Page 109 of Guilty Mothers

Her concerns about her own humanity were interrupted by the return of Penn and Tiff, who had chosen to take lunch in the cafeteria while discussing what to do about Olivia.

‘Cheers, matey,’ she said as Penn placed a ham-and-cheese panini on her desk. Betty was getting adventurous, and Stacey had developed a liking for this new addition to the menu.

She sat back to eat it while it was hot as the two of them sat down.

‘Is her brief here?’ Stacey asked, seeking a distraction from her own workload. A change was as good as a rest, her mom always said.

‘Yeah, he’s with her now.’

‘Why so glum? She confessed,’ Stacy said, taking a bite of the sandwich.

‘Cos she didn’t do it,’ Penn answered. ‘We just need to work out why she’s saying she did.’

‘So work it out,’ Stacey said. ‘She’s not a puzzle, Penn; she’s a human being, so why would she confess to a crime she didn’t commit? What does she have to gain?’

‘Maybe she’s taking the blame to save her son?’ he mused.

Stacey shrugged. It was possible.

Penn was not the most skilled interpreter of the workings of the female mind, but Tiff looked like something was beginning to germinate in her brain.

‘Penn, is Logan still here?’ she asked.

‘I think so. He was fetching coffee, but he insisted he wasn’t going home until he saw his mom.’

‘Okay, sounds like a good idea,’ she said, standing.

‘She’s under arrest,’ Penn offered needlessly.

‘Come on – I’ve got an idea,’ Tiff said, heading out the room. Penn shook his head before following closely behind.

Stacey smiled as she pushed away her sandwich. Oh, how Tiff had grown since they’d first met her. There was still the natural effervescence and joy in life. She still whistled theme tunes and sang the wrong words to musicals, but there was a new solidity, a confidence that added balance. Stacey liked to think they’d all been a part of that growth.

She returned to the blogs written by Judith Palmer and started again from the beginning.

She’d been dipping in and out of the blogs to get to the core of Judith’s issues, but this time she would read them in full and in the order they were written.

Something about them just wasn’t making sense.

SEVENTY-TWO

Tiff unlocked the door to interview room one and placed her folder on the table. Her heart was beating hard in her chest, and she wondered again if she could pull this off.

Penn had convinced Olivia’s brief to get a late lunch at the canteen while they finalised the paperwork with CPS to charge Olivia with her boyfriend’s murder.

On the way back, Penn was bringing Logan to see his mother.

Tiff took a deep breath as the door opened and Olivia was brought into the room. Her eyes widened in panic as she realised what was missing.

‘Where’s my brief?’ she asked, sitting down.

As instructed, the officer left the door open.

‘It’s not that kind of meeting, Olivia. We’re not questioning you further. We can’t charge you until we have the correct paperwork. We have your confession so there’s nothing more for your solicitor to do.’

She visibly relaxed before her face turned pensive again. ‘So why am I back in here?’

‘Logan’s been waiting to see you since we brought you in. He’s very worried about you.’