Page 91 of Guilty Mothers

Stacey looked to the whiteboard to prompt the information that was primarily in her head. ‘Sheryl was forty-eight years of age. One daughter, Katie, aged twenty-five. Katie’s father is unclear and there’s no other family. Several stab wounds sustained in her home and a pageant flipper forced into her throat, after death. By all accounts, she was not a warm and loving mother and quite ruthless on the circuit. Often belittled and humiliated Katie, who did reasonably well in local events but never entered the bigger ones. Sheryl was a stage mom on steroids, and the two of them didn’t have a close relationship. In addition, we’re pretty sure Katie sought advice from Judith Palmer.’

Kim nodded. That was a pretty good summary. She turned to her partner in crime. ‘Bryant, same again for victim two.’

‘Andrea Shaw was forty-seven years old and mother to twenty-two-year-old Toyah. Unlike Sheryl, she was divorced and mother to son Tony as well. Like Sheryl, she was attacked in her own home, but this time at night when Toyah was out. False eyelashes were forced into her throat. Andrea seemed to enjoy the pageants and so did Toyah, although the reasons for their exit are still unclear. Seems that Andrea had no enemies. It doesn’t seem like she treated Toyah badly, and she wasn’t rude to service people, but she was part of Sheryl’s little group. There’s no evidence to suggest Toyah had any contact with Judith Palmer.’

‘Nicely done,’ Kim acknowledged. ‘And victim three, Sally-Ann Davis, was married and leaves behind twenty-six-year-old Lottie. Sally-Ann was killed out in the open, but despite the higher risk factor, our killer still took the time to force a sharp piece of tiara down her throat while she was still alive. Again, no current enemies that we know of; however we do know that she and her daughter were on a boundary break, most likely instigated by Judith Palmer. It’s not clear whether Sally-Ann was a part of Sheryl’s posse or not.’

‘There’s nothing that applies to all three of them,’ Bryant noted, and he was right. There was no commonality on marital status, career choice or friends. Nothing to link them outside the pageant circuit.

‘Anything at all on family members?’ Kim asked.

Stacey shook her head. ‘Lottie has a second cousin who has done time for theft, but he’s not known to the police for anything else.’

However short of suspects they were, theft to multiple murder was a bit of a stretch.

‘Okay, so we’re absolutely sure it’s pageant related. We’ve got that message loud and clear. It’s safe to assume our killer is pretty angry about something, and given what we’ve learned this week about the pageant industry, it’s pretty cutthroat. Excuse the pun, but the way I see it is, we’re either looking for someone on the circuit who has been wronged in some way by all these women, or we’re looking for a killer much closer to home.’

‘You think one of the girls did it and is killing other mothers to cover her tracks?’ Bryant asked. ‘The reactions from all of them felt pretty genuine.’

She shrugged. ‘A wise man recently explained to me that your mum is your oracle, your diary. She’s entwined in every notable event you can recall. What if those notable events do not make for happy memories?’

‘How is Ted these days?’ Bryant asked, knowing exactly where she’d been.

‘All I’m saying is that I’m not ruling out a damn thing at the minute,’ she replied. ‘Especially seeing as we found out yesterday that our affable dressmaker Kelvin Hobbs was pushed out of the industry by Sheryl and her buddies, although that doesn’t explain why he’s going on a murderous spree now. This happened over ten years ago after all.’

‘He’s going out of business, boss,’ Stacey said. ‘The lease on the shop is available from the end of next month.’

‘Flat above as well?’ Kim asked, knowing that he lived above the premises.

Stacey nodded. ‘He loses the lot.’

‘Okay, that deserves another chat. Stacey, I want you to focus on the girls and what they were all doing, except Katie. We know where she was during the murder of Andrea Shaw.’

‘On it, boss.’

‘Dig a bit deeper on Judith Palmer as well. She has an awful lot to say for someone who doesn’t actually offer advice. I want to know if she has any ties to the pageant world at all.’

‘Okay, boss.’

Kim turned to Penn. ‘How’s your prisoner this morning?’

‘Doctor’s report is in. Olivia’s a bit undernourished and dehydrated. She has bruising to her stomach and back that she insists was sustained in the fall. There’s no question she recently suffered a beating.’

‘Jesus,’ Kim whispered.

‘Other than that she’s fine for questioning. As a side note, she’s taken advantage of every refreshment and meal she’s been offered.’

‘Okay, good to know she’s—’ Kim stopped speaking as Bryant’s desk phone rang.

Seeing the caller, he picked it up and handed it straight to her.

‘What’s up, Jack?’ she asked.

‘Got a lady down here wants to talk to you.’

‘About what?’

‘Make-up tips. How should I know? Won’t give me her name and won’t talk to anyone else.’