8 Top Marks for Murder Read online

  Daisy was gaping, her face blank with confusion. My heart ached for her.

  ‘The murderer’s moved it!’ she said. ‘He must have! He – how – oh, bother.’

  But then I saw the glow come back into her face.

  ‘Hazel, the mystery is not over yet! We must not stop being detectives! We must keep working – we can’t let a little thing like this stop us!’

  ‘Of course, Daisy,’ I said, biting my tongue.

  At least for a little longer, I thought, Daisy has this case, and can be happy.

  But in the end, it was Daisy who was right.

  3

  ‘There has to be a body,’ Daisy kept on muttering at breakfast. We were all huddled at one end of the fourth-form table, having a whispered and urgent meeting. ‘Somewhere! There has to be!’ She rattled her spoon furiously around the bottom of the jam jar until I was half afraid she would crack it.

  ‘It could be hidden somewhere in Deepdean town,’ said Lavinia. ‘Or – ooh, it could be in the Pavilion! I’ll look this afternoon when I’m changing for my match.’

  The Anniversary, of course, was beginning in earnest today, with the exhibition matches in the afternoon and then the gala dinner that evening.

  ‘It’s not in the Pavilion,’ Daisy snapped. ‘That makes no sense. We know the murderer went back towards Deepdean town, not towards the school and the sports pitches. We tracked his movements! No, if the body is anywhere, it’s in town.’

  ‘Well, we’ve got time to look for it, haven’t we?’ I said. I had decided to humour her, and there was a part of me that still hoped that it was true. ‘We’ve got four hours to get into Deepdean town and look about for clues.’

  ‘Some of us have,’ said Lavinia. ‘An adult has to sign us out, and my father probably won’t even remember my match this afternoon, let alone take me out this morning.’

  ‘And I told Daddy I didn’t want to see him,’ Beanie said wanly. ‘So I’m stuck here too.’

  ‘Oh, Beans!’ cried Kitty. ‘Well, it’s a jolly good thing that Mum and Dad will be here to take Binny and me out in half an hour. The rest of you can tag along – they won’t mind us slipping away once we get into town.’

  ‘Binny will,’ Lavinia pointed out. ‘She’ll sniff out that something’s odd.’

  ‘I can’t help that!’ said Kitty. ‘I tried to bump her off plenty of times when she was a baby, but it never worked. It’s not my fault she’s so dreadful.’

  ‘You must just do your best to shake her off. Once you’ve got away, come and meet us.’

  ‘How are you getting out?’ asked Kitty. ‘Your parents aren’t here!’

  Daisy flushed. ‘The Inspector is coming to get us,’ she said. ‘We will be discussing the case in the Willow Tea Rooms, and then we will be searching the town for anything suspicious.’

  ‘What are you lot talking about?’ asked Amina, leaning over from the other side of the table.

  ‘Escaping from my little sister,’ said Kitty quickly.

  ‘Oh,’ said Amina, ‘I thought you might be trying to hide from your parents. Mine are taking me and Clementine for a Talk about the alarm clocks this morning. They’re going to go on and on about me being a good little girl so I don’t get expelled, I can tell.’

  ‘So what if you are expelled?’ asked Daisy. ‘And why are you talking to us? You’re not in our dorm.’

  Amina gazed at Daisy and grinned. ‘I shan’t be really. My father will make sure of it. I asked to come here – England is the thing at the moment, you know. I shall just explain again that pranks are part of being an English schoolgirl and promise to be perfect from now on – all the mistresses love me, so it won’t be too difficult. And I don’t understand your obsession with dorms here!’

  ‘Did you really ask to come here?’ I said. I was wondering if I was right about what I had guessed the night before: that Amina’s dramatics were just a front to hide that she felt rather out of place at Deepdean.

  ‘Of course. My parents agreed to it. And the prank was worth it, wasn’t it? It was the most exciting thing that’s happened for weeks – after all, what’s the point of life if it isn’t exciting?’ asked Amina, genuinely surprised.

  ‘Oh!’ said Daisy. ‘Exactly! Hazel, haven’t I told you … I mean, that’s ridiculous. I’ve finished my toast, so let’s get ready to go into town. Amina, go and talk to your friend Clementine and stop bothering our dorm.’

