The Secret Place

Antoinette and Stephen decide to interview the girls again to see if they can confirm that Joanne created a diversion to distract them from finding the key. Again, they begin the interview process with Orla, whom they deem to be the “weakest link.” She admits that the key stored in the third-year common room was Joanne’s. Orla tells them that Joanne got the key from Julia, although she claims not to have witnessed the transfer. Joanne somehow found out that Julia had the key that would allow outdoor access and got Julia to make a copy of it. Orla guiltily admits that she, Joanne, Gemma, and Alison all used the key from time to time to sneak out. She adds that they all saw Selena and Chris kissing, maybe in March or April of the previous year, and that she and her friends couldn’t tell the detectives how they knew the two had become romantically involved because they had seen the pair together when they were outside at night. They would have faced expulsion if that detail had come to light.

The detectives interview Julia, who denies ever having had access to the key and tells them that Joanne, and not Selena, was the one who dated Chris.