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‘It wasn’t quite the light-hearted, fun evening you told us about, was it?’ Kim asked. She now understood the situation but Catherine wasn’t completely off the hook yet. There was a reason for the saying ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’.
‘Not for any of us, Inspector,’ Catherine said, taking a seat. ‘We all wanted to know something, and if the others told you otherwise, they’re lying.’
‘Go on,’ Kim urged.
‘Lisa’s a pretty confident woman. She has a job with great responsibility. She’s well paid and she enjoys the fruits of her labour. Maybe a bit too much. She’s been living beyond her means for months, maxing out credit cards, and her project is overbudget and behind schedule.’
‘She’s worried about her career?’ Bryant asked.
‘And her mortgage, and her car and her reputation. All of which will be gone if she gets the dreaded call to head office.
‘Then there’s Betts, constantly trying to find meaning in her life. She married a controlling man who is a raging misogynist and won’t allow her to consider any opportunities beyond the home and children.’
After meeting David, there was nothing there she could disagree with.
‘Abusive?’ Kim asked.
‘Not physically, as far as I know, and she won’t have a word said against him.’
Kim waited.
‘And then there’s Emily. Oh, poor sweet Emily. She knows she’s going to die and wants reassurance of what she’ll find on the other side.’
‘She’s in remission,’ Kim argued.
‘Did she look in remission to you? It’s what she’s telling people but it’s not true. She’s made the decision to end treatment. She can’t take it any more.’
Kim couldn’t help the sadness that washed over her.
‘And then there’s Rose, still trying to make contact with her dead son.’
‘What?’ Kim said. Rose had claimed she wanted to know about the future of her love life.
‘She didn’t tell you?’
Kim shook her head.
‘Her son was kidnapped and murdered when he was fifteen years old.’
Kim played out the day she’d had and wondered if she’d met with anyone who hadn’t outright lied to her.
SEVENTEEN
‘Okay, team, quick recap before I set you free for the night,’ Kim said, pouring coffee from the pot. Even though it was almost seven, she wasn’t going home for a while yet.
‘Okay, I’ll start,’ Stacey offered. ‘Terence Birch is a volatile, aggressive guy who could quite easily have stabbed Sandra eleven times without a shadow of a doubt.’
‘You sure?’ Kim asked. She hadn’t got that impression from him outside the church, but she hadn’t got the impression he’d done serious time for hard-core stalking either.
Stacey shrugged. ‘Boss, I like to think I’m not that easily intimidated but my heart rate leaped up a few points while talking to him.’
If Kim had for one second suspected this kind of behaviour, she’d never have suggested Stacey question him alone.
‘Did he ever touch his victim?’
‘Not that I know of; but the threat was real enough for Charlotte to leave her family and move halfway around the world.’
‘Okay, keep him current.’
