‘Are you okay?’ she asked as Kim took a sip of the water.
She eyed the young woman and frowned. ‘Hey, aren’t you Donna Stout?’
Donna nodded as Bryant’s head snapped around towards her.
Kim shrugged at him. If she’d told her colleague where she wanted to go next, he would have given her hell.
‘Who’d have thought it. I’ve been speaking with your mum. May we have a word?’
Donna hesitated before shrugging and taking the glass from her.
‘Guv,’ Bryant warned her as they followed.
‘Hey, you can’t ignore fate,’ she said, stepping into the house.
‘Are you done with this?’ Donna asked.
Kim nodded and followed her to the kitchen.
‘Let me introduce myself. I’m?—’
‘I know who you are. You’re Chief Sow as my mum calls you. I remember you. I liked your boots.’
‘Well, this is my colleague, DS Bryant, and the name I more commonly go by is DI Stone.’
‘How can I help you, DI Stone?’ Donna asked, taking a seat at the table.
Although not invited, Kim took a seat. Bryant followed; his expression indicated he was still smarting from her subterfuge.
‘Is Eric here?’
‘He’s gone to see his mum. She probably won’t answer the door, but…’
‘Even at a time like this?’ Kim asked. The woman’s husband had just been murdered.
‘You have to understand our families. Their hatred for each other far outweighs their love of anyone else.’
Although Donna had recognised her, Kim saw very little of the young girl she’d last seen covered in filth. Here was a young lady with a stylish blonde bob framing an attractive face with piercing blue eyes.
She wore minimal make-up, choosing to let her flawless skin speak for itself.
‘Tell me about growing up,’ Kim said, finding herself becoming more intrigued about these feuding families.
‘I had a great childhood. We had more animals back then, not loads, but they all needed feeding and cleaning out. Everyone did their bit. Mum needed everyone to pitch in.’
‘Your dad?’
‘Don’t remember him. He died when I was two. But it didn’t matter. I had big brothers,’ she said with a sad smile. ‘We didn’t have a telly for years, so we’d play games. William would give me donkey rides around the house, and Martin taught me board games. I loved the farm and my family, and I never went to bed unhappy.’
‘When did you realise there was an issue with the neighbours?’ Kim asked.
‘I feel like I always knew. It was just part of life. They hated us and we hated them. It started way before any of us were born.’
‘And yet you and Eric found a way through that.’
She smiled. ‘Yeah, we saw each other in a pub in Netherton. We gave each other the customary hate-filled glare that our families expected but then found that neither of us could look away.
‘He sent me over a drink with a napkin attached. He’d written “white flag” on it. I thanked him for the drink, and we got talking. Imagine my surprise when he was quite normal, even likeable.’
