Page 14 of Guilty Mothers

Kim said nothing and continued to stare at the door.

He opened it and went inside.

‘Good tenant?’ Bryant asked, following him in.

‘Ideal, to be fair. No noise, no complaints, no late-night visitors.’

‘And you’d know that how?’ Kim asked.

He pointed across the hall. ‘My place.’

Kim was unsure if she found that reassuring or ominous.

‘Not my type, so you can get that out of your head. She’s a nice girl, but I prefer a bit more meat on the bones and miles on the clock. I run a decent place.’

For some reason Kim found herself believing him as he pushed the door to the living room open.

At first glance, the apartment looked clean and well decorated.

‘How long has she lived here?’ Kim asked.

‘Just over two years. Pays her rent on time. Called me once about a faulty boiler. I sorted it the same day, and other than small talk in passing that’s pretty much it.’

‘Okay, thanks, Mr Hudson. We’ll give you a knock once we’re done. We know where to find you.’

He took the hint gracefully and left them alone.

‘All pretty normal,’ Bryant observed as they moved further into Katie Hawne’s home.

‘Yep, it’s almost like she never stabbed her mother to death,’ Kim observed.

‘The flat, not the situation,’ he clarified.

‘Hmm…not really,’ she said, taking a good look around the living room.

A comfortable and functional sofa, a fashionable minimalistic coffee table, a plastic plant in the corner, a smart TV, candles, scatter cushions, a matching throw.

‘Guv, you’re seeing stuff that isn’t there.’

‘Accurate assessment exactly. What you got on your fireplace at home?’

‘Holiday photo of me, Jenny and Laura taken about seven years ago.’

‘What you got on the walls?’

‘Currently pictures of the Highland cows that Jenny loves.’

‘How about your coffee table?’

‘Some weird crystal and pebble thing Laura bought us from—Oh, got it.’

‘Two years she’s lived here, and I can’t see one personal item.’

‘But that aside, what exactly are we hoping to find?’ Bryant asked. ‘Some kind of confession that backs up the knife in her hand and the blood-soaked clothing? I mean, do we really need anything else?’

‘A reason. Whatever their relationship was like, it endured for twenty-five years, so why did it end today?’

Bryant shrugged as they headed into the kitchen. The room was small and boxy, but the space had been used wisely with drawers and cupboard space in every available spot.

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