Page 158 of Depraved Boys

I sat in the kitchen-diner watching the dark-haired policeman make four mugs of tea, while his colleague and another officer dusted the back door for fingerprints. They had already put the crowbar in an evidence bag and dusted the front door, letterbox, and the beds the intruder had lifted.

Now that the threat had gone, I was relaxed enough to tell the officers what little I knew.

“How do you know it was a man?” asked the policeman.

“Because his tread was heavier than my dad’s,” I replied.

“Did you see the intruder?”

I nodded.

“Out of the window?” The officer placed a mug in front of me.

“Thanks. I saw the man from the first floor. He wore a balaclava, so I couldn’t make out his face.”

“Is there a possibility it could have been a tall woman?”

I shook my head. Ashley was five-ten, but this person was taller and with a heavier, more athletic build. Then realization slapped me upside the head. “Actually, the person was about the size of my deputy headmistress.”

The entire story spilled from my lips. I told them I believed Miss Claymore had knocked me out and dumped me in a cave, and before that, put me in a car that had fallen down the side of the mountain. By the time I brought up the poisoning, all three officers gaped at me as though I had made everything up.

One of them disappeared, and I hoped it was to corroborate all my claims.

“I can’t stay here.”

The two officers exchanged glances. Right now, even foster care was preferable to staying at home where someone had been trying to get to me. The worst part was that the intruder was no burglar. He hadn’t gone into the living room to take the TV or opened any drawers to check for valuables. He or she had looked at all the places a person might hide themselves during a burglary, and they had known I’d been expelled.

“Is there anywhere we can drive you?”

“Flat twelve Highland Gardens.” I gulped. Would going there bring trouble to Uncle Trevor and his family? “I’d better not. Is there anything I can do to secure the house?”

The police officers kindly boarded up the back door, making it difficult for an intruder to enter, and advised me to call on a locksmith in the morning to have bolts fitted. When they left, I huddled behind the door of Mom and Dad’s room with my eyes open and alert for any strange movements.

Every noise made my heart skip several beats, and every flare of light caused a breath to catch in the back of my throat. Until whoever was trying to kill me had been captured and imprisoned, I wouldn’t sleep here alone.

Around nine-thirty, the phone rang, jolting me awake. I picked up the cordless phone and pressed the answer button. “Hello?”

“Miss Evergreen?” asked a sharp voice at the other end of the line. “I’ve just received your letter of resignation, and quite frankly, I’m appalled that you would leave us in the middle of the academic year.”

“Ummm…” I chewed my bottom lip. “Mrs. Benazir?”

“Return to Brittas Academy immediately to explain yourself. If I don’t hear from you by the end of the day, your uncle will be immediately responsible for repaying the bursary!”

With a click, the phone line went dead, and I spent the next few minutes staring at the receiver.

Mrs. Benazir didn’t realize that Miss Claymore had forced me to resign. Or she had covered up her real reason for letting me go and told the headmistress that I’d quit because of the nude pictures.

I pulled myself to my feet and dusted myself off. If Mrs. Benazir wanted me back so badly, she’d need to make a few concessions. And I would need Sebastian’s help in securing my demands.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

As the taxi pulled in front of the entrance of Brittas Academy, I spotted Sebastian standing alone at the double doors. His features were drawn, his posture slumped, and the confidence he usually radiated dimmed. He swiped a hand through the dark brown hair hanging over his brow, and a lump formed in my throat.

How could I possibly hold a grudge over someone who had wanted to protect the woman he believed he had wronged? Although I still felt Miss Claymore should have been able to resist a thirteen-year-old, I had to take Sebastian’s word for it that he pursued her relentlessly.

He walked forward, slipped the driver a fifty-pound note, and told him to keep the change. Swallowing hard, I stepped out of the car and faced Sebastian.

“You’re alone.”