Page 41 of Killing Mind

‘Nice,’ Bryant murmured, and she could understand what he meant.

‘We like to think of it as home,’ Jake said, closing the door behind them.

The only thing missing was a computer of any kind, Kim realised, lowering herself on to the sofa.

Jake sat opposite.

‘So, you own all of this property?’ Kim asked, making no apology for her directness.

‘We do,’ he answered. ‘The house, the barns and the surrounding seventeen acres.’

She whistled. ‘Very nice. Who is we?’

‘There are twelve of us that put capital in at the beginning and…’

‘Equal amounts?’ Kim asked.

‘…we shared a vision,’ he continued as though she hadn’t spoken. ‘We’ve been very lucky that murder helped us to achieve…’

‘Excuse me,’ Kim said, narrowing her eyes.

Amusement pulled at his lips. ‘My apologies for my poor phraseology there, Inspector. The house and land was being sold way under market value due to the family slaying here in the early nineties. A nephew murdered his aunt and uncle and their two daughters and tried to make it look like a burglary gone wrong. No one wanted to buy the place after that.’

Clearly Jake Black was never one to look the misfortune gift horse in the mouth, Kim surmised.

‘And how many people are here now?’

‘One hundred and one,’ he answered promptly.

‘And they’ve all put capital into the Farm?’ Kim probed.

‘Every single person here contributes in some way, Inspector,’ he said without missing a beat. ‘We have to survive.’

‘Sammy’s death has been all over the news,’ Kim said, broaching the subject that had brought her here and still unable to believe he hadn’t known.

He smiled, revealing even white teeth. ‘We don’t much care for the news here. It’s rarely good.’

‘And what exactly is here, Jake, and why was Sammy here for two and a half years before she left?’

‘We’re a retreat, a spiritual safe place if you like. People join us for a number of reasons.’

‘Like what?’ Kim asked, bluntly.

‘As I said, there are many reasons,’ he answered, unfazed. ‘But I suppose many have become disillusioned with the world and often their place within it.’

‘So, they’re running away?’

‘Or choosing a different path,’ he countered. ‘People come here searching for many things but mainly they come to search from themselves, and no I’m not offended by the nature of your questions, Inspector,’ he said with a mischievous smile.

‘Good, and did Tyler Short come looking for himself?’ she asked, thinking of the sad and lonely young man. The sudden insertion of Tyler’s name was intentional. She wanted to gauge his initial response to the name.

‘No, Tyler came searching for love,’ he answered, easily, as though he’d been sent her list of questions in advance.

‘Sorry?’ Kim asked, not wanting to divulge too much about her knowledge of Tyler and his feelings for Sammy.

‘Tyler joined us to get closer to Samantha. It’s not a way of life that suits everyone; if you’re not committed to living a cleaner, freer kind of life you won’t last. He wasn’t interested in our philosophies and especially one in particular.’

‘Which was?’