Chapter 79

Kim was still wondering how they hadn't connected those particular dots when Bryant pulled up outside the premises of the ERA.

Another question was why Bobbi hadn't mentioned it either. She'd had plenty of other stuff to say about the pageant world.

The lady herself answered the door. ‘Ah, you again,' she said, stepping aside for them to enter.

This time there were another two women present, drinking beer and making use of the pool table.

Kim wondered if the place was for serious issues or just a hangout spot.

‘Just wanna chat about some new information,' Kim said.

‘Shoot,' Bobbi said, taking a seat and reaching into a bowl of popcorn.

‘You were quite the little performer in the pageant world as a child.'

The absence of reaction from the other two women told Kim this was no secret.

‘Oh, yeah. I did it, and I was bloody good at it.'

‘You certainly were,' Kim acknowledged. ‘You pretty much won everything you entered.'

‘I did indeed. I won money, gift vouchers, holidays. It was a blast. I remember the days fondly.'

‘You made friends?'

‘It wasn't like that. You had to compete, be better than the rest. There were some girls that wanted to be liked, but that's not how you won the big bucks.'

‘You must have been popular?' Kim asked, raising an eyebrow.

‘There was a lot of jealousy, but you got used to it.'

‘You speak so fondly of those times I wonder why you have such an aversion to them now.'

‘I did pageants for six years, and it's taken double that to recover.'

‘Go on,' Kim urged. Although prickly, Bobbi did seem to have it all together, and despite her passion-driven forays into vandalism, she presented as intelligent and educated.

She held up a piece of popcorn. ‘See this little sucker? I can tell you the calories and fat content. I know how many steps I need to do on the treadmill to work it off. Each piece I eat triggers a battle not to run to the bathroom and vomit it back up so the calories don't register. I won't because I've made progress, but controlling the actions is much easier than controlling the thoughts.'

‘And your relationship with your mother?' Kim asked.

She smiled ruefully. ‘Part of my treatment has included accepting my mother for who she is and choosing to love her anyway.'

Kim had wondered if they were dealing with a twisted kind of jealousy, targeting the girls who had done well and making them suffer through the loss of their mothers. But there had been no girl more prominent and successful than this one right here.

‘And how is your mom?' Kim asked.

‘Very well when she was getting on the train a few hours ago.'

‘Train?' Kim asked.

‘Yeah, she's had a week away in Scotland. Loves it up there.' She checked her watch. ‘Should be just off the train now. I promised to nip round later and listen to her tales of?—'

‘Call her,' Kim said as the pebble of worry formed in her stomach. Was Bobbi's mother safe only because she hadn't been in the area?

‘Why?' Bobbi asked, frowning.

‘Just do it,' Kim said.

Bobbi took out her phone and rang the number, on speaker.

Kim's heart quickened with every ring that wasn't answered.

The call went to voicemail.

Bobbi immediately tried again. Same result.

‘What time does her train get in?' Kim asked.

‘About ten minutes ago.'

‘To where?'

‘Cradley Heath.'

‘Is your mom on social media?' Kim asked.

‘Isn't everyone?' Bobbi asked.

‘What platforms?'

‘Facebook,' Bobbi said, rolling her eyes. ‘Loves showing off where she's going and what she's doing.'

‘Private or public?' Kim asked.

‘Public…why?' Bobbi asked as it dawned on her that Kim wasn't making polite conversation.

‘Show me,' Kim said.

With a few taps on her phone, Bobbi showed her the profile.

‘Shit,' Kim said, barely needing to scroll. An innocent-enough post stated where she was leaving and what time she'd be getting back. It wouldn't take a genius to use Trainline and fill in the blanks.

‘Who collects her?' Kim asked, handing the phone back.

‘Sherwood Taxis. She calls them when she's a couple of stops away.'

‘Ring them. See if they have her.'

‘Inspector, I think you need to calm down. I'm sure my mom is perfectly fine. Her phone was probably in a black spot.'

‘Feel free to try her again, but I've got three dead pageant moms, and it looks like the only thing that's saved your mom is that she was a few hundred miles away.'

Finally, Bobbi's expression took on some of the fear that was twisting Kim's stomach.

‘Hey, Jim, it's Bobbi Carter, Leona's daughter. Did you get a call from my mom?'

Bobbi put the phone on loudspeaker.

‘Yeah, we got her call.'

Bobbi's face began to relax.

‘So what's she playing at?' Jim continued.

‘Wh-What do you mean?'

‘Messing us around. When we got there, she'd already gone.'