Page 30 of Killing Mind

Kate headed for the room they’d already graced on their two previous visits.

‘Myles is trying to work,’ she said, opening the door.

Kim immediately noticed that the computer behind which he sat wasn’t even switched on. There was no attempt at work going on here.

As he turned in the captain’s chair Kim could see his eyes were red-rimmed and a handkerchief corner peeped out of his trouser pocket. Kim felt a rush of sympathy. There was no doubt that this couple was grieving and that she was trampling on their grief every time she knocked on the door. It was also clear that they were hiding something. She had no choice but to put her sympathy aside.

‘Mr Brown, we…’

‘I’ll go and make tea,’ Kate said, heading towards the door.

‘Mrs Brown, I’d rather you stay…’

‘And I’d rather go and make tea,’ she said shortly.

‘I’ll help,’ Bryant said, seizing the opportunity to get her alone.

For a second she saw fear in the eyes of Myles Brown but he quickly realised there was little he could do. To forbid a police officer from helping his wife make a hot drink would require some kind of explanation.

‘Mr Brown,’ Kim said, taking a seat. ‘I’m afraid to say that I don’t think you and your wife are being completely honest with us.’

His face hardened as he opened his mouth to speak.

Kim held up her hand to quiet him. ‘Before you speak you should know that any omissions up to this point I will attribute to the shock and grief of losing your daughter, but if you withhold information beyond this conversation I will assume that you are obstructing a murder investigation and will act accordingly. Do we understand each other?’

He hesitated before nodding.

‘Does the name Tyler Short mean anything to you?’

He considered for a moment before shaking his head. ‘Should it?’ he asked.

Kim left the question hanging in the air. If he didn’t know the boy she would not go into detail.

‘But you do know a girl named Carrie?’

He nodded without hesitation. ‘She was one of Sammy’s best friends.’

‘A while back, though, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes, they were friends in college.’

‘Before Sammy ran away?’

He had the grace not to nod in agreement as they both knew that story was a lie.

‘Mr Brown, we know that Sammy had a bad break-up with a boyfriend that hit her hard. We know that it caused her to withdraw from her normal social circle and from social media, but she didn’t run away. So, tell me, Mr Brown, where was your daughter for the last two years?’

His body visibly deflated before her eyes as though the truth was trying to find a way out of him.

He took a deep breath. ‘Sammy joined a cult.’

‘A what?’ Kim asked, sitting forward. She could be no more surprised if he’d said she’d joined a travelling circus.

‘A cult,’ he repeated, and seeing the expression on her face he continued. ‘And that’s why we kept it secret. You don’t believe me, do you? You think cults only exist in other countries. You think they all look like Charles Manson or David Koresh?’

Strangely enough both the insane murderer and the leader of the Branch Davidians in Waco had been two of the first faces that had popped into her head.

‘Not all cults are based on religion and not all are in the public eye or in any of the research books but it makes them no less real or dangerous.’