From his memory of the report it was up to date and there was nothing new for him to note.
He pushed himself to his feet. ‘Thank you for your…’
‘That’s not the only reason I’m angry with her,’ Josie said, as her jaw set into a hard line.
‘Sorry?’ he said, pausing.
‘It’s all gone, everything.’
He sat back down.
She continued. ‘A few weeks after the CCTV footage, I went round to the house. I’m not sure why but it was a particularly bad day. I think some part of me hoped that miraculously she’d be there, cooking lunch or tending her plants. Another part of me just wanted the familiarity of the home. Picture both my mum and dad there as they’d always been.’
‘And?’
‘My key no longer fit the door. I looked inside. Thank God there was no one home. The house and contents had already been sold.’
Penn sat back, surprised.
‘So, whoever she’s with, officer, has taken her for all that she’s worth.’
Now that hadn’t been on the report.
Forty-Six
Kim approached the lake at Himley Park already feeling the change in energy from the day before.
The tent had been removed from the spot where Tyler’s body had been found but it remained cordoned off. There were still approximately ten white suits around the perimeter of the lake and a collection of five more where the shoe had been.
To the right was the diving crew which consisted of a team of nine.
‘You feel it?’ Bryant asked, as they approached the team.
There was an energy, an air of expectation, as though the arrival of the diving crew had galvanised everyone.
‘That was a quick turnaround,’ Mitch said, approaching from the left. ‘Last I heard your boss refused the request to drag the lake.’
‘I’ve got a creative team,’ she responded.
If it hadn’t been for Penn they wouldn’t be here at all. Clearly the techies had found nothing so far that would have strengthened their case.
Mitch nodded towards the divers. ‘Head guy, named Guy, says they should be ready to go in about ten minutes.’
‘Cheers, Mitch,’ she said as he went back to his business.
She watched the new arrivals for a moment as they prepared for the task at hand away from everyone else like a well-oiled machine. These guys relied on each other to stay alive.
She knew from experience that underwater teams were normally called in for recovery of bodies, vehicles or evidence. It was an unenviable task not to mention physically demanding and mentally taxing. It could get disgusting down there.
Scuba divers scoured the bottom of a body of water by hand, moving back and forth in straight lines, like mowing a lawn. Working in pairs they held onto a rope while sifting through silt, mud, rubbish and foliage.
Had the divers been called in the previous day, before the sailing guy tugged Tyler Short back to the bank, the body would have been placed into a body bag underwater to preserve any evidence but also to avoid family members or press seeing the body being removed from the water.
Kim approached the diver who had been pointed out to her. He was already fully kitted out in his dry suit; unlike wet suits, they were designed to prevent water reaching the skin to guard against polluted water.
Three other divers were busy hoisting oxygen tanks onto their backs. Five divers were not suited at all. For safety more divers stayed out of the water in case of problems.
‘Thanks for getting here so quickly,’ Kim offered.
He smiled. ‘Hey, it’s a day search. We’re good with that,’ he said, attaching a yellow safety line to one of the divers.
Kim knew these guys undertook an intensive eight-week training course followed by regular refreshers for the privilege of being submerged in near freezing conditions with zero visibility and for the pleasure of being on the police dive team. Not a job for the claustrophobic or faint-hearted.
‘We’re gonna do a quick whizz round on the boat with the sonar first and then send the guys in.’
Kim knew that the sonar equipment used sound propagation to detect objects underwater, which would then be explored more thoroughly by the divers.
‘You really think there’s a body down there?’ he asked, as one of the divers called him towards the shored dinghy.
Kim nodded. ‘I do,’ she said, as a familiar sound could be heard in the distance.
Guy headed back to his colleagues as Bryant reached her.
They both looked up into the sky.
‘Jeez, we asked that kid…’
‘It’s not his,’ Bryant said, shielding his eyes.
Kim followed his gaze and could immediately see that this one was bigger.
Everyone else looked up too as the drone hovered overhead. This one definitely belonged to a news crew somewhere.
‘Fuck it,’ she said to Bryant who was watching it thoughtfully. If she had a gun she’d shoot the bloody thing down.
‘I’ll be back,’ her colleague said.
‘Bryant, it’s bound to have a much longer range. You’ve got no chance of finding…’
‘Yeah, yeah,’ he said, continuing to move away at speed.
Damn it, did no one listen to her any more?
The people around her had all gone back to what they were doing, she noted, as she took out her phone.
Her boss answered on the second ring.
‘Sir, we’ve got a drone overhead and the divers are about to go in.’
‘Damn it. Okay, leave it with me.’
