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hadn’t known already, he wouldn’t have needed telling. Even with the windows open the stench in the room was like someone had shaken a pint of off-milk around the room then dusted the place with Parmesan.
    “It’s over there.” Miss Prime pointed down towards the floor, as if he needed showing.
    “Hell did the girl have for breakfast?” he asked. There were lumps the size of cherries in there.
    “I wouldn’t like to say,” she said, then went back to her business.
    Duke picked out the container from his bag and shook the powder over. Looked like one of those murder scenes by the time he’d finished. As he set about sweeping up the crime, he allowed himself to listen to the lesson. Took him back many years to the time he was a boy.
    “Remember not to take it off the paper. That’s it Christopher, keep it going. And not just in the middle, you can go anywhere you want.”
    Taking a look at the children going about their work, he saw them concentrating like they were taking an exam. Some had their heads to the side, a few squinted and one or two had their tongues sticking out. They looked so angelic he could almost believe they were the innocents. Not that he was going to be taken in. He’d seen what they could do and the way they turned out.
    Even the good ones would lose out in the end. Look what had happened to him. Lost his wife, his dog and when they closed the school down at the end of the semester he’d be losing the Janitor’s house he’d been living in for thirty-five years. Where the hell was he going to go? His pension was worth shit and his savings wouldn’t pay for a month in a motel.
    “When you finish,” Miss Prime went on, “colour it all in and see what you end up with. Can you see why I call it Taking A Line For a Walk?”
    Some of the kids put their hands up.
    Duke didn’t listen to the answer. He was too busy concentrating on shovelling up the vomit to think of anything else in the world.
    The principle asked him to sit down when he entered her office. Only got to park his cheeks on the soft leather when she had something important to say. Usually bad important.
    “Mr Earl, I’m afraid it’s what we’d feared. When we merge with St Joseph’s, they’ll only allow for one Janitor.”
    At least she was doing him the service of looking glum while she passed on the news. “The thing is, you coming up to retirement anyway...”
    He stood. Didn’t want to hear any more. Picked up his cap and turned to leave.
    “So sorry, Earl. If there’s anything I can do.”
    He stopped and looked across the desk. “Find me a house, get me a job and sort out a way I can see Daisy every once in a while.”
    She screwed her eyes tight and when she opened them again it was as if she’d completely forgotten what he asked for. “There was one other thing Earl.” She was using her soft voice, the one where she tried to sound like she was asking for a favour rather than passing out an order. “The boys’ toilets outside Mr Clap’s room. There’s been an incident.”
    Took him a shower and a shave to get rid of the smell of shit from his nostrils. Not that he minded. It was all part of school life.
    Polished his boots up real good and had his favourite lunch, even had double cream on his strawberries in spite of what the doctor’d said. He put on a new set of dungarees, popped a chocolate-lime into his mouth and got on with his final effort of the day.
    Found the washing line he was going to set up for Miss Prime to hang wet paintings on. Measured off a length, folded it over and cut it with his blade.
    Tied it to the door handle, looped it around the hat-stand, moved it across to the top of the banisters and hitched it to the highest rail.
    Made the knot just like he’d practised and placed a chair right underneath it.
    Chair wasn’t tall enough. Found a phone book and put it on the wicker. It was perfect.
    Wrote a note on a piece of paper and pinned it to the outside of the door.
    When he