Or maybe not.

‘Miss…’ a child called.

‘I’m sorry; we shouldn’t be disturbing your class,’ Nicholas said and she managed to retrieve her hand and force herself to think schoolteacherly thoughts. Or mostly schoolteacherly thoughts.

‘If Bailey’s to be my student, then you’re not interrupting at all,’ she said and turned to the child who’d called. ‘Yes, Laurie, what do you need?’

‘There’s a dog, miss,’ Laurie said from across the room, sounding agitated. ‘He’s bleeding.’

‘A dog…’ She turned to the window.

‘He’s under my table, miss, in the corner,’ Laurie said, standing up and pointing. ‘He came in with the man. He’s bleeding everywhere.’

Help.

There were twenty-four children looking towards Laurie’s table. Plus Nicholas Holt.

A bleeding dog…

There were kids here who’d make this up but Laurie wasn’t one of them. He wasn’t a child with imagination.

Laurie’s table was in the far back corner, and the row of shelving behind it made for a small, dark recess. If a dog was under there…it couldn’t be a very big dog.

‘Then we need to investigate,’ she said, as brightly as she could. ‘Laurie, can you go and sit in my teacher’s chair, please, while I see what’s happening?’

Laurie was there like a shot-the best treat in the world was to be allowed to sit in his teacher’s big rotating chair. With the way clear, Misty would be able to see…

Or not. She stooped, then knelt. It was dark under the table. Her hands met something wet on the floor-something warm.

Blood.

Her eyes grew accustomed to the gloom. Yes, there was a dog, cowering right back into the unused shelves.

She could see him clearly now, cringing as far back as he could get.