She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she needed to find out more about Unity Farm. It wasn’t that she believed everything Myles said, but she didn’t believe everything Jake Black said either.
If she visited the place again she was sure she’d be given another tourist guide insight. With no direct link to Sammy’s death, given that she’d left months ago, Kim knew she wasn’t going to get a search warrant. So, how the hell was she going to learn more about the place?
Kim had the feeling of being a lab rat in a maze. She was moving around but every corner she turned led to another dead end, not helped by Woody’s refusal to consider dragging the lake. She understood the cost involved versus the chances of finding anything based on one bloody shoe, but what if there was another victim down there? What if…
Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone.
It was Penn. Her heart leapt. His mother.
‘Penn?’ she answered, quickly.
‘I think I’ve got her, boss,’ he said, breathlessly.
‘Sorry… what?’
‘The shoe at Himley. I reckon we’re looking for a woman named Sheila Thorpe, and I think we’ll find her at the bottom of the lake.’
Forty-Two
‘Okay, guys, thanks to Penn’s great work last night Woody is now making the necessary arrangements to drag the lake at Himley Park.’
Woody had told them that without even an identity of a missing person to go on, his hands were tied. Penn’s late-night project had untied her boss’s hands and they had been given the all clear.
Stacey offered her colleague a cheeky wink, and Bryant called out a genuine ‘Well done’. She marvelled at the lack of competitiveness within her team. If one of them did good, they all did good.
Penn looked away, embarrassed. He didn’t welcome public praise.
But Kim had been pretty impressed when he’d explained how he’d formed a basic profile form on Amazon to use on the Mispers which took him to Facebook and a photo of Sheila Thorpe at her thirtieth wedding anniversary two years ago. But the man had always liked a puzzle, she thought, remembering the word puzzle he’d solved which had saved Stacey’s life.
‘So, while we wait for the dive team to get here from Nottingham we need to carry on pushing this investigation forward. Myles Brown has a lot to say about Unity Farm. Most of which is pretty off the wall and given that his younger daughter is still there I think his rational brain may be somewhat impaired. He believes that Sophie has also been brainwashed and that she’s being held against her will, especially after Sammy was taken; but both parents insist that they want Kane Devlin to repeat the intervention he performed with Sammy.’ She turned to Stacey. ‘I want to know all about Unity Farm and whatever you can find out about Jake Black and when you’re done with that start looking up Kane Devlin.’
Stacey nodded.
‘Penn, I want you to go see Sheila Thorpe’s daughter without giving anything away. Make something up but we need to know more about her disappearance.’
‘Got it, boss,’ he answered, removing the bandana from his head and reaching for the magic cream in his drawer that was used to tame his curls while out in the field.
Bryant leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. ‘Sounds like everything’s covered, so I’ll just put my feet up.’
‘Ha, you wish,’ she scoffed, reaching for her jacket. ‘You and me are going back to college, my friend.’
Forty-Three
‘Go on, Stace,’ Penn said, pushing the Tupperware container forward to cover the hairline crack that separated their two desks. ‘He made them before he went to Billy’s last night.’
Stacey stared longingly at the chocolate brownies Jasper had baked. She had no idea what the lad did to them but they were the best brownies she’d ever tasted.
‘I dare not,’ she said, pushing them back towards him. ‘Because I can’t have just one of anything your brother cooks.’
Penn smiled and took them out of sight. ‘Never let it be said that I’m not a supportive friend,’ he said. ‘Even though I think you’re fine as you are.’
‘Thanks, Penn,’ she said, as he reached for his jacket.
Once he was gone she groaned out load. Just the sight of those perfect little squares had transferred their devilishness to her taste buds. She could feel that velvety sweetness on her tongue, and if she could survive the day without nipping behind Penn’s desk she could survive anything. Jeez, that boy could cook.
She shook away the temptation and typed ‘Unity Farm’ into a search engine.
She got fewer hits than she’d expected. The place only came up in mentions in local news. Most of the articles were a rehash of the murder that the boss had mentioned, where the name of the place was referred to along the lines of ‘now known as’, but direct references seemed to be non-existent. The boss had said they grew and sold things but there was no website or Facebook page. Looked like all of their business was done by word of mouth.
She carried on scrolling and was a couple of hits from the bottom of the page when one news article screamed for her attention.
Teenage Girl Falls from Third Floor Window
Stacey frowned and clicked into the piece.
How the hell was Unity Farm involved with that?
Forty-Four
‘That’s her,’ Kim said nodding towards the directional board at the far end of the car park.
Dudley College of Technology dated back to 1862 and consistently received ‘outstanding provider’ awards. Over the years it had spread its wings and now operated from six or seven other buildings and included an all-weather football complex used by the college and the wider community.
But it was the main complex on The Broadway where she’d been told she’d find Britney Murray, and the girl fitted the description from Myles perfectly; five feet three, slim but with long red curls that reminded Kim of a cartoon character she couldn’t name. Kim guessed her to be mid-twenties but appeared younger when she smiled, as she did at everyone who walked past her.
