Tick Tock. Mel Sherratt

the room and spotting a corkboard crammed with photos of pupils.

      ‘A couple of years,’ Jason told her. ‘It’s voluntary. I love teaching during the day, but I don’t really like being stuck in a classroom. So this is another outlet for me. It’s only a few hours a week.’

      ‘So you know the pupils out there quite well.’ Grace paused. ‘Do any of them give you problems?’

      ‘They all do at one time or another. They’re teens. Hormones galore. The boys fight, the girls argue. They make up or they don’t in some cases.’

      ‘Anyone not made up at the moment that you know of?’ Grace pushed. ‘Any big arguments lately?’

      ‘Nothing comes to mind.’ He shook his head.

      ‘I’m just trying to get the layout of Lauren and her friends. If she’s been hanging out with different ones we’ve yet to find out about, it could be important.’

      ‘It’s Robert I pity. It wasn’t his fault, but it happened on his watch and I know he’ll blame himself. I would have done the same in his position. The girls were lagging behind, they were a minute out of his sight, and there had been three of them. Who would have thought that something like that could happen?’

      ‘How many pupils attend the youth club?’ Grace asked next, wondering why he had chosen to change the subject.

      ‘It has about seventy kids in total who use it every now and then. They don’t have to attend the school to be a member, though. We take anyone who will behave themselves.’ He smiled. ‘Some turn up every week, on the two nights we open.’

      ‘Which are?’ Grace asked.

      ‘Tuesdays and Thursdays. Others appear sporadically. They pay a pound subs and sign in. It covers the cost of the school being open late, and the drinks we provide. I won’t collect any money tonight. It doesn’t seem right. Do you want to see the signing-in book later?’

      Grace nodded. ‘Was Lauren a regular?’

      ‘She came most weeks, twice sometimes. Her and her friends. There’s a group of about five of them, all girls. We offer a safe place for the kids to hang out, and also keep out of trouble in the local area.’

      ‘Did you get on well with her?’

      ‘Yes. She was a good kid. It will be weird not to see her around.’

      Grace noticed he didn’t stir at the question. As Perry had mentioned earlier in team brief, he didn’t seem fazed by the fact that a murdered girl had a crush on him.

      ‘Tougher for the kids than me, I guess.’ Jason sighed before standing. ‘Can I grab you a coffee, perhaps introduce you to some of the members?’

      ‘That would be great.’

      ‘Nathan’s around, too. He’s been popping in and out. It’s not often we have the headmaster here.’ Jason paused. ‘I must admit, I hadn’t been too sure about opening the youth club this evening. For starters, why would any of the parents want their children out of their sight after one of the pupils at the school had been murdered? But Nathan insisted, saying it would be a good place for the kids to have time to be with each other and grieve.’

      ‘I expect he won’t be able to stay away.’ Grace knew how much pressure Stiller would be under right now.

      A cry rang out and they all turned. One of the girls who’d arrived had burst into tears and dropped into the arms of another.

      ‘That’s Katie Davies,’ Jason explained. ‘Sophie Bishop is comforting her, with a Piggott twin. I can never tell them apart. They were all close friends of Lauren’s.’

      Over the course of the next hour, Grace chatted to lots of the teenagers. Nathan Stiller did indeed come and go, joining in conversations as the students reminisced about Lauren. Some of the teenagers laughed openly about her when sharing anecdotes; others, Grace could tell, felt guilty if they did. But she knew as well as anyone how much better it was to remember the good times. Be comforted by them. Bury them deep within to be resurrected whenever necessary.

      Because she’d done the same when Matt had died. It hadn’t lessened the pain, but it had made the days seem more bearable.

      She was still struggling with the nights.