teenagers hadn’t managed to wear her down. Liam led from the hip.
“Mrs…?”
“Willoughby. Ann Willoughby. And you are?”
Liam whipped out his badge, signalling Annette to do the same. “Detective Chief Inspector Liam Cullen and Inspector Annette McElroy. We’re here to speak to a Mr Gerry Warner in connection with a case. We hope he can provide us with some information.”
Willoughby’s smile dropped. Liam had managed to wipe it off her face where eons of children had failed.
“Dr Warner is in class at the moment, I’m afraid. Can’t you come back at the end of the day?”
‘Dr’ Warner. He’d forgotten about the doctorate. It made no difference. PhD’s were no protection against prison. Liam shook his head.
“No, I’m afraid not, Mrs Willoughby. This is a murder enquiry.” Her eyes widened in alarm but Liam ploughed on. “Can you tell us which classroom he’s in, please? And you should find someone to cover the rest of his day. He’ll be with us for some time.”
Annette tutted inwardly. Liam’s scare tactics might work but they weren’t very nice.
Ann Willoughby rushed to her secretary’s desk and studied a diary on the wall. “He’s taking double chemistry in Block A. Across the quadrangle, room sixty-one. But…”
Liam was at the door before she finished the sentence. “Thank you, Mrs Willoughby. And please don’t phone Mr Warner to try to warn him. That would be a serious offence.”
Liam was down the corridor and across the quad before Annette had time to object. She ran behind him, struggling to keep up with his long strides and finally caught up with him outside the room.
“Liam, Liam, slow down a minute. Remember there are children in there and they’ll be scared if you go crashing in. Let me bring him out.”
She panted, trying to catch her breath. Liam thought for a moment then nodded. Perps were fair game but kids were another thing. Annette wasn’t right about treating Warner gently, but she was right about this.
He dropped his voice to as close to a whisper as he ever got. “OK. Knock and go in. Say you’ve come from the Headmistress and there’s an urgent matter for him to deal with. Walk him to the end of the hall and I’ll meet you there. But if he tries to leg it the cuffs go on.”
Annette nodded then watched as Liam walked slowly back to the corner and stood in the shadows, out of sight. She took a deep breath and knocked on the half-glass door, entering on Gerry Warner’s “come in”.
The classroom was long and bright, with high wooden workbenches, strewn with glass flasks and microscopes. Boys and girls in their late teens were seated or walking around the room, working on some experiment and chatting each other up. Gerry Warner was seated behind the front desk, scribbling on a notebook from a pile beside him. It reminded Annette of her own school days and she wondered if anything ever really changed.
Warner placed the notebook back on the pile and stood up with a puzzled look. “Yes? Can I help you?”
“Hello, Dr Warner. I’ve come from the Headmistress to tell you that there’s an urgent matter you need to come and attend to.”
“Urgent? What is it?”
Annette lied and asked for forgiveness in her mind. “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know.”
“I can’t leave my class unattended.”
“Mrs Willoughby’s arranging cover for you.”
Warner’s expression changed from puzzle to suspicion and he glanced quickly towards the window. For one moment Annette thought that he was going to jump, except that they were six floors up and it was almost certain death. Warner must have realised it as well, because finally he shrugged in defeat.
He lifted a textbook and scrawled a list of page numbers on the board, then barked. “Read those before I come back. There’ll be a quiz.” It was followed by a quieter. “Someone will be along in a moment to supervise you.” Then he walked coolly past Annette into the corridor.
For a moment Annette
“Mrs…?”
“Willoughby. Ann Willoughby. And you are?”
Liam whipped out his badge, signalling Annette to do the same. “Detective Chief Inspector Liam Cullen and Inspector Annette McElroy. We’re here to speak to a Mr Gerry Warner in connection with a case. We hope he can provide us with some information.”
Willoughby’s smile dropped. Liam had managed to wipe it off her face where eons of children had failed.
“Dr Warner is in class at the moment, I’m afraid. Can’t you come back at the end of the day?”
‘Dr’ Warner. He’d forgotten about the doctorate. It made no difference. PhD’s were no protection against prison. Liam shook his head.
“No, I’m afraid not, Mrs Willoughby. This is a murder enquiry.” Her eyes widened in alarm but Liam ploughed on. “Can you tell us which classroom he’s in, please? And you should find someone to cover the rest of his day. He’ll be with us for some time.”
Annette tutted inwardly. Liam’s scare tactics might work but they weren’t very nice.
Ann Willoughby rushed to her secretary’s desk and studied a diary on the wall. “He’s taking double chemistry in Block A. Across the quadrangle, room sixty-one. But…”
Liam was at the door before she finished the sentence. “Thank you, Mrs Willoughby. And please don’t phone Mr Warner to try to warn him. That would be a serious offence.”
Liam was down the corridor and across the quad before Annette had time to object. She ran behind him, struggling to keep up with his long strides and finally caught up with him outside the room.
“Liam, Liam, slow down a minute. Remember there are children in there and they’ll be scared if you go crashing in. Let me bring him out.”
She panted, trying to catch her breath. Liam thought for a moment then nodded. Perps were fair game but kids were another thing. Annette wasn’t right about treating Warner gently, but she was right about this.
He dropped his voice to as close to a whisper as he ever got. “OK. Knock and go in. Say you’ve come from the Headmistress and there’s an urgent matter for him to deal with. Walk him to the end of the hall and I’ll meet you there. But if he tries to leg it the cuffs go on.”
Annette nodded then watched as Liam walked slowly back to the corner and stood in the shadows, out of sight. She took a deep breath and knocked on the half-glass door, entering on Gerry Warner’s “come in”.
The classroom was long and bright, with high wooden workbenches, strewn with glass flasks and microscopes. Boys and girls in their late teens were seated or walking around the room, working on some experiment and chatting each other up. Gerry Warner was seated behind the front desk, scribbling on a notebook from a pile beside him. It reminded Annette of her own school days and she wondered if anything ever really changed.
Warner placed the notebook back on the pile and stood up with a puzzled look. “Yes? Can I help you?”
“Hello, Dr Warner. I’ve come from the Headmistress to tell you that there’s an urgent matter you need to come and attend to.”
“Urgent? What is it?”
Annette lied and asked for forgiveness in her mind. “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know.”
“I can’t leave my class unattended.”
“Mrs Willoughby’s arranging cover for you.”
Warner’s expression changed from puzzle to suspicion and he glanced quickly towards the window. For one moment Annette thought that he was going to jump, except that they were six floors up and it was almost certain death. Warner must have realised it as well, because finally he shrugged in defeat.
He lifted a textbook and scrawled a list of page numbers on the board, then barked. “Read those before I come back. There’ll be a quiz.” It was followed by a quieter. “Someone will be along in a moment to supervise you.” Then he walked coolly past Annette into the corridor.
For a moment Annette
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