She held out her right hand, which was clutching a leaflet. Most people carried on past without even an acknowledgment. Kim got the impression folks were used to seeing her around.
‘She’s keen,’ Kim observed, just watching for a moment.
‘And has the skin of a rhino,’ Bryant added as people continued to rebuff her open friendly smile. ‘You know those guys who jump in front of you when you’re out shopping, selling some kind of new phone tariff or satellite package?’
‘Yeah,’ Kim answered, as a student took a leaflet then immediately dropped it.
‘I’ve always wondered why they do it, cos I’ve never seen anyone accompany them over to the kiosk or shop, but they must be having some kind of success or they wouldn’t keep doing it.’
‘So?’
‘Well, if Britney’s been here doing this since Sammy joined, we’re looking at three years or more.’
‘You’re wondering just how many she’s recruited in that time?’
‘All I’m saying is that she must be having some success or she wouldn’t still be here.’
‘That’s approximately fifteen thousand students per year multiplied by three years gives us a total of forty-five thousand students, so if you wanna call Stacey and ask her to start checking their whereabouts, be my guest,’ Kim said, moving towards their target.
‘Value my nuts too much, guv,’ he whispered as they approached.
The girl turned and smiled before a small frown settled on her face. Not the kind of people she was expecting to see.
‘Britney Murray?’ Kim asked, to be sure.
She nodded, slowly. ‘I’ve got permission to be on the car park. I just can’t go past…’
‘We’re not from the college,’ Kim said, showing her ID.
‘Oh my god,’ she exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. ‘Is everything okay? Is the Farm…’
‘I’m sure it’s all as you left it. We want to t
alk to you about Samantha Brown.’
Panic shot into her eyes before she began to shake her head.
‘I don’t know anyone called…’
‘Sammy Brown, twenty-one years old. You met her here on this site,’ Kim clarified. Britney couldn’t have forgotten her quite so soon. She’d only left Unity Farm a few months earlier.
‘I’m sorry but I meet a lot of people,’ she said, gesturing towards the groups that continued to surge past after another bus had pulled in.
‘Well, you did more than meet her, Britney. You took her to the Farm and…’
‘Oh, I take many people to a meditation class or reiki session,’ she said, appearing relieved. ‘But I don’t remember all their names.’
Kim caught Bryant’s eye and thankfully he looked as bewildered as she felt. There was no fathomable reason for Britney to deny knowing her.
‘Sammy didn’t attend one class, Britney, she stayed for more than two years.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t know her, it’s a big place. We might not have…’
‘There are only one hundred people there, so I’m not sure how you could have missed her, especially as you introduced her to the Farm in the first place.’
Colour appeared to be building in her cheeks but she still shook her head resolutely. ‘No, still not…’
‘Her sister, Sophie, is still there?’
‘There’s no specific rel… I mean, I don’t know anyone who has a blood relative at the Farm.’
Kim found the term ‘blood relative’ a little strange but she let it pass.
‘What I mean is that everyone is like family at Unity Farm.’ The smile was back on her face. ‘Everyone just gets along.’
‘But not too well,’ Kim said. ‘I hear you’re not allowed a boyfriend… or a girlfriend at Unity Farm.’
A shadow passed over her face before she chuckled. ‘Don’t want either, thank you very much. I’m happy now just to focus on me. We all feel that friendship is much more valuable.’
‘And yet you can’t even recall the name of one of your family members?’ Kim observed, bringing the tension back to Britney’s face. ‘But I agree with you,’ Kim said, changing topic again. ‘Romance and sexual attraction just muddy the waters, but I’d imagine keeping those feelings hidden can be quite…’
‘I don’t have feelings for anyone,’ she protested, as the colour once again filled her cheeks. Britney had a complexion that was not on her side.
‘Was Sammy having any kind of relationship?’
‘Sammy who?’
‘Britney, I don’t know why you’re lying to us,’ Kim said. Her mouth could lie but her cheeks would be controlled by no one.
‘I swear… I don’t…’
‘We just want to know more about her time at the Farm.’
‘But I didn’t know her.’
‘Was she happy?’ Kim pushed.
‘Everyone at the farm is happy.’
‘Did she upset anyone?’ Kim asked, firing the questions to unnerve her.
‘I couldn’t say but…’
‘You didn’t know her?’ Bryant said, stepping forward.
Britney said nothing.
‘You used the word “didn’t” know her. Past tense, indicating you know that she’s gone from the Farm or that you know she’s dead, but either way you know who we’re talking about.’
For a moment, she looked stricken.
‘Britney, why won’t you talk to us about Sammy?’
Her gaze dropped to the floor before she mumbled, ‘I’m sorry; I’ve been told I can’t.’
‘By whom?’
The girl just shook her head.
‘You know, Britney, we could always have this chat down at the station,’ Kim threatened. ‘Maybe then you’ll remember more about your old friend, Sammy.’
