Page 10 of Guilty Mothers
‘Only cos I mentioned it. I’d see them out back practising, but you’d never have known it out front. Whenever they went off to these events, Katie would be wearing normal clothes and Sheryl would have a suitcase, even if they were back the same day. She didn’t like anyone knowing her business.’
So, Sheryl was secretive about a hobby they did together. Maybe Katie had been a sickly child and the mother hadn’t wanted the ridicule that came with the pageants.
‘Would you say they were close?’ Kim asked, although the scene next door said otherwise.
‘Well they were always together. I saw them out there one time when Katie was around twelve and she was giving her mom some lip. Typical pre-teen stuff. She didn’t want to practise any more, but Sheryl was pushing her to get it right. Katie started to take the mickey and do it badly, which was just making Sheryl angrier. I sneezed and Sheryl caught me watching. She took Katie inside and they never practised outside again.’
‘Any other issues between them that you know of?’ Bryant asked.
‘Oh, they sure had some rows. Loud shouting, horrible insults. I did consider calling you lot once or twice, but Edmund, God rest his soul, said that it wasn’t our business to interfere. I’d had some right humdingers with my two over the years, and I wouldn’t have appreciated you lot turning up every time I lost my temper and told them off.’
‘Did things ever get violent between them?’ Kim asked.
‘I’m tempted to say no to get myself off the hook for not calling you, but honestly I wouldn’t like to say. Sometimes there were noises like stuff hitting the wall…but like I say, I don’t know for certain.’
Oh, for the love of the ‘don’t get involveders’. How many incidents could have been avoided by making one phone call? Shouting, screaming, things hitting the wall definitely warranted a welfare call to the police. Edmund, God rest his soul, had called that wrong, Kim thought.
‘I’m assuming to have moved out of the home, Katie must have got herself a job. Any idea where?’ Kim asked.
‘I know she was out working as soon as she turned sixteen. A couple of years later she moved out. She was doing cleaning, I think. A lot of working but not much socialising.’
‘You didn’t see people coming to the house? Friends? A boyfriend?’
Rosie shook her head. ‘Not for either of them.’
‘And I assume Katie still visited after she’d left home?’
‘Oh yes, she did the duty visits.’
‘Duty visits?’ Kim queried.
‘You know the one visit each month on the same day for just a couple of hours. Duty visit. Just a coffee, a meal. Enough to maintain contact, that kind of thing.’
Every time Rosie opened her mouth, Kim became more confused.
Regardless of what had happened in her childhood, Katie had moved out of the home. She had a job, her own place, and she’d developed a routine and a level of contact that she could maintain.
So, what the hell had happened to change all that?
NINE
Tiff stood just one step behind Sergeant Kendrick as he knocked on the door of an end terrace in Netherton.
Despite the small Citroën on the drive, no one appeared to be home. Sergeant Kendrick wasn’t known for taking no for an answer and knocked again – harder.
After another minute, they heard two locks being turned and a chain engaged. The door opened a crack to reveal a young man, probably early twenties, Tiff guessed.
‘Is Olivia Dench home?’ Kendrick asked.
‘Who wants to know?’
‘Police,’ Kendrick answered, pointing to his uniform, which kind of gave the game away.
The chain disengaged and the door opened, giving them a better look at the man on the other side. Tiff guessed him to be around six feet tall with a muscular build but not excessively so. He wasn’t a gym bunny.
‘I’m her son, Logan. Can I help?’ he asked, opening the door wider.
‘May we come in?’