"How could he do that?"
It was a question Rachel didn't have the answer to. But it was one she wanted the answer to as well. How could Earl do something like this? Why? Letting his little brother take the blame, and not just for something stupid, for the possession of a gun! Denzil had gone to prison when he was innocent. It was wrong.
"I don't know, Rose"
If she was honest, Rachel had a lot of questions for Earl. She wanted to know why he'd killed those birds. She wanted to know why he'd made his own brother take his gun and hide in the school, leading the innocent eleven year old to be arrested. She wanted to know why he'd killed Maxine. Why had he done all these things? One teenage boy had caused so much hurt, chaos and grief. And what for?
She thought back to her first day back at Waterloo Road when the Kelly's had first arrived. She had asked Earl who he was. "Your worst nightmare" had been his response. He had turned into just that. First Stuart, now him.
She wanted to support Rose and reassure her, but she didn't know how. It was bad enough that her son had murdered his girlfriend. But to find out that he had also manipulated his little brother into taking a gun and going to prison for him? That was something else. This was a situation Rachel had never thought she would experience. She was sure Rose felt the same.
"How could he do that to his own brother? And what does that say about me? That I brought him up to do something like that?" Rose sobbed
Rachel sighed. She was lost for words.
"They should just lock me away as well; it's the best place for me. Well away from my other kids, where I can't hurt them anymore!"
Rachel placed a hand on the other woman's arm.
"No, Rose, you've got that wrong. All your children need you"
"Bit late for that" Rose grumbled
"It's not all so bad, Rose. Denzil is innocent. We've got a chance of getting him out" Rachel pointed out
Rose nodded quietly.
"I'm going to speak to Paul and Bolton. Paul is on board to make a statement; I just need to talk to Bolton. Alright?"
"Ok"
"Why don't you go and see Marley and Sam and let them know what's happening? I'll come and see you in a bit" Rachel suggested
Rose nodded again, leaving the office.
When the door had closed, Rachel rummaged around in her desk drawer, finding the number for the LEA legal officer. That was the next thing on her to-do list. She needed to get as much information as she could about what Paul and Bolton (if she could persuade him) needed to do next.
As she typed the number into the phone, her eyes fell on the clock on the wall above the door. It was already 2:15pm. She hadn't done any of the things she needed to do. She hadn't even started to plan or write the report for the new Head Teacher. It was an hour until the end of the school day, and it felt like her day was only just beginning. If she wasn't feeling so unwell, she would have cancelled her Doctor's appointment this evening so she could stay in her office till late. But she couldn't. Eddie would be even more frustrated with her than he was already. So she would be taking work home with her tonight. But it didn't matter, as long as this situation was resolved and she could leave with a clean slate, it would be worth it.
...
From the minute Eddie had stepped into the cooler, Bolton hadn't said a word. They had sat in silence for the last hour. Even when Paul had entered the room thirty minutes ago, Bolton hadn't said anything. Eddie was a little confused as to why he was there when he was supposed to be with Rachel. According to Paul, Rachel had sent him to the cooler to wait. Eddie figured she knew what she was doing, so he had taken Paul's word for it.
It was a relief when it got to 2:30pm and Rachel walked into the cooler. She glanced briefly at Paul and Bolton before turning her attention to Eddie. She smiled at him weakly.
"Can I have a word, outside?" she requested
Eddie nodded, following her into the corridor.
From the look on her face, he knew immediately that something was wrong. His suspicion only grew stronger as she ran a hand through her hair, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. She couldn't quite look him in the eye, communicating to him that she needed to tell him something. And from the way she was nervously tapping her foot against the floor, he knew it wasn't good news.
"Rach, what's happened?" he asked
Rachel looked at him, biting her lip nervously as she leaned back onto the wall.
"Do you remember the anonymous gun note?"
Eddie nodded.
"Paul wrote that note" she told him
Eddie stared at her, processing her words carefully. If he was honest, so much had happened on that day with having to evacuate the school and Denzil being arrested, he had completely forgotten about the anonymous note. Even though it had been the reason they had known about the gun in the first place, Eddie hadn't really given a second thought to its origins. He was sure Rachel hadn't either. Even if he had remembered and looked into it, he was certain he wouldn't have believed Paul to be the one to write the note. He wasn't that type of kid, or Eddie didn't think so anyway.
But then there was the question of why. Why had Paul written it? Why hadn't he just told someone? That note could have easily been overlooked and ignored! And how had he known there was a gun in the school in the first place? That part made no sense.
Once he'd gotten over his shock, he realised Rachel was staring at him, waiting for a response.
"Paul wrote that note?" he checked
Rachel nodded.
"But-how?"
Rachel sighed. She didn't know how to tell him. She was still struggling to wrap her head around it all.
"Bolton and Paul were threatened with it,"
"By Denzil?" Eddie interrupted, frowning as the mere idea of it seemed absurd
Rachel shook her head.
"It was Earl's gun"
Eddie ran a hand through his hair as he sighed. Of course the gun had been Earl's. It made so much sense. He'd always thought Denzil having the gun was odd. He was a quiet and reserved eleven year old who looked like wouldn't hurt anyone.
