Her phrasing was odd – her accent changed subtly with each phrase – and it took Allie a second to realise she must be parroting precisely what she’d heard the guards say. Zoe’s natural tendency for precision, it turned out, made her an ideal spy.
‘We’ve got to find out where they’re keeping her,’ Allie said. ‘That must be where Isabelle is, too. How can I talk to her if I can’t find her?’
Frustration made her voice rise and she forced herself to lower it to a whisper again.
‘I’ll find her,’ Zoe said confidently. ‘One of the guards said…’
Her eyes widened and Allie turned to see what she was looking at.
Carter and Sylvain were running across the dining hall. It was odd seeing them together – given how much they’d always hated each other. But now they looked like a team, moving in unison across the busy room.
A scene of confusion seemed to break out in their wake. The noise level rose and some students sitting near the door rose from their seats and rushed out of the room.
‘Come quick.’ Carter was breathless. ‘Something’s happening.’
Exchanging a puzzled look, the girls hurried after them for the door, where the sudden exodus was causing a bottleneck.
As soon as they extricated themselves the boys led them down the hallway to the front door, which stood open despite the cold February wind.
Seeing it, Allie’s heart sank. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t good.
In front of the school building a Bentley gleamed in the driveway. A powerfully built man in an odd uniform – half military, half bellboy – was marching towards it. In one hand he carried a designer suitcase. His other hand gripped the arm of a struggling girl.
‘That’s Caroline Laurelton. What’s he doing to her?’ Rachel frowned in dismay.
‘What is it?’ Zoe squirmed in front of them to try and see.
‘Let me go!’ The girl squirmed in the driver’s grip, her short brown hair flying from the effort, her voice rising to a scream. But he was more than six feet tall and appeared to be made of muscle. She was small and slight. She didn’t stand a chance.
‘I don’t…’ Allie turned to Sylvain, who stood next to her. His jaw was tight, and she could see the anger and disgust in his eyes. ‘What’s happening?’
‘Her parents are taking her out of the school. They’ve sent their driver to take her home.’ As he explained, Sylvain kept his eyes on the girl who, Allie could now see, was weeping. ‘She doesn’t want to go.’
His gaze shifted. Allie turned to see what he was looking at. One of Raj’s guards stood to one side of the door, watching the scene. Meeting Sylvain’s gaze, he shook his head.
They weren’t to interfere.
Back in the drive, the man was shoving the tearful girl into the capacious car.
‘This is wrong,’ Allie said, mostly to herself.
‘I know.’ Sylvain’s voice was bitter.
Straightening his cap, the driver picked up the girl’s suitcase and tossed it on to the front passenger seat. Then, without acknowledging the crowd of students watching, he got into the driver’s seat and drove away.
As the car disappeared into the forest, the students milled, their voices rising in a rumble of confused excitement.
Zoe reappeared at her side, with Rachel right behind her.
‘Why didn’t anyone stop him?’ Zoe asked.
‘Forgive me if I’m wrong but did that look like a kidnapping to anyone else?’ Rachel asked. When no one replied, she looked around in bafflement. ‘I don’t understand what’s happening. Where is my dad?’
Sylvain and Carter exchanged a look that spoke volumes. Carter tilted his head at the door behind them. ‘Let’s go inside.’
The dining room was mostly empty when they returned to their table. Shoving the plates out of the way they huddled, speaking in low voices.
‘Here’s the thing. Caroline Laurelton’s parents are on the board,’ Carter said. ‘Not fans of Lucinda. Rumours are everywhere that they issued a statement to the other board members this morning saying Isabelle and Lucinda are dragging the school down and they wouldn’t be part of it.’ He hesitated for a second before giving the last bit of bad news. ‘They said they were just the first to pull their kids out. They said everyone would go.’
Allie’s stomach dropped.
‘More theatre.’ Nicole sounded bitter. ‘That girl is a pawn in her parents’ game. They don’t care about her feelings. They’re using her to send Nathaniel’s message to Isabelle.’
‘We think this is Nathaniel’s next move.’ Sylvain’s face was intense. ‘He’s divided the board. Now they’re dividing the school. It’s started.’
SIXTEEN
‘I don’t get it.’ Zoe said. ‘If this is happening, the instructors must know. But they’ve all completely disappeared.’
‘What do you mean, disappeared?’ Allie asked.
‘No one’s seen Zelazny, Jerry, Eloise or Isabelle since last night,’ Zoe explained. ‘Everyone’s talking about it. Jerry didn’t show up for a weekend workshop. Zelazny was supposed to do an extra class today but he wasn’t there. They’re just –’ she held up her hands – ‘missing.’
‘Well, where are they? Teachers don’t just evaporate,’ Allie said.
‘They must be with Eloise,’ Sylvain said. Next to him Carter nodded his agreement. ‘They’ll be questioning her with Raj – somewhere away from the school building because they don’t want to be interrupted.’
Zoe perked up. ‘Let’s find them and tell them what’s happening.’
‘The thing that scares me is… what if this is just what Nathaniel wanted?’ Rachel mused. ‘What if he set up Eloise just for this? The more chaos the better, as far as he’s concerned.’
‘He can’t have done,’ Allie said miserably. ‘I’m the one who accused Eloise. He didn’t make me do that.’
‘I think Allie’s right,’ Nicole said. ‘I think it’s the other way around.’
‘That makes sense,’ Sylvain said. ‘He found out Eloise was being blamed, so he’s decided to strike now.’
‘Yes, that is a smart move,’ Nicole said. ‘Hit us while all the teachers are distracted.’
Rachel’s brow furrowed. ‘Wait, how did you find out about what her parents said to the board?’
‘Katie.’ Sylvain spoke with clear distaste. ‘She’s telling everyone.’
The others groaned. Everyone knew Katie Gilmore’s parents were very active members of the Cimmeria Board.
‘But how did Katie find out?’ Allie asked. ‘She’d need a phone.’
Sylvain’s brow creased. ‘That’s a good question. I’ll go and speak to her – she was just outside so she can’t have gone far. I’ll see if she knows more as well.’
When he’d gone, the others were at a loss.
‘We have to do something,’ Zoe said, her sharp tone betraying her impatience. ‘We’ve got to find the teachers and tell them what happened.’
‘How?’ Carter asked. ‘Right now we don’t even know where they are.’
Nicole looked at Zoe. ‘Why don’t we do a quick sweep outside? See what we can find?’
‘I’ll talk to the guards.’ Rachel stood up. ‘They might talk to me because of who my dad is.’
Relieved to have a purpose, they left in a rush. Now Carter and Allie were alone at the table.
‘So… what should we do?’ she asked, twisting her napkin into a knot of white cloth.
‘We need to find out what’s really going on, and how much the teachers know.’
‘How do we do that?’ Allie asked.
His replying grin had a dangerous glint. ‘I’ve got an idea.’
That afternoon, Allie was again outside Isabelle’s office. This time, though, she wasn’t alone. As she leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms in a pose of affected nonchalance, Carter stood across from her, his back against Isabelle’s door, whistling tunelessly.