Page 110 of Guilty Mothers
Her face paled. ‘I don’t want him to see me like this.’
‘He won’t mind. He’s just concerned. You’ve told us he takes such good care of you, and he just wants to check that you’ve not come to any harm. He’s not going to think badly of you. He’s your son and he loves you, whatever you’ve done.’
Tiff could see the torment that crossed her face. Olivia didn’t know which particular lie she was going to get caught in.
‘Can’t he see me once I’ve been charged, once it’s all final?’ she said, biting her lip.
‘’Fraid not. Our protocols are much more stringent after that. But right now we can allow him a few minutes to say goodbye; we know how close you are. I’ll have to remain present, and the door will be open, but don’t worry, you won’t even know I’m here.’
‘I don’t want to see him,’ Olivia cried as panic contorted her face.
Tiff heard the door at the top of the corridor open, and Logan’s voice found its way to his mother’s ears.
The fear in the room was palpable.
‘Please. I don’t want to see him. I’m begging you…’
‘Olivia, trust me,’ Tiff whispered, squeezing her fingers across the table before Logan appeared at the door.
He stormed into the room and grabbed his mother’s hands. ‘Mom, are you okay?’
Olivia nodded.
‘Logan, you can sit down beside your mom,’ Tiff offered. ‘She’s fine, but she has something to tell you. We know you’ve been worried, and we appreciate your patience.’ She paused. ‘Because your mom is under arrest, I have to stay here, but we wanted you to hear the truth and say goodbye before we charge her.’
‘Charge her with what?’ he cried.
Tiff opened the folder to indicate she was no longer a part of the conversation. She began making notes and flicking through papers that had nothing to do with this case.
Logan gave her one final glance before dismissing her, but she was listening to every word with her head down.
‘Mom, what’s going on? I’ve been out of my mind with worry.’
He certainly sounded like the concerned son.
And there it was. Already Tiff was doubting her own suspicions because of how well Logan presented himself. No wonder Olivia probably felt that no one would believe her.
‘I killed him, Logan,’ she said shakily.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I killed James because he was cheating on me. I followed him to the lake. I waited until the man opposite had gone, and then I pushed him in.’
Tiff didn’t bother to look up to gauge Logan’s response. His feelings didn’t matter. It only mattered what came out of his mouth.
‘Oh, Mom, you haven’t told them this, have you?’
‘Yes, Logan. I’ve confessed to everything. I’m being charged later.’
‘Did they pressure you?’
‘No. I just couldn’t live with myself any more. The guilt was eating away at me.’
‘But there must be something we can do to get you back home. Maybe it was the pills. If you were unstable at the time you did it, the judge?—’
‘I wasn’t unstable. I knew exactly what I was doing. I thought about it, and I planned it. I’m going to prison for the rest of my life, and I deserve to.’
From the corner of her eye, Tiff saw Logan’s head fall into his hands.