Page 18 of Guilty Mothers
Kim’s curiosity was increasing as she rapped on the stained-glass window.
The door was answered by a plump woman in socks, jogging bottoms and an incredibly tight sports top.
Kim held up her ID. ‘DI Stone. We spoke earlier. This is my colleague DS Bryant.’
‘Please come in. I’m just through there.’
Kim headed to the back of the house and into a spacious kitchen that looked out onto a small tidy space. A number of strategically placed red robin bushes offered both privacy and shade. The bifold door was open despite the threat of rain, and the exercise bike was pointed towards the garden.
‘Makes me feel like I’m actually riding somewhere,’ the woman said, approaching a state-of-the-art coffee machine that wouldn’t have looked out of place at Costa. ‘What’s your pleasure?’
‘We’re good, thanks,’ Kim said, taking a seat.
‘Oh, please don’t make me feel guilty for the extra-shot double-froth cappuccino I’m going to have.’
‘Okay, an espresso,’ Kim said.
‘Whatever you’re having,’ Bryant told her.
‘With chocolate?’
He hesitated, and Kim felt sure an image of Jenny’s wagging finger passed before his eyes.
‘Best not.’
‘Okay, why all the secrecy?’ the woman asked.
‘Ironic, given we don’t even know your name,’ Kim countered.
She slapped her own forehead, ‘Sorry, Judith Palmer. Call me Jude – everyone does.’
‘And what is the Girls’ Club?’ Kim asked as Jude put an espresso in front of her.
‘Don’t you owe me the answer to a question now?’
‘Maybe, if we weren’t actual police officers investigating a very serious crime.’
‘Fair enough. One sec,’ she said, focussing her attention on the milk frother that was blowing into Bryant’s cup.
Kim took a sip of her own drink. It was excellent, but she wasn’t going to be seduced by good coffee.
‘Jude, if you could just give us a clue what it is that you do.’
‘I offer support,’ she said, placing Bryant’s cup before him.
‘You’re a psychologist?’
‘No.’
‘A trained counsellor?’
‘No.’
Unable to compete with the volume of the frother, Kim took another sip of her drink and remained silent while Jude continued to fix her own cappuccino.
‘You offer advice without training?’ Kim asked dubiously, once Jude sat down.
‘I didn’t say advice. I offer support.’