It was one of the shortest calls they’d ever had and she didn’t hold out much hope of success. Even if he was lucky enough to find out which press outlet it belonged to, he had to convince them to take it down.
Maybe Bryant’s wild goose chase would be more successful.
She was about to head back over to Mitch when her phone rang from her pocket. She’d already keyed in the number of Myles Brown.
‘Inspector?’
‘Go ahead,’ she said, watching the drone as it moved west and hovered above the dive team.
‘Kane has agreed to a meeting.’
How very nice of him, Kim thought, aware they could have done it her way down at the station, seeing as he’d been witnessed loitering around the victim’s home.
‘When?’
‘Twelve, at Rosie’s café in Brierley Hill. He’s happy to talk one-on-one informally or he won’t speak at all.’
‘Really?’ she asked, wondering why he thought he could make conditions to a meeting with the police.
‘Sorry, but if it’s more than one he’ll just walk out.’
Despite the irritation that burned within her she agreed. This man was intrinsically involved in the lives of the Brown family and was planning another snatch. She had to find out more about him and what had occurred.
First meeting was on his terms and if there was a second, it would be on hers.
She gave her agreement and ended the call as two things happened around her: the sound of a second drone could be heard in the distance and Bryant pulled up on the car park.
What the hell was going on? she wondered as both the second drone and Bryant headed towards her.
She watched as the second drone hovered above the lake, turning and then ducking and diving. It paused in mid-air as it seemed to find the bigger drone. The bigger drone was paying no attention to it as it circled the area above the dive team.
Bryant arrived beside her as the little drone moved east towards the bigger one. It picked up speed, climbing until it was level with the other one. It found another speed as it flew into the other drone, a mid-air fight seemed to ensue before propellers were entwined and both drones fell to the ground.
Everyone who had stopped to look gave a small cheer.
She turned to her colleague with a smile.
‘You know, Bryant, if you hadn’t already killed Betty she’d be winging her way to your desk right now.’
<
br /> ‘Good to know,’ he said, looking around distractedly.
‘Hope you promised the kid something good.’
‘Oh yeah. I’ll be on Amazon as soon as I get home.’
Now for the bad news. Something he wasn’t gonna like one bit. She’d break it to him as gently as she could.
‘Look, Bryant, I’ve got a meeting with Kane but you can’t come,’ she said, heading towards the car. The words had sounded much more diplomatic in her head.
He didn’t much like being left out of conversations but she really needed to talk to this guy.
‘No probs, guv. That suits me just fine.’
Although she was grateful for his understanding it was not the response she’d expected.
Forty-Seven
The guv entered the café a few minutes early saying she wanted to get in first.
Normally he would have minded being excluded from any conversation related to the case, but on this occasion, he was relieved. He needed a minute to himself.
He took out his phone and read the message again. Richard had tried to call him twice and Bryant had purposefully ignored the calls. He knew he had to let the case go. After visiting the home of Tina and Damon Crossley he had fought the urge to get involved. He could understand the rage and frustration that had built up in Tina after finding out about Peter Drake’s release and there was no one else to take it out on. But he’d forced himself to step away. A team was handling the case, and although Damon wanted the book thrown at her, CID would decide the charges.
Despite ignoring the calls Richard had sent him a text message. Just three little words.
Have you heard?
He dialled Richard’s number, as he watched the guv take a seat at an empty table.
The man answered on the second ring, already shouting at him.
‘Fucking hell, Bryant. Where’ve you been. What the fuck is going on?’
‘Richard, slow down. What are you talking about? I’m out here doing my job.’
Despite everything, cursing was something he’d rarely heard from Harrison. He barely recognised the man’s voice.
Silence. ‘You haven’t heard?’
‘Heard what?’ he snapped. He wasn’t going to sit here playing guessing games.
‘It’s all over the fucking net, man. Exactly what we feared. He’s gone and done it again.’
Forty-Eight
Kim could see her colleague in animated conversation with someone. She checked her phone. No missed calls or messages. If it was anything to do with the case she was sure he’d let her know.
She took a sip of her latte as the door opened.
There was no mistaking the man who entered. Dressed from head to toe in black, his combat trousers and plain tee shirt did little to hide his muscled physique. Immediately she thought ex-forces, probably army.
She raised her hand to indicate she was the person he was looking for. He offered no acknowledgment but approached the counter and placed an order. The girl appraised him appreciatively before advising him to take a seat.
He nodded towards her before pulling out the opposite chair. ‘Inspector?’
‘Good to meet you, Kane,’ she said, noting that neither offered their hand. ‘You know why I’m here?’
