Page 64 of Guilty Mothers

‘Two minutes,’ Stacey called.

‘That I’ll never get back,’ Kim said. ‘Give it up, Penn.’

‘I can do it, honest,’ he said, still turning the colours. It looked no better than it had when Tiff had passed it back to him.

‘Yeah, but even if you do it, no one will be impressed. If you finish right now, most kids under ten could match you.’

‘Honest, boss, I used to hold the record,’ he insisted.

‘What record – world record? National record? Regional?’

‘Well, no, just amongst my mates, but I was still the quickest.’

‘Put it away. Your audition is done and you ain’t through to the next round.’ She turned and cast a glance between Stacey and Bryant. ‘Next one better be an improvement on that.’

She paused to let that thought sink in.

‘Okay, day three and we still have more questions than answers. Theories?’

‘Jealousy?’ Bryant offered.

‘Of what though?’ Stacey asked. ‘It was the girls that were competing, not the moms.’

‘And why now?’ Kim asked. ‘No one we’ve spoken to has competed in years. Both girls have been living totally different lives.’

‘Yeah, but Kelvin Hobbs raised an interesting idea – perhaps the best way to hurt the girls is through their moms.’

Kim nodded her acceptance of the point. ‘Still doesn’t answer the question of why now.’

‘Revenge?’ Bryant tried. ‘Could it be punishment for something either the girls did or the moms were part of?’

‘I think we’re getting closer, but that still doesn’t help narrow it down if we’re looking at pageant participants or someone associated with the industry,’ Kim said. ‘We still have no specific people to focus on. The families didn’t associate with each other. The daughters weren’t in touch. All we know is that Kelvin Hobbs is lying about his reason for leaving the circuit, claiming he’d suddenly decided he’d had enough even though he loved it. His words were believable but his body language was all over the place.’

‘Boss, what are your thoughts on the flipper and the eyelashes?’ Stacey asked.

‘That our murderer is mightily pissed off about something to do with pageants, but that still doesn’t help us much,’ Kim said, turning to Penn. ‘You ever heard of anything similar?’

Asking him was quicker than searching the internet.

‘There was a case a few years back where a woman killed her daughter by forcing a wooden crucifix down her throat.’

‘Really?’ Bryant asked.

‘Yeah, but I think it was cos she thought she was possessed and was trying to drive the devil out of her, or so her lawyer claimed. There was another case in Ireland, back in the?—’

‘Okay, Penn, thanks,’ Kim said. There was nothing there to help them right now.

‘Perhaps the make-up artist I’ve found knows something,’ Stacey offered. ‘She was present at the majority of the pageants over an eight-year period and would have known the girls, their mothers and the other tradespeople.’

Kim nodded her agreement.

‘Already texted the address,’ Stacey said, nodding towards Bryant.

‘Okay, Stace, as well as interrogating your spreadsheet, I want you to get cracking on the origin of the stuff found in our victims’ throats. Not sure what you might get from the eyelashes, but see what you can find out about the flipper.’

‘On it, boss.’

Kim turned to Penn. ‘You and Tink are off to see Keats, yes?’

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