Page 112 of Guilty Mothers
‘Excuse me,’ she said, opening the chest-high oven. ‘Kids with lactose problems. I’m trying new recipes.’
Kim had already noted an assortment of kids’ toys and wondered if she operated a day care facility. To Kim’s knowledge, Judith was an only child. If her mother was taking in kids, she really had cleaned up her act.
‘Mrs Pugh, we’re?—’
‘It’s not Mrs. It’s my maiden name actually, but please call me Ellie.’
‘Okay, Ellie, I’m not gonna lie. We’re a bit confused.’
‘Of course you are. As is every other police officer that comes here. I don’t usually get CID, but there you go. Have at it,’ she said, taking a pack of paperwork from a drawer. She reached for her phone and passed that to Kim as well.
Kim glanced at her partner to see if she had missed a vital part of the conversation. His expression said she had not.
‘I’m sorry; I don’t understand.’
‘What’s she accused me of this time? Last time it was abusive text messages; the time before that was threatening emails. Time before that it was?—’
‘Sorry,’ Kim interrupted. ‘We are talking about your daughter, Judith?’
Ellie Pugh nodded before seeming to realise they honestly had no clue what she was talking about.
‘Oh dear, it’s your first time,’ she said, taking a seat.
They followed suit.
‘I assume you’ve read her blogs.’
‘We know of them,’ Kim said. They hadn’t read them all, but Stacey had given them a detailed summary, along with her opinion that something didn’t seem right. Looked like the constable had called it right.
‘So, you know her account of her childhood?’
Kim nodded as Ellie opened the document folder.
‘This is her birth certificate, and this is the photo of me bringing her home two days later. Neither of us were addicted to alcohol, and her father took the photo.
‘These are her school pictures from the age of five up to fifteen. She was never placed in care, and I haven’t spent one minute in prison. I’ve lived in this house for twenty-seven years.’
Kim was actually looking at the house deeds. ‘You keep all this close by?’
‘Saves me searching around to prove my story every time you guys come to call.’
‘So Judith is a liar?’
‘My daughter is a fantasist.’
Kim sat back and waited for her to continue.
‘Judith makes things up in her own head and then ends up believing them. She honestly doesn’t feel she’s lying and now truly believes that the history she’s invented is actually the truth. Luckily, I always have the proof she’s lying, and then she becomes the victim of some huge conspiracy theory.’
‘So there’s no truth to any of her accusations?’ Kim asked.
‘None, although it doesn’t make this continued torture any less painful.’
Kim let out a puff of breath as she sat back in her chair. Her mind was truly blown.
‘It’s a lot to get your head round. I suppose I’m not easily shocked any more. I’ve been dealing with this a long time.’
‘When did it start?’ Kim asked.