‘But you did tell Ms O’Brien—and Ms Kelly—about your argument with Amelia?’
‘Well, yeah. I didn’t think it was that big a deal. Ms O’Brien likes … I mean, liked, to know how Amelia was going. She was always worrying about us. And yes, I told Evelyn—but in session, so it’s not really something you can ask me about.’
‘Why is that?’
‘Well, it’s privileged.’
Jake double blinked. ‘As a counsellor, Ms Kelly must provide you with a certain level of confidentiality, that’s true. But unless she’s your lawyer there’s no privilege.’
The frustrations of two long, apparently fruitless days of enquiry peaked. Jake leant toward Charlotte. ‘Make no mistake here. A woman has died in suspicious circumstances. If you, or anyone else, knows anything relevant, now is the time to speak up. If this becomes a murder enquiry, trust me, you don’t want me finding out you withheld evidence.’
She blanched.
‘Steady on,’ Murphy said.
Jake ignored him. ‘What exactly did you say to Ms O’Brien, Charlotte?’
‘Nothing! Just that Amelia’s a nut case and I’m sick of trying to stay friends with her!’
‘And how did she respond?’
Charlotte threw her hands up in the air. ‘I don’t know, she just looked upset.’
‘She didn’t say anything?’
‘After a while she just said she’d always tried to do the right thing by us girls, but she was worried she’d made a mistake; that maybe she needed to talk to a professional about everything that happened at the home, in case it helped Amelia, even if it put her in a bad light.’
‘And what did she mean by that?’
‘How should I know? She wouldn’t explain more than that.’
Jake waited, his hard glance cautioning Murphy to stay silent as well. The constable looked distinctly uncomfortable.
‘Like, she thought maybe she was responsible for Amelia being soft in the head.’ Charlotte said. ‘But she couldn’t be. She looked after us really well. Amelia’s just good at getting people to feel sorry for her.’
‘And when did you speak to Ms Kelly?’
‘I …’
‘I can just ask her myself.’
‘All right. I have a session with Evelyn every second Wednesday.’
‘And you mentioned your fight with Amelia?’
Charlotte looked away. ‘Yes.’
‘And?’
She flung her head back to glare at him. ‘I said it was amazing that Amelia’s so self-centred she’s even able to make Ms O’Brien think she’s responsible for Amelia’s problems. There’s no mysterious “truth” she could reveal that would magically fix Amelia. I said it was disturbing that Amelia could affect Ms O’Brien like that ten years after we left the house!’
‘And how did Ms Kelly respond?’
Charlotte smiled. ‘She was sorry to hear what happened and she hoped I wasn’t feeling too hurt. She also said that the only person responsible for Amelia is Amelia.’
*
Dropping Murphy back at the station to pick up his car, Jake returned to his boss’s house for dinner. He parked on the street and was greeted by Kelly sitting on the front porch, beer in hand.