Child's Play (D.I. Kim Stone #11)(61)

‘Bursts of anger?’ Kim asked, feeling a chill whisper up her spine.

‘My childhood was not normal, Inspector. From the moment I was able to name every country on a world map an hour after looking at it. I was three years old. I was pushed, I was prodded, I was tested, I was taken out of school and isolated and I was forced to study almost every hour I was awake and guess what, sometimes it pissed me off.’

‘And Barry helped you understand your feelings?’ she asked.

‘He did but he did more than that. He talked to me about other stuff. We talked about music, books, art. He wanted to talk to me the person and not me the genius. I always remembered it because no one else had ever made me feel that way. That I actually mattered.’

Bryant leaned forward. ‘Did he contact you later?’

Beth shook her head as her arms lowered. ‘No, I contacted him. It was after a particularly difficult period in my life and I reached out to him. He was grieving the loss of his wife but we met up and talked and that was when I fell in love with him. I hated the event, Inspector, but it was how I originally met the love of my life and I make no apologies for it.’

‘You hated it because?’

‘I was forced to do it once and there may have been kids there that enjoyed it, but not me. I’m not a natural competitor, so didn’t relish being set against children who may have felt as lonely as I did.’

‘But you had a brother?’ Kim said, remembering her mention of him earlier.

‘We were kept separate,’ she admitted. ‘He wasn’t gifted. I envied him. He didn’t have to perform and maintain expectations,’ she spat.

‘Is that what caused you to have some trouble a few years ago?’ Kim asked.

She frowned and then realisation dawned on her. ‘Oh, you mean my time away?’

Kim nodded.

‘May I ask why that’s relevant to the death of my husband?’ she asked.

‘When he’s been brutally murdered everything is kind of relevant,’ Kim said, not unkindly.

‘It was a mixture of things, officer. Suddenly found myself in my early twenties dealing with the fact I had no friends, no hobbies and no job when a family tragedy occurred. All came at once and I needed some time out.’

‘Understandable,’ Kim agreed.

‘I was institutionalised for seven months and it was the best decision I ever made. During that time I reinvented myself and came out as Beth the grown adult and not Beth the freak.’ She tipped her head to the side. ‘And now you’ve asked the question you came here for, may I ask a question of my own?’

‘You can ask,’ Kim said, standing. The woman was right. She had wanted to know what had prompted her stay at a mental health facility.

‘The body of a male found in Cleobury earlier today. Is it Freddie Compton?’

‘I can’t answer that,’ Kim said. Officers were still trying to locate next of kin.

‘If it was, that would make all three victims linked to the Brainbox event in some way or another?’

‘If it was, then yes, that would be a fair assessment, why?’

‘It just makes me wonder what the devil are you doing here and not there?’





Sixty-Five





‘Okay, folks, where are we?’ Kim asked, entering the squad room.

She’d sent Bryant on ahead to catch the team up with what they’d learned about Beth Nixon while she’d briefed Woody and given him her unconventional request. After a frown and a few questions, he’d agreed and made a phone call.

She’d share with the team later.

In her absence Bryant had brewed fresh coffee and poured her a mug.

She raised it in a salute to him and perched her bottom on Penn’s empty desk.

Stacey proceeded to update her on what they’d discovered so far about the sisters. Kim drank as she listened.

‘Good work, Stace,’ Kim said.

‘It was mainly Tiff, to be fair.’

‘Well done, Tink, show me the clip.’

Tiffany loaded it, and Kim stood behind. She watched it three times with the sound on.

‘Turn the sound off and go frame by frame.’

Stacey’s smile told her the constable had done the exact same thing.

Kim pulled Penn’s chair across the room and watched again.

No one spoke.

First question. Belinda’s face remained composed, relaxed but focussed. Kim could almost see the movements of her eyelids reflecting the workings of her brain.

Second question. Same response.

Third question. The blinking began before the question was even asked. Glazed eyes as her mind wrestled with the calculation.

‘I think you’re right. I think she answered that question wrong on purpose, and you’re dead right about Dad’s expression too, but there’s something else,’ she said, scooting closer to the computer screen.

‘Watch Veronica’s face this time,’ Kim said, once everyone was gathered around.

‘Look, see that slight lift at the corners of her mouth,’ she said. ‘She’s pleased but also triumphant.’

Everyone nodded their agreement.

‘What the hell happened to these two girls?’ Kim asked, moving back to Penn’s desk.

‘Spent a lot of time just the four of them,’ Tiffany offered. ‘No friends, no boyfriends…’