going to be pissed off about this.
* * *
—
WILKINSON HAD ALREADY heard about the social-media storm. He was clearly displeased, but didn’t believe any of Jonah’s team to be responsible. Jonah was relieved, as it would have been easy for Hanson to take the flak as the new, unknown one.
“On the plus side, switchboard says we’ve had one girl call in and tell us that she thinks Mackenzie sexually assaulted her,” Wilkinson went on. “And another girl’s mother has accused him on her behalf. The benefits of social media,” he added dryly.
“Right. We’ll look into their statements,” Jonah replied.
“Do. And keep doing it all properly. More resources on Mackenzie, if anything.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jonah left Wilkinson’s office, and approached his team thoughtfully. All three of them were sitting at their desks, and looked up at him expectantly.
“We’re under a little media attention now,” he said, “as you’ll have seen. That, and the fact that we have only forty-eight hours to question him without charge, means keeping the focus on Mackenzie, even when there’s still good reason to look at Connor fairly hard. Ben, I’d like you to arrange for him to be housed overnight, and then get in touch with his wife and arrange an interview. Ring up all his former schools again, as well. Push and see if they’ve been covering their backs.”
“Sure.”
“I had a thought on the whole Topaz-selling-Mackenzie-drugs thing, you know,” O’Malley said. “In my look into the Dexedrine being sold, one of the guys mentioned a brunette who he’d never seen before who sold a small amount. My guess is, she’d lifted some Dexedrine from the stash and that’s why she didn’t want to admit to her friends that she’d seen Mackenzie.”
Jonah processed that. “So she was the brunette,” he said.
“She was the brunette,” O’Malley agreed.
“That’s a bloody good thought. Give her a call and see if you can talk her into admitting it.”
O’Malley grinned. “Sure. Pretty sure I’ll find a way.”
“What about me, sir?” Hanson asked.
“In the short term, I want you to call the Jacksons and update them about the as-yet-unnamed schoolteacher. Explain that there were reasons for bringing him in for questioning, but as yet we’re not at a stage to be certain of anything, we haven’t arrested him, et cetera, et cetera. I’m sure you know the score.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Once you’re done, let’s get you looking at Connor again.”
“Yes, sir.” And then there was a brief pause before Hanson asked, “Will you want me to interview Mackenzie again with you tomorrow?”
“It’ll probably depend on what Ben finds out,” Jonah replied as Lightman rose, presumably to organize Mackenzie’s accommodation. Jonah glanced at Hanson’s slightly troubled expression. “Did you feel there was more we should have asked him?”
“I just think he’s the most likely candidate. He was there, nearby, knew she was there, and clearly has a predilection for young girls, or he wouldn’t have hooked up with an eighteen-year-old.”
Jonah took a half seat against the edge of the desk opposite hers. “It’s hard to say that definitively, though,” he said slowly. “I could tell you several different stories about that. One is about a twenty-six-year-old teacher who is aware that many of his sixth-formers like him, but who likes one girl in return. He does nothing about it, because he knows he can’t. Later, they meet at the pub, by chance, and he realizes that they both feel the same. That it’s possible now. And having always known that they were right for each other, life proves that to be true. They marry, and have children.”
“OK,” Hanson said.
“And then there’s another twenty-six-year-old teacher, who really shouldn’t like his pupil but is a little weak about it. They flirt, though he knows it’s wrong. Maybe they even kiss once, while alone, though she promises to say that nothing happened, and she’s not allowed to say that they’re together until months later.”
“Hmm. OK.”
“And then…then, there’s a teacher who has convinced a series of young girls that they love him, and that he loves them. He has groomed all of them, and persuaded them to be silent. Because he’s picked his victims well, it’s worked. And then one of them grows up and is still interested in him, and he thinks he may as well marry her. Because who would suspect a man happily married to a beautiful young wife?”
There was a brief silence, and Hanson nodded.
“So we need to find out which is the true representation, don’t we?” he asked.
“Yes,” Hanson agreed.
“But bear in mind