‘Now,’ he said. ‘What’s this all about?’
For a second, no one spoke. Allie got the feeling they were all waiting for Rachel to do the talking because it was her dad but Rachel clearly didn’t want to be the spokesman – catching Allie’s eye, she motioned impatiently for her to talk.
‘It’s about… Eloise,’ Allie said.
Before she’d even finished saying the librarian’s name, Raj was shaking his head. ‘You know I can’t talk about —’
‘We don’t want you to talk about it.’ Carter interrupted him. ‘We want to tell you what we know. We think that… maybe it could change your mind.’
Raj looked surprised at that but after a brief hesitation he motioned for him to continue.
Gradually, they filled him in on the basics of what had happened. When they reached the end, Carter turned to Rachel. ‘Show him what we found in Zelazny’s room.’
Rachel raised her hand; the key dangled from her fingertips, glittering like jewellery.
Raj’s gaze was incredulous but Carter kept his voice even. ‘It fits the lock on Isabelle’s office door.’
‘You went into Zelazny’s private quarters?’ Raj looked at them as if they’d lost their minds. ‘Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in?’
‘We had to do something,’ Rachel said defensively. ‘You all disappeared and everything went to hell.’
‘Rachel —’ His tone was sharp but she didn’t let him finish the sentence; her face was pink with emotion.
‘You don’t know what’s been happening, Dad. You’ve all been sitting out in the woods, telling each other how clever you were to figure it all out.’ Her voice rose. ‘Didn’t you ever think that it was a little too easy? Did you consider who gains if you blame the wrong person?’ She held the key out to him. ‘Try it for yourself, Dad. It fits.’
For a long moment Rachel and her father stared at each other – his gaze warning her to back down. Her eyes undaunted.
It was Sylvain who broke the tense silence. ‘Please just consider what we’re telling you, Raj. Remember, you trained us to ask these questions. And ask yourself what we’ve been asking ourselves: how could it really be Eloise?’
‘It could be anyone,’ Raj thundered, and the students went quiet. ‘You do not know all the facts. What made you suspect Zelazny, anyway?’
Remembering Eloise’s voice whispering through the walls, Allie dropped her eyes to her desktop.
‘Just something someone said,’ Carter said with deliberate casualness.
‘Tell me this: did you break into any other teachers’ rooms?’ Raj asked.
They exchanged a glance.
‘Eloise’s room,’ Rachel confessed.
Raj raked his fingers through his hair.
‘I would like to know why you thought it was OK to do this.’ His voice was deceptively calm but Allie knew he was furious.
This was going badly. He didn’t look remotely convinced by what they’d told him. If anything he appeared to be more certain that he was right.
A sudden thought occurred to Allie and she leaned forward in her desk. ‘You’ve known Eloise for a long time, haven’t you, Mr Patel? Since she was a student here.’
His expression was stony. ‘Yes.’
‘Then how can you think she’s the spy?’ Allie couldn’t keep the emotion out of her voice. ‘I don’t understand why you don’t believe she was with Jerry. Why don’t you trust her?’
‘Because we have asked Jerry about that.’ Raj spoke through gritted teeth. ‘And he wasn’t with her that day. He can prove he was in his classroom, grading papers.’
The students looked at each other, shocked. Either Eloise was lying, or Jerry was. Neither of them seemed the type to deceive.
Raj rubbed his hands across his face; he hadn’t shaved – his fingers rasped across his whiskers. ‘You can’t just trust people. Not when you’re grown up. You have to constantly check up on them to make sure they haven’t been corrupted by… life. Circumstances.’
‘Do you really believe it’s her, Dad?’ Rachel’s voice was earnest, almost frightened. She’d never considered the possibility that Eloise might be guilty. ‘Do you really believe she could have helped to kill Jo?’
Raj looked from one to another of them, scanning their faces with his piercing gaze. Then, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe he was saying it, he held out his hand.
‘Give me that key. I’ll talk to the others.’
When Rachel handed it to him he slipped it into his pocket.
‘I promise I’ll consider everything you’ve told me. But, please’ – Raj surveyed them seriously – ‘don’t do any more investigating on your own. This is a serious situation. It’s dangerous.’
At his words, a sudden burst of rage burned in Allie’s throat. It’s dangerous? Could he be more patronising?
It was too much.
‘We know it’s dangerous,’ she snapped. ‘We’re not completely thick.’
Spinning around, Raj stared at her in disbelief. Suspecting she’d gone too far, Allie still couldn’t stop herself from talking.
‘Mr Patel, you have to come back. All of you. Do you even know what’s happening here? It’s bad. You’re off in the woods playing your stupid war games.’ She gestured around the room, her hand shaking with emotion. ‘The real war? It’s right here. Get back and help us fight it.’
‘I’m going to ignore your tone,’ Raj said evenly, ‘because I know you’re upset.’
But someone had to say this. ‘I am not upset. The students already know what’s going on. They know about Nathaniel. They know their parents are coming for them. And some of them aren’t going to go. There’s going to be trouble and you need to get back here. Now.’
‘What?’ Raj looked around the group as if seeking an explanation from each of them. ‘How did that happen?’
Sylvain took over. ‘We’ve been informed by one of the students whose parents are on Nathaniel’s side that he is coming for them this week. The other students… found out.’
‘Oh they did, did they?’ Raj turned away for a moment, his jaw tight. Allie didn’t like the look on his face. ‘You do not,’ he said coldly, ‘know everything that is going on. Do not for one second think that you do. You are sixteen years old.’ His fist hit the desk beside him with such force a stack of papers jumped, landing in a disorganised shuffle. ‘Did you really think we would tell you everything?’
‘You should,’ Allie said quietly. ‘After all, we’re the ones who’ll die if you get it wrong again.’
Rachel gasped.
Raj flinched as if she’d struck him.
‘Allie. Stop.’ Carter sounded panicked.
‘No.’ Standing, Sylvain stepped to Allie’s side. ‘She’s right. Raj, you need to come back.’
As the others began to talk over each other, Raj held up his hands for calm. He turned back to Allie. ‘I understand why you’re upset. And you’ve made your point. I get it – OK? I’ll… do what I can.’ Including the others in his gaze, he said, ‘Now. Tell me everything. Start at the beginning.’
When they left the science classroom some time later, no one wanted to hang around and talk. Murmuring excuses, they hurried off in their separate ways. Instead of feeling more hopeful after talking to Raj, everything felt worse somehow. The atmosphere seemed tainted with bitterness.
As the others left, Allie hung back, hoping to talk to Rachel alone. But Rachel walked out arm in arm with her father and didn’t meet her eyes.