Page 49 of Killing Mind

‘Unresponsive at first. Other than swearing and calling us names she barely spoke to us. She hated us for what we’d done, but she started to come around as she settled back into the real world. Eventually she said she needed her own space and we trusted that she wasn’t going to slip backwards.

‘We found her that flat where we could keep a close eye on her, and Kane checked on her too.’ He shook his head. ‘I still can’t believe that someone would kill her.’

‘And you think someone at Unity Farm is responsible?’

‘I don’t know who else it could be. She had no enemies.’

‘But why when she’s been gone for months. Why wait so long?’

He shrugged. ‘Maybe they’re angry because she left. Maybe she knew something about someone. I just don’t know,’ he said, as his grief caught up with him. While he’d been talking about the mechanics of the group his mind had been occupied but now his loss was back at the forefront of his mind.

Kim pushed back her chair. ‘Okay, Myles, that’ll be all for now. If we need anything…’

‘So, what are you going to do, about the cult, I mean?’

His hands were clasped together on the table before him. The pose seemed relaxed, but she could see the whites of his knuckles.

A shiver crept up her spine. The tension still surging through his body, despite his admissions, troubled her. Even now he was not being completely truthful.

‘Myles, I swear to God I am considering charging you with every obstruction…’

She stopped speaking as her phone rang. It was Jack at the front desk.

‘Stone,’ she answered.

‘Got a woman here who is insisting on speaking to you straight away,’ he said.

‘Bit busy at the minute,’ she said, glancing at Myles who was rubbing the back of his neck. ‘Get someone else to…’

‘Yeah, she says her husband is here and that he’s not telling the truth, whatever that means.’

Kim glanced again at the troubled man before her who for whatever reason was still not being completely honest about his daughter’s murder.

‘Bring her through, Jack,’ she said, ending the call.

Both Stacey and Myles glanced at her questioningly as she remained silent and took a sip of her drink. It was stone cold and she pushed it away as a knock sounded at the door.

‘Come in,’ she called, watching Myles’s reaction as the door opened and his wife stood behind the constable.

His expression turned to one of tenderness mixed with fear. ‘Kate, what the…’

‘I’m sorry, Myles, but I can’t do this any more,’ she said, pushing past the constable and entering the room.

‘Please take a seat,’ Kim invited.

‘Kate, we agreed that—’

‘No Myles,’ she shot back. ‘You decided and I went along with it but I don’t think we’re doing the right thing. I think she needs to know.’

Kim leaned forward. ‘Mrs Brown, what the hell is going on here?’

Kate glanced at her husband. ‘Has he told you all about Kane and what he did for us?’

Kim nodded.

Kate glanced at her husband, appearing to soften as she saw the anguish in his face.

‘Please understand that he was only doing what he thought was best. He didn’t mean to deceive you or impede the investigation by not sharing everything. We’re frightened,’ she said, reaching for her husband’s hand.