Page 81 of Dying Truth

Saffie shook her head vehemently. ‘There is no one that would want to hurt her,’ she said.

‘And yet she is dead, Saffron,’ Kim pushed. ‘Beaten around the head and made to look like suicide.’

‘Please, stop,’ Saffie said, as the colour began to drain from her face.

‘You’ve already admitted the two of you weren’t that close, haven’t you?’ Kim asked.

Saffie nodded.

‘But you didn’t tell us she was angry with you. Why did she storm into your room the other night and demand to talk?’ Kim asked.

Saffie’s initial surprise turned to anger as she put two and two together and realised how Kim knew that.

‘Yes, I spoke to Eric yesterday after your concert practice. I gather the two of you split up recently, but he definitely recalls Sadie being unhappy with you. What was that about?’

‘I’m sorry, I don’t recall,’ she said as a blotch of heat appeared beneath the heart-shaped pendant.

‘It wasn’t so long ago,’ Kim pushed.

Saffie’s chin raised an inch or two. ‘I really don’t remember. She probably felt as though I’d slighted her or something like that. She could kick off for no reason, officer,’ she said, gaining her composure.

Kim knew she was not going to divulge the reason for Sadie’s anger.

‘I suppose she was a bit of an embarrassment, wasn’t she?’

The colour returned to her face in the form of a blush, and although she shook her head the truth was spreading an ugly red stain across her cheeks.

‘Really, the two of you couldn’t have been more different. You must have sometimes wished she would disappear.’

‘I didn’t do anything to Sadie,’ she said, horrified.

‘I’m not saying you did but you didn’t like her very much, did you?’

‘She was my sister. I loved her, but I just didn’t understand her.’

‘So, why try so hard to protect her, Saffie?’ Kim asked, sitting back in her chair.

‘How so?’

‘By removing all of her personal possessions from her dorm room.’

The colour in her face deepened. ‘I just thought—’

‘What did you think? That it was okay to tamper with evidence. You thought it was all right to remove anything you felt was incriminating?’

Saffron fiddled with her hands and looked to the ground.

Suddenly, this was not the assured, confident girl they had spoken to the other day. Part of her wanted to tell the kid everything would be okay, but another part knew that there were too many secrets in the space between them.

‘I can’t help wondering if it was you that chose to tamper with your sister’s suicide letter that wasn’t a suicide letter at all,’ Kim said.

Saffie shook her head but didn’t look up.

‘Saffron, is there any chance that Sadie was involved in these secret clubs. Was she ever asked to be a Heart or Dia—’

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Saffie said, raising her head. ‘Why would she have been chosen?’

‘But how can you be sure?’ Kim challenged. ‘You seem to know very little about your sister.’