‘Did you strangle her?’
‘Yep,’ she said with not one ounce of emotion. ‘I waited for her to go to sleep, and I knew what to do. Robbie had done the same to me when I threatened to tell my teacher what he was doing to me. When he put his hands around my throat and squeezed, I felt as though I was going to die, so that’s how I did it.’
Despite the lack of emotion in Swift’s voice, Kim’s mind recoiled at the scene. A child on top of another child, squeezing the life out of her.
‘What happened next?’
‘Steven came and took her away. He didn’t speak to me, and it was the first time I saw him.’
‘He just disappeared with her body?’
Swift nodded.
‘And then there was Paula?’
‘Yeah, I didn’t like her for even a minute. She climbed up on to my bed. I told her I didn’t like to share. She said it was better than some of the foster homes she’d been in. I did her after three days.’
There was no remorse in her tone.
‘Kate, you were a child.’
She shrugged. ‘I wanted them gone.’
‘Was Helen the last?’
Swift nodded. ‘She fought me harder. I actually got a bruise on my arm from her fingers, and I had to use a pillow to finish her off.’
The emotionless recital of the facts was chilling Kim to the bone. Whatever had been instilled in Swift over the years hadn’t included a conscience.
‘When Steven came to get her, I told him I wasn’t going to stop doing it.’
‘And what happened?’
‘A couple of weeks later he came and got me and took me home.’
‘Home?’ Kim asked. Her home had been on the Hollytree Estate.
‘My new home, his house, and if I thought this was heaven, you should have seen my new room.’ Her eyes lit up. ‘A four-poster bed, all matching furniture, bigger television, games and toys and books.’
Kim realised that it was almost like the murders hadn’t happened.
‘That’s when Melody died and I became Kate.’
Kim wondered if she really had disassociated herself completely from the person who had killed three girls, or if she truly had no regrets for what she’d done.
‘Steven formally changed my name and sent me to private school as his orphaned niece.’
Now Kim understood why there was no trace of the Black Country accent. ‘And no one suspected anything?’
‘Why would they?’ Swift asked, genuinely perplexed, as though she really was Steven Harte’s orphaned niece.
‘Did no part of you want to return home? To tell the truth?’
Swift looked at her as though she was mad. ‘Why the hell would I want to do that?’
‘To be yourself. To get your identity back.’
‘Melody’s life was shit. She was miserable, scared. She was a coward. She was a nobody. They exploited Melody’s disappearance for every penny they could get. How much do you think they’d have tried to make from Melody’s reappearance after all these years?’
Kim noted again how she referred to Melody almost as a totally separate person.
‘And the truth is overrated anyway. Just like this conversation. It was truthful, but it was private, and no one else heard a word.’
As though a switch had been flicked, she stood and dusted herself down.
‘I wasn’t cautioned, I wasn’t arrested and I’ll never repeat what I just said. Your colleague didn’t see a thing. I was here to help Grace and you got the wrong idea. Steven will never testify against me. That confession counts for nothing. You have someone at the station that has confessed to three murders. It’s on video. I know which option the CPS is going to go for.’
She smiled widely, an open and genuine smile that held no remorse for the young lives she’d taken.
There wasn’t one word she’d said that wasn’t true. In her mind, Swift had committed the perfect crimes and was now going to return to her perfect life, as though nothing had happened, while the man she professed to love as a father would serve the time.
‘So if you’d like to ask your colleague to open the door and let me out, I’ll be on—’
‘Kate Swift, I am arresting you for the murders of Lexi Walters, Paula Stiles and Helen Blunt. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?’
Swift laughed. ‘I’m a lawyer – of course I understand. I also know I’ll be free and clear in twenty-four hours.’
Kim knew she had no evidence to charge. She knew she had to get it.
And it could only come from one source.
Eighty-Five
It was almost seven when Alex was shown into the office of Warden Siviter.
The woman looked pale and drawn. Tendrils of hair had escaped from her ponytail and small perspiration marks peeped out from the armpits of her pink shirt.
The woman hadn’t had a good day.
Shame.
‘Alexandra, we’ll need to keep this short. I have urgent matters to attend to and—’
‘How is Lisa?’ Alex asked, feigning concern.
‘On life support at the moment. They’re not hopeful.’
Alex wasn’t bothered either way. A nice clean death would have been preferable, but whether she died today or in a few days, it made no difference to her.
Warden Siviter shook her head. ‘Her suicide attempt was unexpected, especially as she was being recommended for early release. I was going to tell her that today.’
‘Shame,’ Alex said, already bored with talking about other people. She already knew that Noelle had beaten Stella to within an inch of her life and that she’d be in the hospital for at least a few days.
Alex waited expectantly, eager to move on. This meeting was about her.
Warden Siviter cleared her throat. ‘As you’re fully aware, you have a parole hearing tomorrow, and I have yet to formalise my recommendation. I think you’ve made great strides here with your rehabilitation. I see you interacting well with others. I see you even stepping in to protect the vulnerable. Many of your fellow inmates appear to respect you, and you’ve never been involved in any episodes of violence. In fact, you’ve earned yourself an impeccably clean record over the last few years.’
Alex relaxed back in her chair. She liked the direction this was going.
‘However, I have reservations.’
Alex didn’t care for that word very much. ‘Which are?’
‘The opinions of other people that have known you for much longer than I have. I’ve known you only a couple of years, but my predecessor noted in your file that you should serve no less than your full sentence.’
‘But surely…’
‘And then there are people in responsible positions who have made their feelings known.’
Fucking Stone, Alex thought, still smarting from being interrupted by this woman who thought she was controlling both the conversation and the situation.
‘So, on balance, I’m sorry to say that I am not going to recommend your early release to the probation board, as I think you would benefit from further—’