When Eddie pulled into the School car park, the sight of the Police cars swarming the building alarmed him. He climbed out of his car, heading over to two police officers standing by the stone steps.

"I'm Eddie Lawson, Deputy Head. DI Wolfe asked me to come" he explained, showing the two officers his lanyard with his ID on

The two officers escorted him up the stairs towards Rachel's office, where DI Wolfe was waiting.

"DI Wolfe? Eddie Lawson, Deputy Head" Eddie introduced himself, offering his hand for the detective to shake

DI Wolfe accepted, shaking his hand firmly

"Thank you for coming so quickly Mr Lawson. How is Miss Mason?"

"Shaken up, as you can imagine. She's in the operating theatre as we speak" Eddie sighed sadly

"Of course. I know this is delicate, but as soon as she is able, we will need to ask her some questions and take a statement from her so we have a better idea of what happened"

Eddie stared at DI Wolfe, bewildered.

"She was brutally attacked and raped! What more information do you need?! Is it really necessary to make her re-live this?" he replied, exasperated

"We will go about this as sensitively as we can when the time comes Mr Lawson, and we won't force her to talk either. But talking to her and getting the necessary information can help us to catch and charge the person who did this" DI Wolfe explained

"I already have my suspicions of who it was" Eddie mumbled

"You do?" DI Wolfe responded hopefully

Eddie nodded

"Yes, and trust me, if it is him, he'll pay for it"

"Mr Lawson, would you come down to the station with us now to answer a few questions and to make a formal statement? You'll be helping us massively with the investigation"

Eddie shrugged before nodding in agreement

"Sure. But I have to be back at the Hospital as soon as Rachel is out of theatre. I promised her I'd be there when she woke up. I won't let her down"

"You can go as soon as they call you, it won't take long" DI Wolfe reassured

"Follow me through here" he added

Eddie followed DI Wolfe to the entrance to Rachel's Office. His heart pounded against his chest as he stared at the sight before him.

Rachel's usually immaculate Office was trashed. Paperwork littered the floor, along with shards of shattered metal. Blood stained the carpet, walls and desk. The carpet had been ripped in some places, suggesting to Eddie that Rachel had fought for her life against Stuart. But that wasn't worst of it.

Two pieces of torn fabric lay strewn on the floor. A pair of underwear, and part of a torn blouse. Eddie closed his eyes to stop the tears from falling down his face. He felt sick, knowing and seeing the aftermath of what Rachel had been through tonight.

"We can confirm the assault happened in here, as you can see from the blood and the mess. We've got forensics coming in to take samples" DI Wolfe explained

Eddie nodded, although he wasn't really listening.

"I can't believe this has happened" he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion

DI Wolfe put a hand on his arm in an attempt to comfort him. He knew this wasn't easy.

"We will find out who did this. Let's get away from here and to the station. The sooner we're done, the sooner you can get to the hospital and be there for Rachel"

Eddie followed DI Wolfe out of the school and into the car park. He agreed to meet the detective at the police station, before heading over to his own car.

He practically threw himself into the driver's seat, closing the door behind him. As he sat there, hands placed on the steering wheel, he finally broke down, sobbing. He thought of Rachel, covered in bruises and blood. She'd been attacked in her place of work, in her own office, somewhere she should have felt safe.

How had this happened?

Why hadn't he just waited with her?

He had questions, so many questions.

How had she made it home?

The pain and desperation she must have felt trying to get out of there. The fear and determination.

The anger he felt towards Stuart Hordley was growing by the second. How could he do this? Eddie knew he was a bully, a nasty piece of work. But he never thought him capable to hurt Rachel like that, to beat her and rape her. How naive he'd been.

He wiped away his tears, taking a deep, shaky breath before starting the car. Sitting here crying and feeling angry wasn't going to help Rachel. Talking to the police, telling them everything he knew about Stuart Hordley might.

He reversed out of the car park, heading out of the school gates in the direction of the police station.