Kay held her breath as a man in his early twenties with a blackening eye and vomit stains down his T-shirt was led past her, then turned her attention to the paperwork in her hand.
The police station was busy for a Sunday morning, with all the people arrested in the town overnight being processed and either released for future court appearances or being led away for a spell on remand until their cases were heard.
She hummed under her breath to counteract the noise from the violent argument carrying on farther down the passageway towards the cells while she flicked through the scant information her team had collated about Amy Evans.
Laura and Kyle were tasked with collecting the woman from her home in Snodland earlier that morning, and while she waited for them to appear she took a moment to write down some questions that were niggling at the forefront of her mind.
‘Are you freakin’ kidding me?’
She lifted her eyes from the page at the sound of Amy’s voice and the thick door between the front desk and the interview rooms slamming against the wall to see the woman storming towards her, Kyle Walker in her wake.
‘Sorry, guv, she burst in as soon as I’d opened the door.’
‘It’s all right, Kyle. I think Mrs Evans has calmed down now,’ said Kay, eyeing the woman. ‘Haven’t you?’
‘What’s the meaning of this? Him and some woman banging on me door at seven o’clock, demanding I come here – why?’
‘Guv, we asked politely,’ Kyle said. ‘Given the circumstances and that.’
‘Everything okay, guv?’ Laura hurried along the passageway towards her, a manila folder clutched in her hands. ‘I heard her kick off…’
‘We’re okay. And we’re going to make the rest of this conversation formal in the circumstances.’ Kay shoved open the door to interview room two and waved Amy inside. ‘Kyle, if you’d like to wait out here, please.’
Amy strode over to one of the chairs that surrounded a metal table screwed to the floor and pulled it out, the legs scraping across the tiles. ‘Make it quick. I ain’t even had a coffee yet this morning.’
‘Would you like some water?’ said Kay.
‘No.’
The woman folded her arms across her chest and pouted while Laura set up the recording equipment and read out the formal caution.
‘Do I need a solicitor?’
‘Would you like one?’ Kay asked. ‘You’re not under arrest at the moment.’
‘Oh.’ She frowned. ‘What do you want, then?’
Kay held up the documents in her hand by way of response. ‘I’ve got some more questions for you.’
‘What about?’
‘Your ex-husband’s application for a firearms certificate.’
Amy frowned. ‘Nothing to do with me. I didn’t know he had one.’
‘He hasn’t. And that has everything to do with you.’ Kay clasped her hands on top of the manila folder. ‘When did the abuse start, Amy?’
‘Eh?’
‘Was it physical? Did he hurt you? We heard your GP was concerned about bruising to your arm, which was why Dale’s licence application was turned down.’
Amy’s gaze flickered from Kay to Laura, then back, her eyes widening. ‘No, nothing like that.’
‘It’s okay, Amy. You can tell us. Why didn’t you report him? We could’ve helped you.’
A tear rolled over the woman’s cheek, and she sniffed. ‘I didn’t mean it.’
Kay sighed, and flipped open the folder, waiting.
‘I-I just wanted to get my own back,’ Amy said eventually. She choked back a sob. ‘I just wanted to make him pay.’
‘What did you say?’ Kay reared back in her seat. ‘Did you lie about the violence?’
Silence.
Kay slammed her palm against the table, the sound reverberating off the walls.
Amy jumped in her seat, a shocked cry escaping her lips.
‘Did you lie about your ex-husband being violent towards you?’
‘Y-yes.’ Amy nodded, her face crumpling. ‘I lied. I didn’t want him to have a gun.’
‘Why not?’
‘I didn’t want him to have anything. I just wanted to get him back for leaving me. He made me look stupid in front of all of our friends. I hated him.’
‘What about the bruises on your arm?’
Amy sniffed. ‘I did it myself. I wanted to make it look real.’
Taking a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm, Kay waited until the woman raised her head, then glared at her.
‘Do you know how many women we fail to save because of people like you making false allegations just to get back at someone?’ she said, her voice shaking. ‘Instead of running around following up a lead like this, I’ve got officers working all hours upstairs who could have been assisting colleagues to help women and children escape some of the worst situations you could ever imagine.’
‘I’m––’
‘Don’t you dare,’ Kay snarled. ‘Don’t you dare say you’re sorry. You knew exactly what you were doing when you lied to your GP and told him your husband was abusing you. You’re lucky I don’t charge you with wasting police time.’
She slapped shut the folder and shoved back her chair. ‘Interview terminated at eight fifty-three. Show Mrs Evans to the door, Detective Hanway. She can make her own bloody way home.’