The Price Of Obsession

Chapter Seventeen: Changes

Detective Ervine's P.O.V.

Nick Carver's mother shook in her seat, the sobs from earlier fading into tremors. Teresa Carver who once could have been full of life and a vivacious young woman was now withdrawn and feeble, the cancer making her look older than her 40 years. She blew her nose in a worn out hanker-chief, the last of her tears drying. Teresa had opted for the interrogation room for our little talk; it seemed I would never leave this room today.

"Would you like a glass of water, Mrs. Carver?" I offered as she coughed several times in succession.

"No, I'm quite alright, thank you," she declined, breathing heavily. "I'm afraid I'm not in the best of health today. But I thought it worth making this trip."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Carver," I smiled at her.

"I'm sorry to bother you especially when you are so busy," Teresa said, a little self-consciously. "But I had to enquire about my son. I miss him very much and I would like to gain as much information as I can......"

Her sentence trailed off into a series of sobs, hiding her face in her hanker-chief once more.

"I promise you that we are doing everything we can to find your son," I tried to reassure her, placing a hand over hers. "We are making more advances in his case; reviewing CCTV footage, questioning witnesses, everything."

She nodded, struggling to contain the whirlwind of emotions.

"He's a good boy," she sobbed. "Why would anyone want to hurt him? He wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Unfortunately there are evil people in this world," I thought of the right words to say. "They can sometimes commit horrific acts without a motive. And in this case, we have a prime suspect."

I retrieved the photo from the case file and slid it over to her. She sighed with some degree of disappointment at the sight of Nick entertaining people with pole dancing before looking over to the man in the corner.

"This man?" she asked, tapping her finger over him.

"We believe so," I confirmed. "Your son informed us of a man of this description stalking him right before he went missing. While we need more concrete evidence, it is integral to our agenda that we find and speak to this man."

"He may be a suspected culprit," she began, fresh tears appearing, "but I am at fault. I pushed my Nicholas away. Placed his wellbeing below that of my scum ex-boyfriend. What kind of mother am I?! Treating her son like that?! And now this monster has him and God only knows what he's doing to him! Nick was right; I am a bad mother!"

She screamed her last sentence, dissolving into cries and sobs once more. I tried to remain professional whilst trying to comfort this distraught woman.

"Mrs. Carver, please," I pleaded slightly with her. "I understand that you are very upset. But please don't think for one second that any of this is your fault. A bad mother wouldn't come to the police station and plead for her son's safe return while ill like you have. Nick would change his sentiments knowing you did this."

"You think so?" Teresa sounded almost hopeful, her tears sparkling under the harsh light.

"I know so," I sounded confident. "Your son loves you very much. And I promise you that we will find the man responsible for this heinous crime. The true person at fault."

"Make him pay if you do," she pleaded. "And lock him away before he hurts another innocent soul."

"I will fight to make that a reality," I promised her. "And I will do everything I can to find Nick. I will ensure that you will have your son in your arms again, safe and sound."