Page 140 of Killing Mind

‘Tink, you were with the murderer the whole time and I put you there,’ Kim said.

Tiff opened her mouth, but Kim held up her hand.

‘No, listen. I allowed, no persuaded, you to enter into a situation that I didn’t know enough about. I threw you into the face of danger because I was uninformed and ignorant to the kind of damage these places can do. I sent you in there and for that I’m sorry.’

‘But I wanted to help. I was flattered that you asked me, and I’m fine, I didn’t get hurt and now life can go back to normal.’

Not quite, Kim thought, folding her arms.

‘So, what kind of stuff did Jake say to you?’ she asked.

‘Aah, it was all just bullshit,’ she said, looking away.

‘All of it?’ Kim probed.

‘Yeah, yeah, I didn’t listen…’

‘Tink, I’ve been honest with you and I’d appreciate the same courtesy in return.’

Tiffany took a deep breath.

‘He told me that it wasn’t my fault that my mother favours my brothers over me. It wasn’t my fault that she loves them more.’

‘And does she?’

‘Well, Ryan’s in the box room instead of me,’ she said, with a half-smile.

Kim frowned having no idea what that meant. ‘Is that important?’

‘Yes, it kind of is.’

‘So, you listened to him? Jake got you to take notice of everything he said?’ Kim asked.

‘I suppose so. He did seem to know…’

‘He seems to know that targeting family relationships is the quickest way to emotional vulnerability. It’s his favourite party trick.’

Tiff looked surprised.

‘But how did he reel you in, Tink?’

‘I think from the second you’re involved you feel important. They make you feel loved, wanted. They make you feel that everything you say is valued, that they want you. They make you feel like you matter.’

‘You always mattered to us, you know,’ Kim said, gently.

Tiffany swallowed, hard. ‘I know and I think I felt that. It kept me grounded. I knew why I was there and I think that stopped me falling over the edge. It would have been so easy.’

Kim tried to push down the guilt that rose in her stomach.

Unwittingly she had put this girl in danger both physically and psychologically. Tiffany’s eagerness to help had blinded her to the dangers to herself.

Tiffany may only have been at Unity Farm for a couple of days but the impact was something that even the girl herself wouldn’t understand.

And Kim wasn’t going to let her down twice.

The shadow of Kane Drummond loomed in the doorway.

‘Tink, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.’

* * *