  She dragged me away out of the Dining Room, her chin held high, and Amina stared after us, a rather deflated expression on her face.

  Mr and Mrs Freebody appeared on the front steps of House just before ten in a cloud of jollity, seeming perfectly delighted to be told that they were suddenly looking after four girls rather than two.

  ‘My goodness, darling, what a lot of children we have now,’ said Mrs Freebody with a giggle, as we signed ourselves out for the morning under Matron’s icy glare. ‘I’m sure I don’t remember giving birth to all of them.’

  ‘Nor do I,’ said Mr Freebody, winking. ‘But if they say they’re ours, they must be.’

  Kitty rolled her eyes and huffed, and Mr Freebody elbowed her cheerfully. Mrs Freebody had both arms around Binny, who was turning red as she struggled to get free.

  ‘You are the worst parents in the world,’ she complained.

  Mrs Freebody said, ‘I know, my darling,’ and beamed fondly down at her. Mr Freebody took his wife’s hand.

  ‘UGH,’ said Kitty. ‘Dad, Mum, come on, people are staring! Why are you so AWFUL?’

  I hurriedly looked down at my feet. It always surprises me when parents get on. I feel suspicious of it and in awe of it, all at once.

  ‘Where would you like to go, darlings?’ asked Mrs Freebody. ‘We could go round the shops, or have tea. There’s something we’d like to—’

  ‘Actually, we want to look at the shops on our own,’ said Kitty.

  ‘Oh!’ said Mrs Freebody. ‘But we wanted to … well, you are fifteen now. I suppose you are too old to enjoy spending time with your boring parents, aren’t you?’

  ‘Quite right!’ laughed Mr Freebody, with an effort. ‘Here, you’ll be needing some spending money.’

  ‘I want to go to the pictures,’ announced Binny quickly, narrowing her eyes at us. ‘There’s a matinee of Flash Gordon.’

  ‘Well, your mother and I will just spend our morning together, then,’ said Mr Freebody. ‘Won’t we have fun! You’ll be sorry you missed it.’ He squeezed Mrs Freebody’s shoulders and she smiled – but there was suddenly something tense behind their expressions, and I wondered that neither Kitty nor Binny could see it.

  But just then I saw Inspector Priestley striding up to House’s door in his mac, a stern look on his face, and I knew I had to put my questions about the Freebodys aside.

  4

  We walked through Deepdean town, the Inspector rather awkward and formal beside us. He was not used to behaving like an uncle rather than a policeman – and it was odd for us as well. It felt as though bits of our lives had been stitched together wrong, patched up so their patterns were all confused.

  The morning sun was warm on my face, and the whole town smelled of flowers and petrol and freshly baked buns. I thought how strange it was to be in Deepdean town so early on a Saturday. Usually, fourth formers are only allowed out from three to six in the afternoon, and only to a list of appropriate locations. The Willow Tea Rooms was not one of them – although we had covertly visited it once before, under rather unpleasant circumstances.

  I linked my arm through Daisy’s and tried not to let my nerves show. Was the Inspector about to destroy all Daisy’s hopeful visions about the case?

  The Inspector refused to say anything until we arrived at the pretty front of the Willow Tea Rooms. Daisy shoved open the door, its bell tinkling sweetly, and a waitress in a frilly apron showed us to a table in the corner of the room.

  We ordered a pot of tea, and some scones with cream and jam, and three rounds of sandwiches, for an early lunc
h – we did not want to eat at House if we could help it. Then the Inspector sat back, sighed and said, ‘As you know, we have encountered something of a problem.’

  ‘We!’ said Daisy. ‘The police, you mean. They can’t find—’ The waitress went bustling by and she lowered her voice. ‘They can’t find a body in a small stretch of woodland, even though we gave them plenty of hints.’

  ‘The hints are not what concerns me,’ said Inspector Priestley. ‘We found the clues you mentioned: the hat, and the matchbox, and the invitation. Something happened on that ridge. But we looked for as long as we could and not a trace of a body did we find. Which means that, without any evidence that a murder has taken place beyond Miss Martineau’s testimony – without the body itself – the Deepdean police are not inclined to listen to me. Remember that I am no longer one of their number. I’m a London policeman now, and they don’t enjoy that fact over-much.’

