Bad Little Girl(107)

‘Claire? Am I glad to see you!’ he said.





45





And so, Claire went back to work. She put her flat on the market and called the Philpotts in Cornwall to let them know that she wasn’t staying there any longer, and could they keep an eye on the place. At night, she thought of the house, suffering emptily under Cornish storms, the windows rattling, the chimney moaning. She imagined the footsteps of Lorna on the stairs. Benji, always close, whined in his sleep, and the two of them nestled together, their fear large in the dark, waiting for paler shadows to settle on the furniture corners, for light to filter weakly through the pane, for the certainty of no-nonsense daylight.

Over the next year, it got easier. The new Christmas Cracker group were delightful. Claire lobbied, successfully, for a Feeling Proud assembly and made sure that each of them got a chance to Show Their Learning in front of the whole school. She seemed to be respected more, deferred to.

‘After all,’ said Miss Peel to Miss Brice one break time, ‘she was the only one who saw the Bell thing coming. Remember?’

The school had been in a lot of trouble after Lorna’s conviction. Although her name had been kept out of the press, it wasn’t a secret from the local authority, and they demanded to know just what exactly had gone wrong. A disaster, an abduction, and a murder, all in one family? Why hadn’t James ever raised any concerns? Where was the care plan for this family? Why hadn’t they been flagged to social services?

‘I have to say it, Claire, I should have listened. About Lorna Bell. I should have taken you more seriously, I understand that now. But with such a big school, so many issues. Well, you understand, don’t you? Even if we get raked over the coals by OFSTED, I apologise, and in future I’ll defer to your good judgement.’ This last was said with a little sarcastic twist, but Claire recognised it for being as close to sincerity as James was capable.

On the anniversary of the fire, the local press and news turned their attention to the school. OFSTED had concerns, but the school wasn’t in Special Measures just yet; it still had a chance to redeem itself. The anniversary also attracted the attention of Easy Tiger Productions, who specialised in true crime and queasy documentaries about teenagers loose in Magaluf. James Clarke was interviewed (‘No indication of anything untoward with the family . . . socially deprived but we at the school make sure that . . .’ etc. etc.). Claire wasn’t spoken to, but was briefly, to her dismay, filmed on playground duty (accompanied by the voiceover: ‘Some of the teachers in this tight-knit inner-city school have been here for years, and the pastoral care has always been judged by OFSTED as “good”. So what happened on that fateful night a year ago? What caused the Bell family to fall through the cracks?’ etc., etc.). When a courtesy copy was sent to James Clarke, he insisted that all the staff watch it during the weekly round-up. Claire tried to beg off, but James was having none of it.

‘It may be sensationalist, it may not, we don’t know. It may help us, teach us to recognise more Laura Bells. Lorna. Sorry.’

The documentary was entirely predictable. The girl they had got to impersonate Lorna did look a little like her, but Rabbit Girl and Pete were altogether too attractive, and Carl was a good-natured savant who doted on Lorna. The fire was filmed from a variety of perspectives. ‘Some have even questioned the role of family members in starting the fire,’ said the narrator.

‘That’s a bit far-fetched,’ huffed Miss Pickin.

‘EastEnders much?’ snorted Miss Peel.

When the programme ended, there was an anti-climactic feeling in the staffroom. The school hadn’t figured much, which was both good and bad. Miss Pickin was a bit miffed because she’d had her hair done especially, and hadn’t even made the final cut. James claimed to be happy that the school came out well, but bemoaned the fact that he’d given up an entire day to be filmed for interviews and only a couple of minutes had made it onto the screen.

‘That’s showbiz,’ muttered Miss Peel, squinting at her phone.



* * *



‘Bring back the birch, that’s what I say.’ Derek had watched the documentary, and had wasted no time calling Claire.

‘Derek, families need support. It’s not a simple case of punishment and reward. And if a child has never learned a sense of morality, or had a safe enough environment . . . It’s all about the proper intervention, and the skills to see what’s happening—’

‘Oh Claire! You’ve not changed, have you?’ Derek chuckled affectionately. ‘Still the bleeding heart!’

Claire closed her eyes and leaned tiredly against the wall where the sideboard used to be. ‘I’ve changed Derek. I guarantee it.’





46





A few weeks later, Claire got the letter. It was tucked into a card: ‘Hi there!’ cried a cheery cartoon dog. Lorna had written her name in a heart.

Dear Miss Penny

I bet you’re surprised to hear from me after such a long time and after everything that’s happened. I hope you are well.

I am fine. Here they have TV, I saw you on it, and then they turned it off, but now I know you are still at the same school so you probably live in the same house too! I LOVE your hair! I hope your not too upset with me and that we’re still friends. Yesterday I read something in the Bible that said bad company ruins good morals and I think that is really true, don’t you? I didn’t mean to keep bad company, but here they say that I should have had more guidance so maybe it’s not all my fault. I see a counsellor here who is very nice and reminds me of you a bit! She is so kind. I love her almost as much as I love you!