyes Chapman said about the FBI and this is probably what he meant. A profile.
‘That connection is not confirmed. This person might be connected with Balmoral, maybe even very remotely connected, or they might have nothing to do at all with your school. We’re considering a large number of cases to determine if they’re linked. Are there any questions?’
Is it more likely that Yin is dead now, or less likely? Wasps are loose in the room.
Milla puts up her hand. ‘Why did you let the guy on the CCTV footage go?’
‘We investigated him thoroughly. He has no criminal record, a solid alibi for the night in question, and no unexplained absences.’
‘What do you mean by “unexplained absences”? Is that something we should be looking for?’ Anusha forgets to raise her hand.
‘It means if someone suddenly changes their routine and is out of the house a lot more, or goes on holidays or weekends away more than usual. That’s all.’
I try to will someone to ask the right questions, but they don’t. My earlobes get oh-so-hot so I tug on them and still the buzzing grows louder.
Bridie lifts her hand. ‘Is it true that we should pee ourselves if someone attacks us? Or say we have our period?’
Our self-defence teacher had been no help on this matter. Mr Wright tries to chameleon himself into the whiteboard.
Celeste is stoic. ‘If you ever feel physically threatened by anyone it’s better to focus on getting away from them, or attracting attention and help.’
This isn’t enough for Bridie. ‘I have another one. Should we try to escape or should we not try to escape?’
Everyone knows that she’s asking because of the ‘In the Unlikely Event of ’ email.
‘No one involved in the investigation thinks that this offender will strike again in the near future,’ is all that Celeste will say.
Predictably, Petra’s hand shoots up, shoots for the sky. She wiggles her fingers and bounces in her seat like we all used to do in Junior School before we realised how dorky that looks.
‘About the profile and the other cases and the possible connection to the school,’ she says in that posh debating-team voice of hers. She’s holding a piece of paper in her hands as if she’s prepared notes for a speech. ‘What about Emma-Maree Jones? Don’t you think that her abduction is important? She was on the waiting list for Balmoral.’
Celeste finally looks freaked. She whispers to Mr Wright and he hands her a whiteboard marker. He has to push her over to the smart-board side so she doesn’t write on the actual wall. She writes ‘PREJUDICIAL’ in large letters on the board.
‘We understand that you’re all really worried about Yin, and you need to air your worries, but some of the information that’s being shared could affect the court case when we catch the perpetrator.’
Petra’s arm goes ballistic again but Celeste ignores it.
‘We’ve already had to shut down the “Find Yin Mitchell” page and a few others that have cropped up. It’s not because we don’t want you to be informed, it’s because we’re trying to protect the investigation, and Yin and her family.’
‘I know what prejudicial means,’ Petra calls out again in a desperate voice. ‘My father is a barrister. But you haven’t answered my question.’
Before I know what’s happening my arm shoots up, pushing through the hot prickling and the buzzing. I look up at it in surprise, as if it’s not attached to my body. Celeste looks relieved to take my question instead of answering Petra’s.
The words tumble out hard and fast like marbles.
‘Firstly, is it true that most kidnap victims are dead within the first twenty-four hours of being taken?’
The room gasps and grows restless. Petra turns in her seat with her mouth hanging open. I realise that what I really, really want is to smash everything in here: the mood, the hope, the furniture.
‘Secondly, why are you saying “the person” and “the perpetrator” when really what you mean is “the man”? It’s a guy we’re looking for, everyone knows that it’s men that do this sort of thing, and they’re likely to keep going until they’re caught. You only have to look at the statistics.’
My voice is loud and powerful. Everyone turns to look at me.
Mr Wright looks plenty red in the face. He actually gets a hankie out of his pocket and wipes his forehead. I’ve probably offended him in his sensitive man parts.
Petra speaks again. ‘There are a few cases where married couples have killed together…’ Her voice trails off when she sees the way I look at her.
I realise that sometime in the last minute I’ve stood up. ‘Just tell us, is she still alive, or not?’
Celeste looks genuinely stricken. ‘I’m so sorry, I know how difficult this is, but we don’t know. We’re trying to remain hopeful.’ She walks around the room, handing out her business card to each of us, along with an understanding look. ‘You can contact me about anything. I realise it’s a lot to ask, but if you could keep what we’ve discussed today within your school friends and family, that would help us a lot.’
Mr Wright claps his hands, probably keen to put a stop to all the emotion. ‘Thank you, officer.’ He escorts her to the door.