  I felt like a seesaw. ‘But … you still think there was a crime?’ I asked.

  ‘Of course there was, Hazel!’ cried Daisy.

  ‘I do,’ said the Inspector, and our eyes met again. ‘But … only in the most unscientific way possible. From what I saw, and what you told me, I am certain that something dreadful happened yesterday, but I can’t prove it any more than you can.’

  ‘So, what you’re saying is …’

  ‘I have used up my credibility,’ said the Inspector. ‘It is, unfortunately, all gone. Unless we discover more evidence that a crime has been committed – again, a body would be extremely useful – I cannot act in an official capacity. Now, would you like me to suggest next steps?’

  ‘No,’ said Daisy, nose in the air. ‘We don’t need—’

  I pinched her, hard, under the table. I knew what was going on in her mind. Detection was still something we did alone, and everyone else we invited into the Detective Society was only there for my sake. Daisy did not really believe in the detective talents of anyone else in the world – and that, although Daisy is one of the most brilliant detectives I know, is one of her greatest weaknesses. I have learned that the more people there are to rely on, the easier a case may be. The Detective Society now has branches on two different continents, and that makes me feel reassured. I know that my family is safe in Hong Kong, because our friends are there to protect them.

  ‘I mean to say,’ Daisy went on, glaring at me, ‘that we don’t need you to take the lead. We can all work it out together.’

  Our tea arrived, and I took a bite of scone. There was something about hearing that the Inspector still believed in Beanie’s murder. It made me trust myself again, and it made me want to carry on pushing forward with the case. ‘We can still watch our suspects,’ I said, rather stickily. ‘And find out where their wives really are.’

  ‘Indeed,’ said the Inspector. ‘And – well, if there is a body, it must be hidden somewhere. As I said, you have been right too many times for me not to listen to you now, despite the results of the search last night. May I suggest that while you work on the suspects, I scout the town for the more grisly side of the investigation?’

  Daisy and I looked at each other.

  ‘You may,’ said Daisy. ‘Not a bad plan, in fact. For a policeman.’

  The Inspector smiled. ‘Now, eat up,’ he said. ‘I’m well aware that detecting is hungry work.’

  I looked at him across the table. It seemed so strange that we should be working with the Inspector on this case – but it was proof that things really had changed at Deepdean.

  5

  We stepped back out of the Willow Tea Rooms, its bell jangling behind us. Inspector Priestley nodded sharply to us and slid away, shoulders hunched and looking like nothing more than a bored man out for a walk.

  I took a deep breath. It was time to detect.

  While we were in London, we’d had several very useful weeks of lessons from Daisy’s Aunt Lucy about things that are never taught at Deepdean. We know how to throw off pursuers, how to disguise ourselves, and how to follow a suspect so that they never notice we are there. We were in need of all those skills now.

  We moved through the crowds, and as we did so we caught sight of Kitty, Beanie and Lavinia, with Binny trailing them like a dark cloud. We circled round them, keeping to side streets and ducking into shops from time to time – and at last we turned a sharp corner and ran straight into them. Before Binny saw, Daisy seized Kitty and Lavinia’s wrists, I took Beanie’s, and we dragged them sideways behind an ornamental flower arrangement.

  After a moment, I popped my head round the side of the arrangement and saw Binny shoving her way through the throng of shoppers, looking about furiously. We had evaded her – for now, at least.

  ‘All right!’ Daisy hissed at the other three. ‘We’ve been speaking to the Inspector, and we’ve agreed that he’s going to search the town for possible dead bodies while we watch our suspects. We’ll split them up, so we don’t all move about together. Hazel and I will watch Mr Turnbull and Mr Stone. Lavinia, watch Mr Murgatroyd, and Beanie, you follow Mr North. Kitty, try to stick with Lavinia or Beanie – but if Binny comes back, you must distract her.’

  ‘That’s hardly fair!’ complained Kitty.

  ‘She’s your sister,’ said Lavinia.

  ‘Yes, but – oh, all right,’ said Kitty.

  ‘Remember, we want to find out everything about them,’ I said. ‘Where they’ve been recently, obviously, and anything about where their wives are supposed to be now. We ought to watch Ella, Alice and Betsy too, and get any information out of them that we can – they might know something about where their mothers are.’

