Page 123 of Killing Mind

‘Stacey, he’s our guy,’ Kim said when they were back in the car.

‘Find out everything you can about him. We’re on our way back in,’ she added, before ending the call.

‘No obvious link, is there?’ Bryant asked, as he headed towards the town centre.

‘There’s something, Bryant. It’s too coincidental that he was found in the same lake as Tyler Short. He must have some kind of link to Unity Farm.’

She turned her attention to the phone still in her hand. Still no further messages from Tiff.

‘Stop here,’ Kim said, taking off her seatbelt.

She hadn’t lied to Stacey. They were on their way back, but she had just one stop to make first.

She strode around the building to the front car park of the college.

Students were streaming out of the entrance, taking an early mark on a Friday afternoon.

Kim stood on the wall trying to pick out a redhead and a blonde.

She tuned out the excited pre-weekend chatter of the students and looked in every direction.

The crowds began to thin and her suspicions were correct.

Not only was she receiving no contact from the undercover police officer.

She no longer knew for sure where Tiffany was.

One Hundred One

Tiff took a deep breath as she sat down on the bed.

As they’d walked back from the edge of the woods she had talked nonstop about the Farm and all the things she had experienced in her time there. Whether her efforts to distract him from any suspicion of her wanting to leave had worked she had no idea. She wasn’t even sure why she was concerned about him knowing that she’d been thinking of leaving but she was.

Jake had told her to go and take a bit of time for herself in her room while he tracked down Britney.

She resigned herself to the fact she was going to have to let the boss know she was coming out. Yes, she’d failed but right now that mattered less to her than getting away from this place and back to some kind of normality.

She’d take the opportunity to text now while she waited for Brit to come back, and later she’d eat her meal, pretend everything was normal and then find a way to slip out and head to the hill. And this time she wouldn’t stop.

She reached into her back pocket for the phone. The cardigan she was wearing was longer so she’d been able to move it from the front of her jeans.

It wasn’t there.

She checked her back, left pocket but already knew she wouldn’t have put it there.

She stood up and looked around the bed. Maybe it had come out as she’d sat down. She moved the quilt around and checked the floor feeling the heat flood her face.

Damn it. Her one link to the outside world. Gone.

She paced the room as she retraced her steps after sending that short message to the boss.

Just after the Indian head massage they’d headed to the toilets.

Oh no, she remembered now. She’d taken it from her back pocket and placed it on the sanitary bin so it didn’t fall out as she undid her jeans. Damn, if Brit had found it she’d know everything. She’d know that Tiff had been lying to her the whole time. She intended to tell her friend the truth but not until she was safely away from Unity Farm.

Tiff headed out of the room and walked quickly to the toilets, waving and smiling as she went. She had to find the phone. She had no other way to let the boss know she was coming out.

She pushed open the door. Thankfully it was empty as people were making their way to the food hall. She went straight for the middle cubicle. The phone wasn’t on the sanitary bin where she’d left it. Maybe it had fallen and been kicked along the floor.