Between the Prison and the Sewage Works by Maryline Suchley (snow like ashes txt) 📖

at lunchtime cause he was sick, I’ve already locked the school up, I just need to put a message out over the loudspeaker and do a quick check, make sure everyone has gone, although I’m pretty certain the place is empty, besides what looser would stay late on a Friday?’

Shit if I don’t get out before he sets the alarm and leaves, I’m stuck here or I’m going to be arrested trying to get out.

The door closed as the woman left. Alan put a message out alerting anyone in the building that they needed to leave immediately; he then phoned his wife to tell her he was on his way. Mara heard him lock the filing cabinet and switch of the lights. The rush was on she had to leave via a window or fire exit before Alan set the alarm and she still had the files that she wanted to photocopy, she couldn’t put them back and quickly contemplated leaving them in a draw but decided on taking them with her.

Oh bloody hell I don’t have my bag and it’s got my house keys in it. She panicked.

Things are going from bad to worse! She thought standing by the door and listening to see if he had gone. Deciding there was no noise Mara opened the door to the dark. She groped her way down the stairs and along the dully lit corridor. Now breathing rapidly and loudly she rushed to the science room where she grabbed her bag and raced to the front door. Perhaps she still had time; after all he had to do a quick check of the school. The door looked locked and a red light flashed above the exit sign.

‘Bollocks he’s set the Alarm and gone.’

At the same time she could hear a car driving off.

‘It’s no use I’m going to have to go out through a fire door which will set off the Alarm, I’m just going to have to peg it across the car park and hope I’m not seen.’

She waited another twenty minutes, hoping that Alan would be well and truly gone and that the six twenty five was on time for a change.

Mara took in a deep breath in preparation to run. She pushed open a fire exit door located near the science block and ran towards the gates. Sure enough a loud whaling noise erupted. She felt like she was having a heart attack as she ran for the bus stop. When she reached the deserted bus shelter she tried not to look so guilty; rubbing the sweat from her forehead and trying to slow down her breathing.

Bright lights turned around the corner; the bus was on time.

Thank God, she thought as she held her hand out. Luckily there were only a couple of people on the bus and both looked inebriated. Her breathing started to return to normal as the bus moved away from the yelling alarm in the background. Ten minutes into the journey Police cars with flashing lights and sirens roared past towards Thamesmarsh.

I think I’m safe? I need a fucking big drink! She said to herself as the bus turned away from the area and towards Lewisham.

Mara consumed some very large drinks that night and for the next two evenings. She felt a mixture of relief and worry; she still might have been seen by someone.

Over the weekend Mara looked through the file she had stolen. As she had first guessed the receipts for accommodation and expenses corresponded to the places in the housing brochures.

‘I bet he’s been holidaying in France and looking for houses under the guise of doing something for the school’s cultural exchange programme and getting the board to pay for it. I’ll photocopy this stuff; I might be able to use it against him somehow. The budgets mean nothing to me; perhaps I should get my cousin to have a look. Then all I have to do is sneak the bloody files back somehow?’

 

Chapter 11

11

 

Monday was greeted with a mild hang over from Sunday night.

‘I’m going to have an alcohol free week!’ Mara said herself as she walked though the school gates.

Daniel was predictably bonded to the computer in the work room.

‘Hi Daniel, good weekend?’ Mara asked automatically, as she looked through her pigeon hole.

‘Yep, James and I went out on the pull in Camden, he’s a real hit with the ladies.’

‘Oh yeah,’ Mara replied with gritted teeth.

‘I better go, some of us have work to do!’ she said leaving the staffroom quickly.

‘Did we get out on the wrong side of bed?’ Daniel called out.

She made her way back for morning briefing hoping nothing would be said about the alarm.

Jim entered the staffroom coughed loudly and began to read the messages while Joyce wrote on the board. There was no mention of the alarms or Police.

They probably thought it was a falsie, she reassured herself.

Mara still had the files she stole from Alan’s office. Throughout the day she came up with various plans to get them back. In the end she decided that she would put them under a pile of papers in his secretary’s out tray and hope that the she put them back without thinking too much of it.

At the end of the day, when everyone had gone, Mara hung around the workroom and waited for an opportunity to place the files in the out tray.

Mission completed! She told herself as she put the files in the tray.

‘Mara,’ it was Jim.

‘Hi,’ Mara replied uncertain if he saw her.

‘How are you going with your classes?’

‘Oh fine, I think.’

‘Do let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,’ he said walking over to the secretary’s desk with a folder in his hand.

The run up to the half term holidays was fraught with the usual chaos, Roger and the Elephant Man receiving the brunt of it. Mara was also expecting another note informing her of an assessment, but that never eventuated. James’ elusive behaviour was starting to exasperate Mara. Daniel was making more of an effort to behave like a human being and seemed overtly happy. The classes for dysfunctional teachers were becoming increasingly intolerable with ridiculous flow diagrams, charts, tips and endless role playing.

‘I already do that!’ said the Manuelle teacher.

