Page 120 of Killing Mind

Jesus, manipulation really was the name of the game.

‘Almost,’ he said. ‘Except Sheila’s criteria for selection isn’t based on wealthy parents, it’s about people who may be at risk. It may be someone who is out of favour because they broke the rules. It could be someone being consistently mistreated for whatever reason. It may be someone being pressurised to bring more funds to the farm. There are many reasons.’

‘Are you talking physical danger?’

He nodded. ‘But, it’s not the only kind.’

Kim now understood that he was referring to the long-term effects of joining a cult. ‘So, Sheila identifies people she feels are at risk, communicates this to you, you snatch them and bring them back to their senses?’

He nodded.

‘But how does she let you know?’ Kim asked. Tiffany had already told her that people were not allowed their own mobile phone and Tiff’s own phone had been stolen.

‘One second and I’ll explain,’ he said, taking another sip of his drink.

Kim waited patiently as the two women sharing a pot of tea got up and left the café.

Kane reached over and lifted up the tea cup that was nearest to him. She and Bryant looked at each other as he retrieved a small square of folded paper.

Kim’s gaze shot to the door.

‘That was Sheila Thorpe?’ she asked, unable to believe that the woman she’d been searching for in a lake had just been drinking tea behind her.

He nodded. ‘She’s doing the weekly food shop, but as you can see, she’s never alone.’

‘So that’s a list of people she feels are in danger at the Farm?’

He nodded and opened up the paper.

He frowned.

‘What?’ Kim asked.

‘Three names but very little information on the last one. Apparently she’s worried about someone named Tiff.’

Ninety-Seven

Tiff shook the fatigue from her eyes as she headed to the front door of the farmhouse. It was barely one o’clock and she could easily have gone back to the room for a nap. It wasn’t because of any kind of strenuous activity, quite the opposite. She had been relaxed to within an inch of her life.

After the meditation session Britney had taken her to barn number 5, to a woman named Violet who was learning Indian head massage and needed to practise. The woman had expertly kneaded sesame oil into her scalp; her strong fingers firmly working the pressure points all around her head. Tiffany had barely been able to form a thought as her mind had followed the rhythmic rubbing loosening tension and pressure. But she had made one decision before she’d given herself up to the experience.

The first chance she got she was leaving and explaining to Britney would have to wait.

Time to just get on with it, she thought, heading outside. It would be a few minutes yet until Britney realised she hadn’t just popped to the toilet.

She had decided to leave the same way they’d come. She guessed it was a longer trek to the road but at least she’d had some sense of direction. As soon as she got to the road she’d call the boss and let her know she was out.

Her stomach plummeted at the thought. Despite everything, she was leaving empty-handed but something inside told her it was more important to just leave.

She headed across the courtyard towards the foot of the hill. There was no one around and she could easily slip away, but a sudden thought occurred to her and she slowed her pace.

As she and Britney had headed in on that first night and stood at the top of the hill, she’d seen something glint in the wooded area. Was there a structure there? A building? Could Sophie Brown be in there?

Her mind wrestled with itself. On one hand was a growing urgency propelling her back towards civilisation and her own life, but the other hand was trying desperately not to leave this place with nothing. She’d been sent in to discover more about the cult and to locate Sophie Brown.

What if Sophie Brown had been here all along?

The anxiety began to grow in her stomach as she realised that she couldn’t leave without at least checking it out.