Page 119 of Killing Mind

Maybe Brit would be open to the…

Evita.

If she broached it…

Evita.

Evita.

Evita.

Ninety-Six

Kane insisted on getting another drink before he’d answer the question.

Both her and Bryant had refused top ups.

‘Okay,’ he said, sitting down. ‘Sheila Thorpe works for me.’

‘What?’ Kim and Bryant said together.

‘We know how Unity Farm recruits its members, especially the older ones. They read the local obituaries and go for the ones with least relatives, especially women.’

‘Explain,’ Kim demanded.

‘You’ve seen them yourself. Arthur Evans will be missed by his daughters, sons, wife, brother, father et cetera. Most relatives are listed. The longer the list, the harder the target because they have more family watching over them. The fewer relatives listed the easier to get to the money. Sheila’s husband’s obituary mentioned only a daughter and wife. Perfect. Sheila was easy pickings, as she had little family surrounding her.’

‘And I suppose her estrangement from her daughter wouldn’t have helped?’ Kim asked.

‘The less people to keep a person connected to their normal life the better,’ he answered.

‘So, how does it work?’ Bryant asked. ‘What are the actual mechanics of the manipulation?’

‘One of the members will knock the door, offer to do jobs, get their feet inside the door and assess the first weakness to manipulate.’

‘So, you got to Sheila first?’ Kim asked.

He shook his head. ‘Not before she’d already handed over most of her savings. We caught her before she sold the house and contents.’

‘So, she sold them and gave the money to you instead?’

He shook his head. ‘We have it all, safe and ready for when she leaves. It’s all been signed over to her daughter if anything happens to her.’

‘I don’t get it. How did you turn her away from the cult?’

‘Same way we do everyone else. Sheila was still living in her house. She hadn’t moved into Unity Farm but was visiting almost daily. We showed her proof of how they work, read her articles about recruitment practices. She felt stupid and guilty and she wanted to help.’

‘Did you know she’d had an argument with her daughter?’ Kim asked, distaste at his tactics resting on her tongue.

‘Yes.’

‘Which is what you played on? Her good nature, eagerness to help other people and the fact she felt like she had no one left?’

He nodded without emotion. ‘She agreed to carry on with the cult so we’d have someone on the inside. Our organisation is not traceable. We’re not listed under Google so parents can’t come to us direct, so we armed her, told her everything they’d do to win her over. She was prepared and fully briefed.’

Pieces of the puzzle started falling into place and Kim didn’t much like the picture they were forming.

‘So, Sheila identifies people inside with wealthy parents who you approach and offer your services for a fee?’