‘Perhaps you don’t do it enough and that’s why your here,’ replied Jim firmly.

‘This is crap, I’m off, my throat’s too sore again to play teachers,’ he rasped leaving the room.

Well that’s done it; he’s in Jim’s bad books now! Not a place I want to be. Though Mara.

Mara had contacted her cousin to ask if he could look at some data for her and see if there were any anomalies. He had looked over the photocopies she sent and said that as far as budgets go they were pretty standard. He suggested that if she wanted to find anything out of the ordinary, then she needed to compare the general outgoings with what she could see being spent at the school. However with no knowledge of the day to day financial running of the school it would be unlikely that she would pick up on anything.

Mara attended Friday drinks at the Pig’s Gut out of boredom and the slight chance of seeing James. Mat had turned up with Steffi giving Mara the impression he was trying to make her jealous. She was aware of him looking over at her in between giving Steffi the attention she needed. She didn’t know whether to feel sorry for him or relieved he was out of her hair. No one deserved Mademoiselle Steffi’s special treatment.

She sat next to Roger and chatted to him for a while, the conversation turned to Joyce’s incessant note writing on the board.

‘Has she always done that? Mara asked.

‘No, but it got worse after she split from her husband, she just buried herself in the place. She was always good with discipline though; very strict, they used to call her creepy crawly Frawley,’ giggled Roger, ‘because she always seemed to be lurking around trying to catch kids doing something wrong.’

‘Frawley did you say?’ Mara asked.

Yep that was her married name, but she went back to her maiden name when she split from her husband about ten years ago.

‘What was his first name,’ asked Mara.

‘Dunno.’

It had just dawned on her that Frank Frawley, the dead man found at the school was probably Joyce’s ex husband.

A bit of a coincidence. Mara thought.

‘Roger, has Joyce always dealt with the supply teachers?’ Mara asked not really know why she was asking, just going with her gut feeling.

‘No she’s only done it for a few years, Jim used to do it before her, but there was some restructuring and she took over,’

‘Did you know her father died recently?’

‘I thought her father died years ago, or was that her brother? But I know her mother is still alive because she’s in the same nursing home as my wife’s mother.

‘She must be pretty old?’ Mara said, now realising that her question could be construed as being rude.

‘Yep, my mother in law is a real trooper; just keeps going!’

‘What are you up to these holidays Mara?’ Roger asked.

‘I’m going to Bristol to visit a friend and celebrate my birthday, then on to my parents,’ replied Mara, still preoccupied with Joyce. ‘I better go Rog got to be up early.’

Back at her flat Mara looked through the photocopied documents of the budgets’

‘There it is. That cost looks high for supply teachers, even in that shit hole! Besides I don’t see that many supply teachers because we’re always covering lessons and it’s always the same few masochists that come in.

‘I wonder!’ she said picking up the phone book.

‘Al teachers, that’s what I saw in the fax tray,’ she said running her finger down the page.

‘There it is. I’ll phone later on in the week, see what I can find out?’

The radio clicked. She was awoken by a religious rock band singing about their saviour.

Mara changed, packed her bag, locked the flat and rushed to the bus stop. At Lewisham station she waited for the train.

‘Hi.’

Turning around she saw Mat.

‘Hi Mat, where are you off to?’

Just into the City to meet a friend.

‘Oh yeah, Steffi?’ Mara replied regretting what she had just said.

‘No.’

‘Mind if I sit with you?’ he asked

‘That’s fine,’ she replied, inwardly whishing he would piss off.

‘Where are you going,’ he asked?

‘Paddington.’

‘Oh that’s where I’m going to.’

The train seemed to take a long time to get to their destination and she felt uncomfortable making small talk with Mat, who looked intensely focused on asking her questions about the everyday things that she did.

Finally the train pulled into the station and they said their goodbyes. Mara waited for the Bristol train with an uneasy and unexplainable feeling.

Sitting in the carriage she mulled things over in her mind, Joyce, Alan, James and Mat. The confusion irritated her; why couldn’t life just be simple?

Perhaps I should tell the Police my suspicions about Joyce; I can just tell Mark so I don’t sound like a lunatic or amateur private eye. James is pissing me off, one minute it’s all go then it’s nothing! As for that dick head Alan, I need to think about how I can use that information to get him to leave me alone, so I pass my probationary year in peace. Mat I just don’t know!

The train came to a halt at Bristol Temple meads and Mara picked up her bag, stepped off the train looking around for Sam; who was rushing towards her waving and smiling.

‘Good to see you Mara,’ she said hugging her friend. ‘How are you?’

‘Good I think! Over a drink perhaps?’ Mara suggested.

‘Of course, there’s a pub just up the road, it’s a bit grubby but it will do for a first drink.

Although grimy, it made the Pigs Gut look like Winsor Castle.

‘Sam,’ Mara blurted. ‘I seem to have got myself into more of a mess since Christmas.’

‘It can’t be all that bad?’ Sam asked.

‘I’m on a list for the