Page 11 of Guilty Mothers

He hesitated before nodding.

They stepped inside.

‘It’s about the missing person report your mother filed,’ Kendrick said, looking past him.

Logan waited for more detail.

‘Is she here?’ Kendrick repeated.

‘Sorry. Yes. Of course. Mom,’ he called down the hallway.

A woman appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a tea towel. She was dressed in plain black trousers and a white polo-neck shirt. She wore no make-up, and her hair was short and tidy, if not particularly well styled. Her face said early to mid-forties, but her overall appearance said ten years older.

‘May we sit somewhere, Mrs Dench?’ Kendrick asked.

She nodded towards the lounge.

Once they’d all entered, Logan took a seat next to his mother.

‘You’ve found him, haven’t you?’ she asked, looking from one to the other.

‘Let them speak, Mom,’ Logan snapped.

Tiff said nothing. She was here as an observer only. And as such she’d noticed the very faint expression of irritation that had crossed Olivia’s face when Logan had sat down beside her.

To be fair, there was nowhere else for him to sit.

‘I’m afraid to say that a body was recovered from a fishing pool in Dudley earlier today. We believe it to be James Nixon.’

A small cry escaped Olivia’s mouth as Logan placed an arm around her shoulders.

‘Are you sure?’ she asked, turning reddened eyes on them.

‘Given the description you gave us, we’re reasonably certain it’s the man you reported missing.’

‘Oh God,’ she said, dropping her head.

Logan squeezed her tighter.

‘We understand you’d been seeing him for a few months. Did he have any family we can contact?’ Kendrick asked.

‘His only relative is a sister who lives in Italy. They’re not close,’ Olivia offered tremulously.

Tiff knew where this was going. They needed someone reasonably close to the man.

‘We’ll need someone to formally identify the body,’ Kendrick said.

‘I’ll do it,’ Logan volunteered immediately as another small cry escaped from Olivia’s lips.

‘Are you sure?’ Kendrick asked.

‘Absolutely. I can’t have Mom go through that. Just let me know when and I’ll do it.’

He took out his phone and recited his number.

Tiff entered it in her pocket notebook.

‘And would you have a number for James’s sister?’