Page 44 of Stolen Ones

‘I’m not sure they’ve suffered at all, but I thought you’d be interested in her background.’

‘Yes, we were very interested, but how did you know so much about her background? How closely did you follow her family?’

‘Please ask me one question at a time,’ he said, tapping the side of his head. ‘I struggle to keep up.’

Bryant shifted in his seat. She was sure it was taking all his effort not to reach across the table and try to shake the information from him. Luckily for her, Bryant had excellent self-control because brute force was not going to work.

‘I’m sorry, Steven, but I don’t believe that for a minute. You are simply trying to control the conversation.’

He was no idiot, and neither was she.

He smiled. ‘In answer to your first question, I knew so much about her background because like any concerned citizen at that time I watched the news, I read the articles, I saw the interviews. I watched as Lyla Jones frowned less and smiled more. I watched as the make-up she wore became thicker and better applied. I watched as her hair darkened and became styled. I watched her confidence grow along with her bank balance.’

‘You know her finances?’

‘I can imagine she was paid for many of her appearances. I watched as Melody’s disappearance became less about Melody and more about her.’

Kim disputed none of it. ‘But what were you hoping we’d find?’

He shrugged.

Kim couldn’t help wondering if he was trying in some way to ease his own guilt for taking Melody’s life by trying to convince them her life hadn’t been all that great.

‘So, what else have you dug up while you’ve been gone?’ he asked, meeting her gaze.

Kim was sure she heard a low growl from Bryant’s throat at Harte’s play on words but she’d decided before entering the room that she was going to share nothing of the discovery at Hawne Park.

If she was correct, that he was here because he had known Melody’s body was going to be uncovered, he would be expecting her questions to centre around that. She wasn’t going there until she had more information and could ask the questions she really wanted to ask. It was also important that he understood that he was not in control.

‘We met with a woman named Suzie Keene. You might remember her.’

Amusement danced in his eyes, but he offered no response.

‘Suzie Keene was nine years old when she was abducted in 1994. Kept from her family for a year.’

‘Oh yes, I remember Suzie. I read a lot of articles about her and her family too.’

Kim saw what game they were playing and realised she had no choice but to play along.

‘And what do you remember from those articles, Steven?’

‘I remember thinking she was a shy and sensitive girl. Withdrawn. I felt she was having problems with her family when she disappeared. Her parents didn’t appear very close when they did their television appeal. I heard they became close again while Suzie was gone, and then she miraculously reappeared sometime later and rejoined a happy family.’

‘A year later,’ she emphasised.

‘It’s a long time.’

‘She claimed she was untouched.’

His face creased in disgust. ‘Only a sicko would do that.’

‘Then one wonders what kind of sicko had her at all.’

He fought down any emotion that was trying to show on his face. She noted that particular trigger for use if she needed it.

He recovered quickly. ‘And how has she fared in life after her terrible experience?’

Kim would not give him the satisfaction of answering that one.