‘The hamster was trapped between the vertical bars of the cage, dead. Beside the cage, outside the animal’s reach but within its view, was food and water. It had died a painful death in an effort to stop itself from starving.’
‘Jesus,’ Kim said, horrified.
‘I didn’t really understand at first. I thought she was playing some kind of game but then she started explaining the hamster’s progress, once she had prized the bars slightly wider. She’d done charts and everything.’
Kim said nothing.
‘She’d watched it for days, growing weaker and hungrier before spotting the widened gap.’
‘But why?’ Kim asked.
‘To see how far it would go to get what it wants,’ Sarah answered, closing her eyes. ‘I cried so hard. The desperate, tortured face of the hamster gave me nightmares for months.’
Kim was disgusted by the memory that Sarah had shared but there was something else she now wanted to know.
‘Was she close to either of your parents?’
Sarah shook her head. ‘My mother didn't touch Alex very much. There was a politeness, a cordiality that existed between them, as though their relationship was two steps removed from mother and daughter. I've since thought my mother knew before anyone else exactly what kind of person Alex would become.
‘I remember once when Mum was tickling me and blowing raspberries on my stomach. We were laughing so hard we were crying and then I saw Alex standing in the doorway. I swear I saw tears in her eyes but she turned and left the room before my mum even saw her. She couldn't have been older than six or seven but I never saw that look again.’
‘But what does she want from you?’ Kim asked.
‘To torment me. She understands my fear of her and it offers her amusement to toy with me. All I know is that so far she’s been satisfied by pulling on my fear like a puppet. Her warning notes have always been enough.’
‘Do you think she would go further?’
‘I don’t know but I don’t want to put it to the test. She hates me and enjoys chasing me around the country and that’s fine because while we’re moving around, we’re safe.’
Sarah met her gaze. A joyless smile shaped her mouth. ‘Pathetic, eh?’
Kim shook her head. ‘I think you’re stronger than you realise. You do everything you can to keep your family safe. In spite of your sister you have a lovely home, a husband and a child. She may be winning small battles but you are winning the war.’
The first genuine smile she’d seen lifted Sarah’s lips properly. ‘Thank you. I appreciate it.’
‘Just one last question. Sarah, why does she hate you so much?’ Kim asked, drinking the last of her coffee.
‘Because she wanted me on board. She wanted me to be like her. Quite simply, I think she wanted a friend.’
FORTY-FIVE
‘Okay people, quick recap on the Dunn case before we all get back to it.’
She turned to Dawson. ‘Anything from the neighbours?’
He shook his head, ‘Not a thing. The whole bloody street is suffocating under net curtains and I’m sick of drinking tea.’
He sounded like a six year old who’d been told to tidy away his Lego but for once she had to agree. There were few jobs where one could get paid to drink tea for hours but there weren’t many detectives that would sign up for it.
‘The Dunn property. Did we discover anything other than the fibre and the fluid?’
‘Yeah, I found out that Kev’s still an arsehole.’
No one in the room spoke.
Dawson looked at both her and Bryant. ‘Oh come on, one of you could disagree.’
Kim stifled her smile. She wondered if the two of them had any idea what a good team they actually made.
‘Still nothing from the lab, Guv,’ Stacey offered.
Kim wasn’t surprised. She’d give anything for whatever technology they used on the television where hairs, fibres and fluid could be matched in hours, even minutes for the convenience of a forty-four minute show.
‘What do we know about this book club, Stace?’
‘It’s run by a shop owner in Rowley Regis; Charles Cook. They meet first Tuesday of every month at Druckers in Merry Hill. There’s a sad attempt at a Facebook page that has three likes, two posts to the page but nothing in the last four months. I’ve messaged the two that posted.’
‘Any reply?’
Stacey nodded. ‘One guy went to one meeting but then changed job so couldn’t goo again. The other one was a bit more interesting. Said there was something not right about this Cook bloke. Didn’t like it so stopped gooin after three meetings.’
Kim opened her mouth but Stacey continued. ‘I’ve already messaged him again to dig a bit deeper. He read me message two hours agoo but nothing back since.
‘Spoke to Cook and found out the group has less than a dozen members. And I cor join ’cos I’m a woman.’
‘Aww, Stace,’ Dawson offered. ‘You shoulda told him it’s not really noticeable.’
Stacey glowered in his direction as he smirked at his own joke.
‘And if the talking scrotum would shut it, I’d just add that their book of choice this month is The Longest Road.’
Kim frowned. The title was familiar to her but she couldn’t place why.
‘Popular book, Stace?’ she asked.
‘Yep, been in the Amazon top ten for seven months.’
That was it, then. She’d probably seen it on a billboard or something.
‘Jenks and Whiley didn’t give us a lot. We know the teacher took the girls home the day of the domestic and that Wendy’s brother picked the girls up often from school.’
Dawson raised an eyebrow. Every male the girls had come into contact with was a potential suspect.
‘Get his home and work address,’ she said to Stacey.
‘Dawson, go through the old files again. Look for anything at all that we might have missed. And Bryant …’ Kim hesitated. What to do with Bryant, when he was normally with her. But not this time. ‘Help Dawson. I’ve got a dentist appointment.’
She headed to The Bowl for her jacket before her face could give her away.
This particular meeting Kim would be doing on her own.
FORTY-SIX
At 9.30 a.m. Kim pulled into a space around the corner from Alexandra Thorne’s premises, feeling a little like a schoolgirl truanting for the first time. Telling Bryant that she had a dentist appointment was the first time she’d ever lied to him and she hoped it would be the last, but with this particular case, she was flying solo.
The door was promptly answered.
As the meeting was at her request, Kim guessed it was appropriate to show some manners.
‘Thank you for seeing me, Doctor Thorne.’
‘Of course, Detective Inspector Stone,’ Alex smiled widely. ‘However, as you wish this visit to be a non-professional one, I insist that you call me Alex.’
Kim nodded her agreement and followed Alex into the office. The doctor looked impeccable in tailored cream trousers and an aqua silk shirt. She wore no jewellery and her hair was perfectly styled.
‘Please, sit anywhere you like.’
‘No patients this morning?’ Kim asked, realising her words sounded like an interrogation question. In her head she had meant to say, ‘I hope I’m not keeping you’, but it looked like her reservoir of good manners was all dried up.
‘No, this is a free period that I normally use to take care of billing.’ A faint look of distaste crossed her face. ‘Not my favourite part of the job, but we all have to live.’
And nicely too, Kim thought, knowing the doctor leased the whole building. She guessed that it didn’t come cheap.