Page 93 of Guilty Mothers

‘Yes, but the police were honest enough to say there was little they could do. She was a grown adult, not vulnerable in any way, and able to make her own decisions. So, my gran did what any good gran would do: she raised me. I only learned the truth when I was twelve and Gran thought I could handle some of the facts. The rest I’ve teased out of her over the years.’

‘And your childhood?’ Kim asked.

‘Was amazing. It’s like my gran got a second chance to be a great mom, and I’ve never felt anything but love and support from both her and my gramps. Life hasn’t always been easy,’ she said, touching the birthmark on her face, ‘but they taught me to be strong and to never hide. It was that strength that enabled me to want to meet Sheryl. I grew up in her childhood home. I wasn’t abandoned to strangers or put in care. I had the love and support of my family. I’ve seen her past, her clothes, her schoolwork, her certificates, her recitals, videos, photos. I don’t hate her, and I wanted her to know that. I put a Google alert on for her name, and I finally got a result from that article published yesterday.’

Kim sat back in her chair. ‘You’ll excuse me for not warming to this immediately.’

‘Of course, and I’m happy to submit DNA to prove my identity,’ she said, reaching for her bag. She took out a piece of paper and slid it across the table. ‘My birth certificate.’

Kim took a look and saw nothing suspicious, just one added detail of which she’d been unaware.

Sheryl had a middle name, and it was an unusual one.

‘Octavia?’

‘After my great-grandmother apparently. I never knew her.’

‘And what is it that you want?’ Kim asked, thinking of the house Katie was planning on returning to.

‘To take Sheryl home. I know that’s not possible yet, but when she’s ready, I’d like to make the necessary arrangements. It would help my grandparents grieve.’

Kim nodded her understanding but felt there was more.

‘And?’

‘The other Katie. I want to meet her. I want to understand what she is to me. Obviously, I have no other siblings.’

Kim shook her head. ‘I don’t know. There’s a lot to unpack here.’

‘I understand, but I’m not going anywhere.’ She pushed a card across the table, which offered her contact details below a logo for her own website design business.

‘I’m staying at the Village Hotel in Dudley. I’m happy to wait here while you arrange for a DNA sample to be taken, and then I’ll return to my hotel and await your call.’

Kim thanked her and left the room. She’d get a sample. At this point, she really had nothing to lose.

It was an outlandish story she’d just heard, but it wasn’t impossible. To give it credence she would have to believe, after what she’d learned, that Sheryl Hawne had been capable of walking out on her own six-week-old child without a backwards glance.

Damn it. It wasn’t that much of a stretch.

But what about the other Katie, the pageant queen and the one left holding the knife? Had Sheryl become pregnant very quickly and named her second daughter Katie too, or were they looking at something a little more sinister?

SIXTY-ONE

Stacey found herself not wanting to believe what they all suspected to be true.

The boss had taken just a minute to update them and rearrange Stacey’s priorities before heading off at speed to talk to the first Katie Hawne.

Penn and Tiff had left shortly afterwards to prepare for their interview with Olivia Dench.

Stacey had contacted Sheryl’s doctor, who had confirmed that she had registered with the practice just five months after leaving Huddersfield, and that she had registered six-and-a-half-month-old Katie at the same time.

If Katherine and her dates were correct, then there was no way Sheryl was Katie’s mom. Begging the question, who the hell was?

Stacey did what she always did when faced with a challenge. She turned to Google. She entered a search for missing children within a twenty-five-mile radius of Huddersfield from the alleged date of Sheryl’s disappearance to the date she registered with the doctor.

Having a clear idea of when would enable her to increase the radius with each new search.

Google presented her with seventy-nine results.

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