  ‘Which means listening and taking notes,’ said Daisy.

  ‘Not me!’ said Beanie. ‘Please, Daisy, you know writing things down confuses me.’

  ‘You don’t have to take notes,’ I told her. ‘Daisy didn’t mean it.’

  Daisy made a face at me. ‘Hardly!’ she said. ‘And we all ought to hurry, before we miss anything more. We only have a few hours until we have to be back at House!’

  6

  Daisy and I set off again – and, almost immediately, we were in luck.

  We walked down a narrow side street, red-brick houses on each side of us, and then popped out again on the main Parade to find Mr Turnbull and Ella standing just ahead of us, talking to Miss Barnard and Mrs Rivers. I had to remind myself, again, that Miss Barnard and Mrs Rivers were sisters.

  Daisy froze and then fell to her knees. ‘Golly, I seem to have dropped my hairpin!’ she sang out, and I crouched down beside her, trying to look as though I was hunting for a dropped hairpin, but all the while listening with all my might.

  ‘Glad we ran into you!’ Miss Barnard was saying. ‘Such a pity about last night. I really was counting on having Artemis at the concert. Have you heard from her?’

  ‘I do apologize,’ said Mr Turnbull, shifting from foot to foot, one hand on Ella’s shoulder. Ella, a blonde third former, wriggled uncomfortably, looking as though she would rather be anywhere else. ‘Artemis was to motor down later and meet me at the concert – she said she had some things to finish up in town – but she never appeared. When I returned to the Majestic last night, there was a telegram waiting. Apparently, Artemis’s, er, friend, an extremely eminent composer, requested at the last minute that she remain in London to sing at his concert after another performer dropped out at the last moment. But she has assured me that she will be at the dinner tonight, and I hope she will make her apologies to you then.’

  ‘Mama never comes to things like this,’ said Ella, rather bleakly. ‘She’s too busy travelling all over the world being famous.’

  Both Mrs Rivers and Miss Barnard made clucking, sorrowful noises and Mr Turnbull gave a snort that he tried to turn into a cough.

  ‘Artemis was always ambitious!’ said Mrs Rivers, shaking her head. ‘I remember that about her. I had to squash her a little, for her own good, but I couldn’t help being impressed. I knew she’d make something of herself.’

  ‘
Oh yes,’ said Miss Barnard. ‘An unforgettable child. She was in the third form when I was in the fifth, and when Jean was a Big Girl, you know.’

  Ella twitched, and I could understand why – it was so odd, thinking of mistresses and parents being at school at all, let alone together.

  ‘I always thought we should hear great things of her, and we have,’ Miss Barnard went on. ‘She is a wonderful singer, and Deepdean is proud that she has found such acclaim. That is what this weekend is about, of course, so we cannot be too upset when our alumnae are successful.’

  ‘True, true,’ said Mrs Rivers.

  ‘In fact, we really ought to be glad of it!’ Miss Barnard went on, warming to her subject. ‘I hope that Deepdean prepares girls for all the challenges and opportunities they may face in life, no matter how unlikely they may seem. Why, I had no idea when I was here that I would become the headmistress, and Jean could never have guessed that she would be called upon to step in as the head of the school Council and of a large company when poor Mr Rivers passed away—’

  Mrs Rivers looked suddenly distraught. Miss Barnard caught sight of her sister’s face and stopped speaking. There was an awkward pause.

  Mr Turnbull coughed and said, ‘Well, if you’ll excuse me, Ella and I must go – we shall be late for lunch.’

  He strode away, Ella bobbing along behind him, and Miss Barnard turned to us. We had been seen.

  ‘Wells, Wong, are you quite all right?’ she asked, gently concerned.

  ‘Oh, Miss Barnard!’ cried Daisy, straightening up. ‘We were looking for my hairpin – many apologies.’

  ‘Make sure you don’t ruin your uniforms doing it, if you please,’ said Miss Barnard. ‘I am relying on all you girls to be nicely presented at all times this weekend.’

  ‘Sorry, Miss Barnard; yes, Miss Barnard,’ we muttered, and rushed away in as ladylike a way as we could.