"Earl was the one who threatened them. He showed Paul and Bolton the gun and said if they told anyone he'd...well, you know..." Rachel explained
Eddie scoffed, rubbing his forehead in disbelief.
"So... how did Denzil end up with the gun?" he questioned
"How do you think? Earl told him to take it! He manipulated him, Eddie! Denzil went down for it because Earl framed him"
"So Denzil is innocent?"
Rachel nodded painfully.
"Hang on, so Bolton and Paul knew the gun was Earl's all along, and they said nothing?"
"Yes, Eddie"
"So Maxine..."
"Yes, if Bolton and Paul had spoken up at the time, Earl would have been arrested and... Maxine would probably still be alive" Rachel finished for him
Eddie couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd believed Bolton and Paul to be better than that. How could they have stayed silent?
"What the hell were they thinking? If they'd just spoken up..."
"Eddie, be honest, if someone like Earl Kelly threatened and taunted you with a gun when you were that age, would you go running to a teacher?" Rachel questioned
Eddie found himself shaking his head. If the tables were turned and he was in that situation, either at sixteen, or his current age of thirty eight, he probably would have been terrified, just like Paul and Bolton had been.
He understood now. Even though Maxine's death wasn't their fault, he could imagine they both felt guilty. He could imagine their grief for Maxine was stronger than others. That's why Bolton had lashed out at Marley. It wasn't the right thing to do, but it made sense.
"I can't believe I missed it" Rachel whispered
Eddie placed a hand on her arm gently, sensing she was upset.
"We all missed it, Rach. Not just you"
"I know, but this is my job, Eddie! I- I knew something was wrong with Bolton. I saw that Earl was bullying and taunting him in my office after they'd had that fight and I didn't do anything!"
"And I saw Earl kick Bolton in the nuts and I did nothing about it either! It's wasn't just you, Rach. We both missed it. It's not your fault" he insisted
"But it's my job to notice these things, Eddie! It's my responsibility to help Bolton and I've failed him" she sighed
"You haven't failed him, darling. We're going to sort this" he reassured
Rachel nodded, unconvinced.
"So what happens now?" he asked
"Well, I've spoken to the LEA legal officer. Paul and Bolton need to meet with Denzil's Lawyer and make a statement. They can do it today, hopefully that will get Denzil home. That's why I'm here. I need to talk to them"
Eddie nodded.
He was about to step to one side to allow Rachel to go into the cooler when he heard a quiet groan escape from her lips as her hand went to her head. He placed a hand on her arm gently as she leant further back onto the wall, closing her eyes.
"Are you alright?" he asked
"I will be, in a minute" she mumbled, taking some deep breaths to try and keep the nausea at bay
"Why don't you go back to your office and sit down for five minutes and then I'll come over with Bolton and Paul?" Eddie suggested
"Ok" Rachel agreed
With Eddie's help, she made it back to her office. She sighed in relief as she sat down in the chair, sipping on her water. Nothing could stop her from throwing up into the bin, however. Eddie held her hair back for her as she retched and heaved. The only good thing that came of it was that she immediately felt better.
"I really hope you haven't changed your mind about going to that Doctor's appointment tonight, Rach" Eddie said once she'd finished
"I haven't, don't worry" she reassured, sipping on her water
"I'm ok now. Can you go and get Paul and Bolton, please?" she added
Eddie nodded, heading out of the office again.
...
Bolton sighed in relief when Mr Lawson finally left the cooler. He hated the silence they had been sat in, and he hated the way Mr Lawson kept looking at him like he was something to be pitied. Bolton knew he was as angry and frustrated with him as Miss Mason was, but he didn't care. He'd rather things be that way. Telling them the truth would be a whole lot worse. They'd never look at him in the same way if they knew what he'd done.
What was worrying him at the moment, was Paul. He didn't like the way he had just marched into the cooler, telling Mr Lawson that Miss Mason had sent him there to wait. Wait for what? Why had Miss Mason wanted to see him? What had they talked about?
The way Paul was acting made him even more suspicious. From the minute he had walked into the cooler, he hadn't looked Bolton in the eye once. Right now, he was staring out of the window of the cooler, meaning that Bolton could only see the back of his head.
Paul was his best friend. He knew he wouldn't do or say anything to get him into trouble. Besides, if he told anyone what had happened between the two of them and Earl in the boy's changing rooms, it wouldn't just be Bolton being labelled as a coward.
But something was wrong, as much as he believed that Paul wouldn't rat him out, he had a feeling that he had. The not knowing was making him anxious.
"Oi!" Bolton hissed, throwing a scrunched up ball of paper at Paul to get his attention
Paul turned to him slowly.
"What?" he replied
"What did you say to Miss Mason?"
"Nothing" Paul shrugged
Bolton knew instantly that he was lying. Having known Paul for a couple of years, he had learnt to read his best friend quite well. He knew the way his hands wrung together when he was nervous, or the cheeky, lopsided grin that formed on his face when he was happy. He knew the way his eyes darted around the room when he was lying.
