Page 63 of Killing Mind

‘The next step is to develop a dependence on the cult. Initially they’re kept unaware of what is going on and the changes taking place. They control the person’s time and environment. They’re not left alone; they’re given activities that reinforce the changes. Eventually the cult introduces a “them and us” philosophy. It separates the person from anyone not in the cult. Outsiders are given an identity.’

‘Zombies?’ Kim asked, remembering what Sammy had called her parents.

He nodded. ‘Similar to tactics used by the army. Give the enemy a name. Eventually the cult creates a sense of powerlessness, fear and dependency.’

Kim remembered the girl selling the vegetables. Her anxiety and then her joy when Jake appeared.

‘They suppress much of the old behaviour and attitudes while instilling new ones. Finally, they offer a closed system of logic, allowing no real input or criticism. Esteem and affection from peers is important to new recruits. Initially, a new member will be showered with praise, affection to make them feel safe and loved. The changes happen over time. Newbies are cut off from families, friends and love bombed.’

Kim raised an eyebrow.

‘Flattery, compliments, always in the company of a long-term member who is affectionate, kept busy so there is no room for doubts. Sometimes kept awake for long periods so they’re sleep deficient, phones will be broken to prevent contact. Once you change someone’s surroundings to that degree you’re halfway there.’ He thought for a moment. ‘Have you ever spent time in hospital, Inspector?’

She shook her head.

‘Attended a team-building course for a few days?’

She nodded.

‘The few people around you take on more importance. Cut off from everything you know, a new reality forms. You become dependent. A cult will tap into any unresolved feelings and exploit them. Eventually the only people a newbie will care about are the people in the group. Their new family.’

Kim recalled Britney’s allusion to family.

‘Is that what newbies want?’

‘Everyone wants to belong: to a team, a group. Take someone’s family away and they’re ripe to become part of another one. You have to remember that these groups are highly cohesive. They are controlled by a shared system of beliefs.’

‘Do they target vulnerable people?’

He sipped and nodded. ‘In most cases they do. People who are emotionally unstable are prime targets, they’re easier to coerce, but most people are susceptible to flattery and being told what they want to hear.’

‘And do you use the same techniques when you break them out?’

‘That subject isn’t up for discussion,’ he said, finishing his drink. ‘But what I can tell you is that people who aren’t extracted properly may never recover from the experience.’

‘Why not?’ Kim asked. Surely the influence of the group was like a drug. If you no longer took it, it wore off.

‘Remember my pizza example. It’s not enough to take the person out of the cult. You also…’

‘Have to take the cult out of the person,’ she finished for him.

Kim sensed their meeting was coming to an end but there was more she wanted to ask.

‘Did Sammy recruit Sophie into the group?’

He shook his head and pointedly looked at his watch.

‘My understanding of their dynamic is that Sophie wanted everything her sister had and she went of her own accord. As children they were very close and Sophie looked up to her sister. Sophie wasn’t as bright, academically, as Sammy. She had to work harder to do well at school but Sammy never made fun of her and would help her revise for exams and tests. Sophie is more artistic, more of a dreamer, from what her parents have said.’

‘But why would Sophie follow her sister into—’

‘My understanding,’ he said, cutting her off and glancing at his watch again, ‘is that when Sammy pulled away she shunned everyone, even Sophie. Myles and Kate think she followed to try and get that connection back. Basically, Sophie missed her sister.’

And now to what Kim had to say before she ran out of time. There was a meter running in his watch or in his brain.

‘Look, I understand the wishes of the Browns with regard to their younger daughter, but I must ask that you hold off on any plan to snatch her while we’re investigating exactly how Unity Farm is involved in Samantha’s murder.’

‘You’re not paying me,’ he said, pushing his chair away from the table.