Britney raised her head and met Kim’s gaze. Her expression was resolute. ‘You can say what you want but I’m not talking and I’m not scared of you.’
No, she wasn’t, Kim realised. But she was certainly scared of someone.
Forty-Five
Penn smoothed back his hair one last time before knocking the door to the home of Josie Finch, the daughter of Sheila Thorpe.
The semi-detached house lay at the arc of a cul-de-sac in Coseley that he hadn’t even known was here.
Lie, the boss had instructed him, until they had something more concrete, but he intended to stay as close to the truth as he could.
He cleared his throat as the door began to open.
He recognised the blonde bob hairstyle from her Facebook photos. She wore less make-up and was dressed in jeans and a shirt.
‘Josie Finch?’ he asked.
She nodded as she appraised him, wondering who or what the hell he was. He got that a lot.
‘DS Penn,’ he said, holding up his ID.
The normal expression of alarm registered on her face.
‘There’s nothing wrong,’ he assured her quickly before she did a quick mental inventory of all family members and their whereabouts. ‘I’d like to chat about your mum if that’s okay.’
He saw a flash of anger but she stood aside and pointed towards the room on the right.
He stepped into a comfortable lounge just as Holly and Phil were coming onto the screen.
‘Is she dead?’ Josie asked, as though preparing herself for the worst.
‘Why would you ask that?’ Penn hedged, taking a seat.
‘Because you lot didn’t want to know before.’
Penn got the impression that the words were not filled with as much anger as she’d have liked them to be, almost as though she understood that they’d been unable to do more but she was pissed off anyway.
‘Mrs Finch, I’m new to my current team and I’ve been looking through our current list of missing persons. I’ve been tasked with refreshing the file, note any new developments.’
Not too far from the truth, he consoled himself. He didn’t do outright lying very easily. Not least because if their suspicions about the lake at Himley were correct this woman was shortly going to receive some very unwelcome news.
‘As I’m new to this case, could you take me through it from the very beginning?’
From experience, he knew that details could be overlooked or omitted from statements, especially by an overworked detective who already knew there was little he could do to help.
‘Three years ago, my father died unexpectedly. A massive heart attack while driving to work. He was fifty-six years old. It left my mum totally devastated. My dad had always worked long hours and Mum had often joked about not being able to wait until he retired so they could spend more time together. Well, they never did get that time. She didn’t have many friends and they were one of those couples that seemed to exist in a bubble. They didn’t need anyone else and sometimes I felt that even meant me. I didn’t mind because they were happy as long as they had each other.
‘When Dad died my mum went completely into herself. She didn’t eat or drink properly, she didn’t cook, clean or wash herself.’
Penn thought briefly of his own mother, unable to do any of those things but for completely different reasons. He pushed the thoughts away.
‘I had no idea what to do to help her. Her sole purpose for years had been to take care of my dad. She cooked for him, cleaned and never let him lift a finger. About two months after he died I came round and she was out. She told me she’d bumped into an old friend who had also been recently widowed. I was relieved. She seemed brighter, happier and I could stop worrying, or so I thought. Until it went to the other extreme. She was never in. She had excuse after excuse until I realised I hadn’t seen her for almost three months. I called and we arranged to meet for coffee. She never turned up and her phone was switched off after that.’
‘What did you do?’ Penn asked, thinking it sounded very much like the gradual withdrawal of Sammy Brown from her family.
‘I went round to the house and let myself in. Everything seemed fine. There we
re things I probably should have noticed but my only concern was for her. I checked with the neighbours who had barely seen her for months. I reported her missing that day, which was the day after that last phone call where she didn’t answer.’
‘The statements say the team made no contact with her at all.’
Josie shook her head. ‘They did little more than I did myself. Tried her phone, spoke to a couple of neighbours just like I did.
‘There was nothing until two weeks later when the police told me they had CCTV footage of her clearing out her bank account. I was relieved that she’d finally showed up somewhere. I thought it was the start of the trail to getting her back. I thought the police would be able to use CCTV to see who she was with, where she went.’
Penn could understand her disappointment but the CCTV footage would only have served to convince the team that she was alive and well and functioning. They would not have committed hours of manpower to gathering and viewing CCTV to trail her from the bank. She was a woman in her fifties with no history of mental illness appearing to make her own decisions.
‘Part of me wants her back so I can give her a piece of my mind, tell her I never want to see her again. I know how that…’
‘I get it. You’re…’
‘You can’t get it, not unless your own mother abandoned you.’
He said nothing. His own mother was about to leave him but by a totally different route.
‘I mean, how can she not be missing me as much as I’m missing her? But she has the power to come back. She knows where I am. A miscarriage and a failed marriage while she’s been gone and I’m not sure I can ever forgive her for that.’ She wiped a tear from her eye. ‘I needed her.’
Only yesterday Penn had been hoping that the shoe belonged to Sheila Thorpe. Now he was praying it didn’t. If she was alive and well somewhere there was hope for this relationship to be saved.
Killing Mind: An addictive and nail-biting crime thriller (Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Book 12) Page 12