Page 89 of Cruel Hearts

We continued our breakfast in silence. I bit into my toast, wondering what on earth was happening. Had Mr. Burgh called their parents? The police?

Just as the staff started clearing the plates, Mr. Burgh and Mrs. Campbell strolled into the dining room, looking grave. They walked to the middle and stopped.

“Could I have your attention, please?” said Mr. Burgh.

Everyone stopped talking. Some twisted around in their seats to listen. I glanced at Maxwell whose brows rose. Hopefully, this was where the headteachers revealed that those caught with cocaine had snitched on Elizabeth, but I didn’t hold out much hope.

Mrs. Campbell cleared her throat. “It has come to our attention that certain students have consumed weight-loss aids that may contain harmful and addictive ingredients.”

Chatter filled the air, drowning out the deputy headmistress’s words.

“Silence,” shouted Mr. Burgh. “Everybody, settle down.”

It took a moment, but the dining room quieted.

“Thank you,” said Mrs. Campbell. “Nobody is in trouble, but we need to know who ate a low-calorie, vegetarian curry from the tuck shop or purchased other weight-loss-related supplements.”

My gaze flickered to Mrs. Harper, whose face went slack. I’d bet the Liddell fortune that she’d put two and two together and worked out that she was in a fuck-load of trouble. The poor woman knew the boys had made the curry to sell to other students, but it hadn’t occurred to her to question what was in the container of spices.

“Everyone who consumed even one portion of the curry must come forward,” said Mr. Burgh. “We need to have you checked by a doctor to make sure there aren’t any adverse side effects.”

Gideon leaned into my side. “Did you know the curry was addictive?”

“Fuck, no.” Everyone I knew snorted cocaine, not mixed it into their food. This was so much worse than dealing drugs. Elizabeth must have gotten a bunch of girls hooked without their consent.

The scraping of wood against stone turned everyone’s attention to the far right of the room, where Maeve sat at a table for six with two other girls.

“I had the curry and the pills,” she said.

Straightening in my seat, I gave her an encouraging smile.

Mr. Burgh glanced around the room. “The culprits told us they had at least thirty customers. We have reason to believe that a controlled substance was in those slimming aids.”

The girls sitting around Maeve pulled back their seats and rose.

Then more girls around the table stood.

I leaned toward Gideon and whispered, “Shit. It’s going to take a ridiculous amount of bribes to keep this quiet.”

“Many of these families would pursue damages from the Liddell estate,” muttered Kendrick. “It won’t be cheap.”

“True,” said Orlando.

One of the second-year girls raised her hand. “I only had one.”

“You’d better come along, just in case,” said Mrs. Campbell, her voice choked.

After that, over a dozen first and second-year girls stood. Most of them hadn’t even started developing and were just kids.

A lump formed in my throat. What kind of monster sold drugs to little girls?

“Is that everyone?” asked Mrs. Campbell. When nobody replied, she turned toward the double doors, leaving Mr. Burgh behind. “Follow me.”

As the chatter resumed in the dining room and the waiting staff removed the discarded cups and plates, l leaned forward. “She had better not get away with this.”

“She might,” said Gideon.

I turned to my best friend and frowned. “Why do you think that?”