Page 39 of Glasshouses

The sofa was lacking springs and stuffing, just not in the same places.

Anna sat opposite me, Nicola perching next to her. “Nicola worked here at the same time Lily was a pupil, so we both knew her. I’ve often wondered what happened to her as an adult, whether she’s still in hospital or making a life somewhere for herself. She had a tough time of it.”

“Was it you who made the referral to children’s social care?” I asked Anna.

“It was. Three times. The first two times it didn’t reach threshold, even back then when the threshold was lower. The third time social care tried to get involved, but parents wouldn’t engage. It wasn’t enough for a child protection plan, and without that, parents only had to engage voluntarily. It was frustrating.”

“What was Lily like?” I looked between the two of them. The admin staff often knew more about the pupils than the teachers did, seeing them more frequently, particularly if they were often late or in trouble and having meetings.

Nicola leaned forward. “She was a little thing and looked like she should still have been in primary school, her blazer used to hang off her. She would get here really early in the morning and hang around at the front – we didn’t have the gates back then – until we opened at seven forty-five for the kids to come. When she started she was really quiet and she’d always be on her own. I used to really worry about her.”

“Were there concerns then?”

Anna nodded. “Right from day one. Something was off with her. She would sit at the table in class and just shade in the paper in her exercise book, not listen to the teacher or even say a word. That was until about the November of year nine, when she was thirteen or fourteen and she started hanging around with kids from different schools”

“Which ones?”

“There was a private school that a couple of them, at least, attended, and the others were from Thornsett Academy. Both of them have closed, and years ago as well. Lily said she wanted to move to the academy, and I think her parents wanted that too, but there was no space in her year group for a transfer,” Anna said. “Her personality completely changed, which isn’t that unusual, but she went from a quiet little mouse of a girl to this wild, fearless teenager. I think that’s why I remember her so well; it was such a transformation.”

“This was just before she was arrested?”

Anna tightened her ponytail, fidgeting. “Yes. The lead up to it. She started truanting, and there was petty crime – shoplifting and some vandalism; graffiti and I think she was accused of keying some cars on the council estate. She was in with an older crowd and would go to parties with them, but I don’t think she ever had a boyfriend. She wasn’t interested, I don’t think. I used to worry about her though; she’d be so easy to take advantage of.”

“Why did you contact social care?”

“Firstly because of how underweight she was when she started with us, and how she presented. Parents wouldn’t come in for a meeting, and her mum put the phone down on me a couple of times when I raised concerns. I wondered about neglect, but that’s a really difficult thing to evidence. The second time was when she told me about the group her parents were involved in; I think it was called The Holding.”

My ears pricked up and I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “I’m just going to make some notes, if that’s okay?”

“That’s fine. She said she had to go to a place every weekend and help in the gardens, or help her mother make jam. She brought me a jar in once; she was very proud of it because she’d smuggled it out without her parents knowing. I was concerned that she was being used for child labour as she said enough to concern me. Social care wasn’t interested because there wasn’t enough evidence and I actually remember the social worker saying that maybe the parents were just doing a good job, keeping their daughter busy.” Anna sat back, glancing at Nicola. “We were really upset when we found that Lily had been arrested.”

“Did you think she was capable of doing something like that?”

“I think, detective,” Nicola said, “that this job is like yours and nothing really ever surprises you. She was running wild at the time, so I wasn’t surprised that she was involved, but I was surprised she was the only one involved. Lily was impressionable and easily led. I was shocked it was just her being accused.”

“Who else would you have thought would’ve been involved?”

Another look passed between them. This time it was Anna who spoke. “There were two girls in year eleven who Lily was always trying to be with; Scarlett Walton and Adele Holmes. They weren’t bad girls; I quite liked both of them, but they were always out at night, having parties and driving round in cars with older men.” She sighed, looking out of the window. “That never changes, the allure of an older boy who has a car.”

“Why did Lily try and hang around with them?”

Anna shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it was to get at her parents. I think she found home rather controlling and was rebelling. She told me once she wanted to go into care because it would be better than being at home. I tried to tell her that it wouldn’t, that being in care was hard and not every foster placement was nice, but she’d just shake her head and not look at me.”

“Is that why she was playing up? So she’d be taken away from her parents?” I could understand that; I’d had a whole other life before my mother took herself off on the run and left me sitting on the doorstep for Romy McAllister to find me. She’d done it before, only before she’d left me the key to get in.

“I think so.” Anna looked at Nicola. “We wondered if that was why she set fire to the house, so she didn’t have to live there anymore.”

“I was never convinced she’d have hurt her brothers. I know she hated her parents, but she loved her brothers,” Nicola said, standing up.

“Did George come here?” I seemed to remember he did.

“He did. He was in year eleven when he died. It was a real shock for the kids. He wasn’t a popular student but no one disliked him. He just got on with things,” Nicola said, smoothing her hair back again. I wondered if I’d ever looked as pristine in my life.

“Were there safeguarding concerns about him?” If Anna had been worried about Lily, then there must have been concerns about her brother.

Anna checked her watch. “I spoke with George about his sister and he was uncomfortable but didn’t say anything. He said everything was okay at home and they all had chores, but Lily would refuse to do them and that caused arguments. He said his parents were strict but he didn’t seem worried. That was part of the reason why it never met threshold for social services involvement. It was only when Lily was getting involved with the police that social services got involved. Maybe I was wrong and it was Lily all along.” She paused. “It’s so long since I’ve thought about her. I do hope she’s alright now.”

“Did you hear anything about Amanda, her mother, after the fire?”