"You're lying" Bolton growled
"No, I'm not! I didn't say a thing!" Paul argued
"You said something, man! I know you have!"
Paul sighed.
"Fine. You want the truth? I told Miss Mason everything"
Bolton banged his fist on the table angrily, making Paul jump.
"Bolton, I had to! She was talking about excluding you! She was interrogating me! What else was I supposed to do?!" Paul cried
"GET A GRIP AND LIE, MAN!" Bolton yelled
"I couldn't, Bolton, I'm sorry. I'm sick of it! I had to tell her the truth. And it means now that, if we testify against Earl by telling the Police what we know, Denzil will be allowed to come home"
"I ain't testifying. No way!" Bolton grumbled
"Bolton, Denzil is innocent! We have a chance to put this right!" Paul reasoned
"No, man! I ain't doing it!"
Paul huffed.
"I know you're worried about being labelled a coward if all this comes out, Bolton. But, let's be honest, you're a coward if you don't testify anyway!"
"Just shut up man, yeah? I don't care about Denzil! He'll probably end up doing something stupid like Earl anyway if he gets out. He's better off in prison where he can do no damage"
"Well, I'm testifying" Paul stated firmly
"Whatever, man" Bolton mumbled
The door to the cooler opened, Mr Lawson entering the room.
"Miss Mason wants a word. Bring your stuff, we're going to her office" he told them
...
The atmosphere in Rachel's office quickly became frosty and tense when Bolton and Paul entered. The two boys sat as far away from one another as possible, Paul on the left side of her desk, and Bolton on the right. Silence fell as Eddie closed the door.
Rachel glanced at Bolton. Earlier, she had seen an angry kid with a foul temper sat in front of her. She had seen the side of Bolton that she had seen during her first few months at Waterloo Road. Just a few hours ago she was sure he had gone back to his old ways and that she had made no impact on him at all.
Now, she saw a kid who was angry, but also grieving and haunted by a memory of being taunted and threatened with a gun by another kid who wasn't messing around. Behind the 'macho crap', was a scared teenager. Bolton was afraid for so many different reasons and Rachel didn't blame him one bit. She hoped now that Paul had told her the truth, Bolton would start to open up too.
"Bolton, are you ok?" Rachel asked, breaking the silence
"Fine" he mumbled, refusing to look at her
"Paul?"
"Yes, Miss" he nodded
Rachel cleared her throat.
"I've spoken with the LEA legal officer. The first thing you two need to do is swear an affidavit"
Whilst Bolton's expression was blank, Paul frowned at her.
"You write down what happened and sign it with a lawyer present" Eddie explained
"You're going to be admitting to withholding the full story. I'm going to leave it to the lawyer to explain what that might mean for you. Yeah?" Rachel finished
Paul nodded.
Rachel turned to Bolton, who hadn't moved or reacted in any way to anything that had been said.
"Bolton?" she prompted
"No" he said simply
"W-what?" she stuttered, a little taken aback by his answer
"I ain't doing that" he shrugged
Rachel sighed.
"Bolton, you can drop the act now. I know what happened with you and Earl. It's ok" she reassured
"I don't know what you're talking about" he huffed
Rachel scoffed.
"Bolton, I can kind of understand why you wouldn't want it to come out before. But now?"
"I'm NOT doing it!" he said plainly
"Denzil Kelly is being held in a Young Offenders Institute! He has been charged for something he didn't do and YOU are his best chance of getting out of there!" she cried, exasperated
"And like I said, I never saw no gun. So I ain't saying nothing"
Rachel wanted to put her head in her hands and scream. She wanted to grab Bolton by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. Why was he acting like this?
She had thought (or hoped) that, after Paul had told her everything, Bolton would let his guard down a bit, knowing that she now knew what had happened. She'd thought he would agree to sign an affidavit now it was all out in the open. Once again, she'd been naive. Bolton wasn't budging on this, and she didn't know what else to do.
"Fine, Bolton. Have it your way" she huffed
She turned to Paul.
"Paul, if I contact your Guardian, will you be willing to talk to Denzil's lawyer this afternoon?"
Paul nodded. Rachel sighed in relief. That was something at least.
She turned back to Bolton.
"Bolton, I'm going to send Mr Lawson to get your Mum and to tell her what's happened. Maybe she can talk some sense into you"
"Whatever" Bolton grumbled
Rachel sighed.
"Right, can you wait outside please, boys?" she requested
Bolton stormed into the antechamber, throwing himself down onto one of the chairs. Paul smiled weakly at his two teachers' before following him, closing the office door.
Rachel placed her head in her hands. Could this day get any worse?
"I'll go and get Candeece and Rose" Eddie decided
"Thank you" she replied gratefully
"It'll be alright, Rach. We'll sort this" he reassured
Rachel nodded, unconvinced.
Once the office door had closed, she set about making a phone call to Paul's Guardian. If she trusted the new Head Teacher that was going to replace her, she would leave it to them to arrange for Paul to talk to Denzil's lawyer. But as she had said to Eddie earlier, she couldn't leave it like this. She had to sort it.