‘He’s been able to watch us the whole time?’ Kim asked.
‘Yes, he fucking has,’ she answered through gritted teeth.
Kim guessed that Leanne was beating herself up for missing this, but for the first time since Sunday afternoon, Kim was grateful for Leanne’s instruction. Barney would have been home alone most mornings before Charlie collected him. She shuddered at what the evil bastard would have done to her dog to make her suffer. If he had no issue leaving a vulnerable, elderly lady in this state, she could only imagine Barney’s fate.
‘Hey, wake up. Call someone,’ Leanne said, standing by the door as the paramedics gently placed Edna onto the trolley.
Kim strode to the house phone on the kitchen wall and pressed redial. Whoever Edna had called last would know who she was.
‘Hello.’
In that one word, Kim could hear a cool distance in the woman’s voice.
‘Who is this?’ Kim asked.
‘This is Barbra and what are you doing in my mother’s house?’
The tone had changed; scared, upset, worried.
‘Barbra, my name is DI Stone. I live—’
‘Where is my mother? Is she okay? Put her on the phone.’
‘I’m a police officer. Your mum has been hurt, but she’s stable and on her way to the hospital.’
‘I don’t understand. Who…?What…?’
‘Barbra, please. Everything will be explained later, but for now, just make your way to the hospital and be with your mum.’
FIFTY-THREE
It was after eleven when Kim finally stepped out of the shower. After calling Edna’s daughter, they’d briefed the officers who would liaise with Barbra at the hospital, and then liaised with the search team.
Their first call had been to someone called Burns, which had sounded pretty heated and urgent. It had taken all her time not to follow the officer, grab the phone and ask this Burns character if he was taking his head from up his ass any time soon.
Out of respect for Woody’s instructions, she had bit her tongue – hard. After that initial conversation, the officers had gone to work counting bowls, dishes, plates for timeline clues and searching every inch of the house. Despite her aching need to know everything about their investigation, she was careful not to do anything her boss might deem disruptive. Their urgency and focus didn’t invite interaction.
A quick phone call to the hospital before undressing had confirmed that Edna was still alive and stable. Barbra was by her side, and for that Kim was grateful.
She pushed the mother-and-daughter thoughts away as she headed down the stairs and into an alien sensation. The smell of food.
‘What the hell is that?’
‘Fish finger sandwiches and cheesy chips. Your food pantry is pretty sparse,’ Leanne answered.
Somehow basic provisions seemed to materialise in her fridge every couple of weeks. She suspected Charlie liked to try and take care of her.
Leanne had one plate holding fish fingers wedged between two pieces of fresh crusty bread and a second plate of oven chips with a melted cheddar topping.
As wrong as it was, the smell was delicious.
‘Hmm…’ Kim said, moving closer.
‘Not enough for two,’ Leanne said, pulling both plates towards her.
‘Hang on. You use my food in my kitchen, but I can’t have any?’
‘Since you put it like that,’ she said, reaching for a knife and a second plate. She cut the sandwich in half and then slid half of the cheesy mess onto the side plate.