Liz had bustled Harry out the door and towards the oval before she had an opportunity to object. The cleaning shed was right near the gym, and that was where Useless John could usually be found.

Now that it was actually happening,  Harry wasn't quite so sure it was such a good idea. She was glad that Liz had suggested it independently without a great deal of pressing, but it still felt wrong.

"I'm not so sure about this," she voiced to Liz who had rushed ahead.

Liz slowed enough that Harry could hear her without her needing to raise her voice. "That's why we've got to do it now before you chicken out. No-one wants to end another's life, but what would you rather happen? Do you want to accidentally be the death of that delicious husband of yours?" She looked at Harry pointedly as they walked. "Much better it be John than someone of actual value to society. You're doing the school a favour. Once he's gone, you can hire someone decent without needing to go through all those tedious steps to get him fired."

The callous way that Liz spoke about the extinguishing of a life made it even more difficult for Harry to stomach. She knew that distancing herself from the situation like that probably made it easier,  but she just couldn't be detached from this. Not when it was her hand that could be the means of someone's destruction.

"That's another thing, would I really be doing the school a favour, linking another disappearance to its name?"

Liz sighed before answering, "As I've already told you, Jen isn't gonna look into it. She's as crooked as they come. Unless it benefits her, she's not going to lift a finger, and the disappearance of John Brewer will definitely not be anyone's priority."

Harry considered the way Sergeant Stone seemed to feel about her, finding something to pin on Harry probably would benefit her, Useless John being a low priority or not. Liz stopped and turned to her, metres from the cleaning shed.

"Honey, I know this is hard for you but it needs to happen for everyone's sake."

The two women looked towards the shed. Harry strained her ears, all she heard was silence. Her heart pounded a million beats per minute and the smell of burning flesh from the day before reappeared in her nostrils like a shadow.

She approached the door.

"John? You there?"

Good John had left early and from what Harry had been told, John Brewer never did any work when John Barberman wasn't about. This was the only place he could hide and claim he was doing work if he got caught.

She pushed down on the door handle, preparing herself for the next step. All she was going to do was draw him out and touch his skin. Two innocent actions. She would keep that in mind. The door handle didn't budge. Her internal organs gave a sigh of relief. He couldn't lock it from the inside.

"He's not here," Harry said to Liz.

Liz scowled before dragging Harry back to the front of the school.

"His car's not here! That slacker's left early 'cause no-one's keeping a close watch on him. And he wonders why people call him useless behind his back."

"Probably for the best. I don't think I'd be able to go through with it anyway," Harry said honestly.

Liz continued scowling. "Well, it's up to you... What's your plan now then?" she asked.

Harry had no clue. All she knew was that she couldn't use innocents to experiment. Even if they were dim-whitted, wastes of spaces, they were still human beings.

She turned back towards the office. "I'll figure something out."

Harry was looking at her reflection in the mirror when Liz joined her back upstairs. She was planning to grab her bag and go straight away but her new appearance made her pause. It was at odds with the down-trodden way she was feeling. Her eyes should have been falling out of her head however a flawless image stared back at her. She ran her long nails through her hair, enjoying the tingling sensation along her scalp. It provided a slight comfort. What could she do now?

"Don't worry, Harry, we'll figure something out. Why don't you just tell David? Maybe a male perspective could help, and then at least he'd be safe."

"Or he'd think I'd finally cracked... Even if I showed him the nails and he believed me, I couldn't lump this on him. Not after what happened to Jake. It's awful enough that a kid's dead and I've made you an accessory!" She hung her head. "I'll just need to avoid him as much as possible and make sure I don't touch him under any circumstances."

Liz gave her a hug. Then the two of them gathered their things and locked the office door. They walked along the verandah together towards the stairs.

Striding through the courtyard down below was Sam Dupret. His deep eyes lit up when he saw the two of them. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, giving him a sort of boyish rogue, which Harry had never seen from him before. In his hand was a bottle of wine with a pink ribbon tied around the neck.

"Afternoon ladies," he said. "Good to see you're working late again, Harry. I wasn't sure if I'd catch you, or if you'd be clocking off early for the weekend after the few days you've had."

Trust Dupret to know her work schedule. Just one of the perks of small town living. Harry didn't know if she was reading too much into it, but she also thought there was something slightly pointed about the way he'd finished his sentence.

He had stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and waited for the ladies to reach him. Liz and Harry decended, bags over shoulders.

"What brings you here at this time on a Friday after..."

Harry's question was cut off as Liz's palm collided with her back, propelling her down the stairs.

Her untested hands stretched out in front of her as she fell towards Sam Dupret.