Page 31 of Insomnia

There are two police officers, a man and a woman, both in their thirties, sipping coffee from our best mugs. They introduce themselves and show me their badges, as if I think they might be liars.

“What’s going on?” My face is burning and I feel guilty, even though I’ve done nothing wrong. “I was at an important work dinner.” My first lie given that I was basically at the restaurant as eye candy for Parker Stockwell.

“So your husband said. Sorry to have disturbed your evening.” It’s the woman speaking, Hildreth, I think she said her name was. Hildreth and Caine. That’s it. “But we need to ask you a few questions about the circumstances of your mother’s death.”

I stare at them, fully aware of Robert’s eyes boring into me, and my stomach lurches as I figure that whatever they’re about to tell me, he must now know she didn’t die all those years ago. My age-old lie is getting called out. “She was in hospital,” I say. “I presume the doctors there can tell you in more detail what was wrong with her.”

“You saw your mother on Tuesday?”

“Briefly. And later on in the evening my sister told me she’d died. What’s the issue here, Sergeant?”

“You were the last person to see your mother alive.”

“I don’t know if I was or not but I’ll take your word for it.” Where are they going with this? I study them for a clue but their faces are impassive.

“Talk us through your visit.”

“Certainly. But first tell me why you need to know. She was an old woman with a head injury and she died. What has that got to do with the police?”

Caine looks up from his coffee. “You don’t seem very upset.”

“I’m not. I’ve considered her dead since I was five.” I dread to think what Robert’s reaction was when they turned up.Her mother? But she died when they were children. That’s what she’s always told me.

“But you still went to see her?”

“And now I very much wish I hadn’t,” I snap. “For god’s sake, what is going on?”

“There was a pillow on the floor.” The words come from Phoebe, watching from the sidelines. “Beside her bed. They think maybe someone . . . well . . . I don’t need to spell it out.” In the silence I stare at her, and then at the two officers as the implication dawns on me.

“You think I smothered her?” I slump onto a stool at the island. “Why would I do that? She was dying. And she was alive when I left.”

“We’ve sent away swabs from her nostrils for analysis.” Hildreth’s tone is terrifyingly neutral. “If there are cotton fibers that she’s inhaled, we’ll have a better idea of what’s going on.” She looks at me thoughtfully. “But someone saw you running out of the hospital wing clearly distressed. Which seems at odds with your reaction now.”

“While I was in her room, my mother grabbed my wrist for a moment. It frightened me.”

“But that’s not possible.” Phoebe frowns. “Not with her brain injury.”

“Itwaspossible.” Why can’t she be on my side for once? “Because it happened. I was looking at her notes above the bed and then her eyes opened and she grabbed my wrist. It lasted a moment and then she let go and that was that. I presume I don’t need to explain what my mother was locked up for? That’s why I was upset. I ran out of the ward, got back to my car, and then the school rang and I went there.”

“What time was that?”

“I don’t know exactly.” I rummage around in my bag. “But the call time will be in my phone.”

“I’m not sure what you hope that will prove.”

“Oh, this is ridiculous.” I scroll back through my call log and thrust the phone into Hildreth’s hand. “Look there. Three oh fivep.m.they rang. What time did she die?”

“Three oh nine. But we can’t know that you answered that call in your car.”

“So maybe I was chatting to the school while I shoved a pillow over my mother’s face, is that what you think?”

Hildreth puts the phone carefully down on the island. “That call only lasted two minutes. So you could have used both hands.”

I stare at her. She can’t be serious.

“But I’m sure this will all be cleared up when the lab results come back.” Hildreth’s face is a closed book, but I doubt she’s imagining the results coming back in my favor. “You can understand why we needed to speak to you, though. According to your sister you didn’t want anything to do with your mother. You wished she were dead. And then you go and visit her.” She pauses. “And then she’s dead.”

“I went to see herbecauseshe was dying. I would have thought that was obvious to anyone.” Tiredness washes over me. “And now I’d like you to leave. Unless there’s anything else?”

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