Fragile Minds Page 0,93

soon.’

Two Japanese students stood on the zebra crossing immortalised by the Beatles, pulling silly faces for the camera. A sudden breeze blew one girl’s tiny ra-ra skirt up, revealing a lacy thong.

‘Blimey,’ Silver braked just in time. ‘Could have been a Hard Day’s Night.’

Kenton grinned. ‘What – not She loves you, yeah yeah yeah?’

Lesley Steele had arrived earlier than expected, and by the time Silver and Kenton had crossed London again, Craven had got his claws into her already, much to Kenton’s dismay.

Mrs Steele was a small, round woman, a little like two circular loaves of bread stuck one on top of the other. Her greasy hair was pulled back tightly in an old-fashioned bun, and her face was devoid of make-up, her eyes like two tiny bloodshot currants in a lump of raw pastry. But still, despite the extra weight and the tear-stained face, Kenton was struck by how very like her daughter the older woman was.

Craven had made her tea and sat her in an empty office, where he was pretending to empathise with her.

Silver opened the door.

‘Mrs Steele? I’m so very sorry for your loss,’ he said seriously, offering her his hand. Kenton was impressed with his natural manner. ‘Cheers, Derek, I’ll take over now,’ he murmured.

Craven was put out. ‘But I’ve already—’

‘No worries, Derek. If you could get on to the paperwork for pathology, I’d be grateful.’

Craven shut the door very hard behind him as Silver slid into the seat opposite Mrs Steele, Kenton hovering behind him. She remembered not to put her hands in her trouser pockets, though they were itching to go there.

‘Are you able to shed any light whatsoever on the tragic occurrence?’ he asked. ‘Had Meriel been in touch at all recently?’

‘No,’ the woman shook her head. Her expression was hard to read; a mixture perhaps of shame and confusion. ‘We honestly thought she was still at the Academy. We hadn’t seen her for a while. She hadn’t told us any different.’

‘A good while?’ Silver consulted his notes. ‘Over nine months, I believe?’

‘Well, we thought she was having a whale of a time,’ Lesley Steele was defensive. ‘She was bored with our little village; she had been for years. It’s ever so quiet, and she seemed to be living the high life up here. And in the limelight. She never wanted to come home.’ Her face crumpled, and she started to sob quietly. ‘We were so proud.’

Kenton stared at the woman, who was only now starting to realise her daughter would never come home, and she knew where she’d seen Meriel Steele before. Of course, how stupid!

She must have made some sort of noise, because Silver glanced round. Lesley Steele was bowed over the table, her forehead in her hands, tears splashing down onto the formica. Kenton raised her eyebrows at her boss and tried to mouth ‘Sugar and Spice’ but he just shook his head at her.

‘In a minute,’ he murmured.

‘Mrs Steele, it would really help me and any other girls who might also be in trouble—’

‘Trouble?’ the woman said, looking up now.

‘Yes, trouble. I don’t know why Meriel did what she did yet, but I imagine someone else must be involved. It’s our job to find out why.’

‘Yes,’ the woman latched on to this. ‘Yes it is.’

‘So’, Silver was calm, ‘do you know where Meriel was just before she died?’

Lesley Steele flinched at the word. ‘No. Like I said, we thought she was in London.’

‘Did she have a boyfriend?’

‘No.’ Lesley Steele shook her head fervently. ‘I would have known.’

Silver bit back the retort on his lips. ‘You’re sure of that?’

‘Positive.’

‘Was she friends with a girl called Anita Stuart?’

The woman’s face stretched taut. It had been all over the morning news. ‘The one who blew up the bank? I’d never heard of her before. She wasn’t Meriel’s friend. I’m positive.’

‘And she hadn’t told you of anywhere else she had visited recently?’

‘I can’t think,’ the woman was getting flustered now. ‘We spoke so rarely. She was always so busy.’

‘Do you know Sadie Malvern?’

‘That little minx?’ Lesley Steele sat up straighter and dried her eyes on a sodden tissue. ‘Yes, I do. A very bad influence, my husband thought.’

‘We have reason to believe the two girls might have been together before Meriel died.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes. Can you think of anything at all Meriel said about any kind of outing?’

‘She did tell me one thing,’ Lesley Steele said slowly. ‘About a day trip they did to some film location.’

‘Film location? Can you be more specific?’

‘Somewhere with