Chapter 51

‘How's about I tell her the reason we're here?' Bryant asked as they approached the doorway.

Kim hadn't expected to make a repeat visit to Oldbury, but Judith Palmer certainly needed to answer for her behaviour.

‘You really think that's gonna calm me down?' she raged at her colleague.

‘No, but it might get us in the house, which I'm pretty sure the sound of your voice will not do. You're just gonna scream at her the second you see her.'

He wasn't wrong. The drive hadn't calmed her down, and she definitely preferred the idea of laying into the woman face to face.

Kim turned away and fiddled with her phone once she heard footsteps approach. She'd always struggled to remove the anger from her expression and put it back in neutral.

‘Thank you for seeing us, Judith,' Bryant said, establishing his role as good cop from the outset. ‘We just have a couple more questions.'

‘Of course. Come in,' she said, standing aside.

‘Well, just the one question really,' Kim exploded, unable to keep quiet any longer. They were in the house now.

Judith regarded her with surprise, but Kim didn't care.

‘What the hell do you think you're doing to all these girls?'

Her hand went to her throat. ‘What girls?'

‘The ones you're advising or supporting or whatever it is you do.'

Lottie had confirmed Kim's suspicions that she'd spent time with Judith Palmer.

‘Excuse me?'

‘You're not a qualified counsellor or therapist, yet you're advising women about boundary breaks and stuff that you have no business in?—'

‘Wait a minute, Inspector. As I told you the last time, I don't give advice. I recount my own journey at the hands of a narcissistic mother. If what I have experienced helps anyone to overcome a difficult relationship with their?—'

‘But what if you're wrong?' Kim challenged her. ‘Not every mother is a narcissist. Some are just overprotective, others may be clingy, some may be struggling to adjust to life once their kids have grown up and left the home. Girls are coming to you and you're giving out the same advice. You're like a doctor dispensing paracetamol for brain cancer. Just because that pill worked for you doesn't mean it's going to work for everyone.'

Kim could feel the rage building again, but she didn't care.

‘Not every mother is a monster, and your guidance is robbing people of opportunities to work out their problems, to talk, to get counselling. We've just left a girl who will be guilt-ridden for the rest of her life because of you and your advice. You're not a professional, and you're not helping.'

‘If parents don't respect healthy boundaries, they have to be given consequences,' Judith said, completely unmoved. ‘It is often a painful process to separate the idea of motherhood from your own experience with your mother.'

‘What do you perceive as stepping over boundaries?' Kim asked, trying to understand this woman's motives.

‘Wanting to keep you as their own forever, co-dependency, needing to feel needed, refusing to acknowledge your emotions, trying to tear you down, showing you off while also cutting you down, being threatened by your success.'

‘And your own mother did all this to you?'

‘And worse, Inspector. Much worse.'

‘And the right thing for you was to cut ties with her?'

‘Absolutely.'

‘And do you advise that to everyone who seeks your help?'

‘I think it's the best course of action. Not everyone listens, of course, to their own detriment. Some people continue to think there's hope to be?—'

‘Just how many girls have received your guidance?' Kim asked.

‘My name gets passed around in certain circles, but I'm not prepared to give names.'

Around the pageant circle?Kim wondered.

‘Have you ever advised Carly Spencer?'

She shook her head, but there was clearly a flicker of recognition at the name.

She knew that the woman was lying. What she didn't know was why.