‘To talk about Samantha Brown,’ he replied.
Kim noted that his dark-featured handsome face remained completely neutral at all times. There was neither a frown nor a smile lurking anywhere.
‘You were seen loitering close to her home,’ she said without preamble.
‘Absolutely but I wasn’t loitering and I wasn’t hiding. I can give you the exact dates and times if it’ll help.’
Kim hadn’t expected him to admit his presence at Sammy’s home quite so easily.
‘Why were you there?’
‘Because I knew she wasn’t ready.’
‘For what?’
‘To be left alone. She needed much longer at home with her parents, readjusting to normal life before getting a place of her own. Just because she understood what the cult was didn’t mean she didn’t want to go back to it.’
‘But isn’t that what you do?’ Kim asked. ‘Deprogram cult members?’
‘I start the process, Inspector. It’s up to the family to do the rest.’
‘And the process. I’d like to know more about what you do.’
‘Why?’
She liked dealing with people who didn’t waste words.
‘Because I’m told you’re about to do it again, this week.’
‘We don’t actually tell the family when we’re going to do it.’
‘Well, they seem to think Sophie is coming home soon.’
He shrugged without emotion. ‘They’re given an idea of time but we don’t give exact dates and times. We don’t know when they’ll be ready.’
‘To snatch?’ she asked, confused.
He remained silent as the waitress placed his cup of black coffee before him.
He thanked her without looking her way. She appeared disappointed.
‘Getting them is the easy part. That’s not what we do. The Browns could have done that themselves.’
‘So, why didn’t they?’
‘Because they knew that the first time Samantha saw an open door she’d be right back at Unity Farm.’
‘So, what exactly do you do?’
‘We take the person out of the cult and then the cult out of the person.’
‘Is that the company strapline?’ Kim asked, unable to help herself. She could see it now on glossy brochures.
‘No, it’s what we do,’ he repeated without humour.
‘So, you’re saying you snatch someone and keep them until you think they’re ready to go home?’
He nodded. ‘There’s no point otherwise. What’s your favourite food?’ he asked, surprising her but she decided to play along, and although she didn’t really have a favourite food she did enjoy the occasional pizza.
She answered him.
‘If I took you away from the pizza shop and told you never to eat another pizza you’d completely ignore me and go get one. If I get the chance to show you the fat content and additives and explain the effect it’s having on your body, you might think twice. It’s not as simple as me getting you away from the pizza shop, that doesn’t change your mind-set. Few people are kept in a cult against their will. They want to be there. They’ve been persuaded.’
‘And you dissuade them?’
He took a sip of coffee. ‘There’s a technique used by cults called freezing…’
‘Yeah, thawing and refreezing Myles told me about that.’
‘In effect, we use the same technique to undo the damage.’
Kim pictured a piece of meat. ‘But surely once something has been thawed you can’t refreeze it again. It’s not safe.’
‘It is if you change its structural composition. If a chicken is frozen you can defrost it, cook it and refreeze it again. It has been changed.’
‘But it’s still the same chicken,’ Kim said, wondering how many times the mind could take being frozen and thawed.
He held her gaze but said nothing.
‘And you’re an expert on this?’
‘Yes,’ he said, simply.
‘Why?’
‘Because I am.’
‘So, how long does the process take?’
‘It varies.’
‘From what to what?’ she asked.
‘Five days is the shortest. Thirteen days is the longest.’
‘Sammy Brown?’
‘Thirteen.’
So, she’d been his biggest challenge yet.
‘Let me get this right. You can undo months of brainwashing in less than two weeks?’
‘First of all, cults don’t brainwash, that’s a term when a victim knows they’re in the hands of the enemy. Thought reform is a type of influence and persuasion which is like gaining weight. It happens gradually and like weight the slower it goes on the harder it is to lose.’
He studied her for a minute before necking his coffee.
‘Myles told me you had some kind of understanding, but if I need to educate you to this degree you’re going to have to buy me another drink.’
Forty-Nine
From the article and subsequent research Stacey learned two things. The girl, named at the inquest as Helen Deere, had spent seven months at Unity Farm and she had not fallen from the window of her parents’ town house. She had broken the window and jumped. A verdict of suicide had been recorded.
Stacey sat back and thought for a moment. Two murders and now a suicide all linked to Unity Farm. The inquest had confirmed that no one other than the girl’s mother had been present at the home at the time Helen Deere took her own life, so Stacey knew that her death was not connected to their murderer, but why the mention at all? Why was the place involved in the narrative of her suicide?
A couple of quick searches and she had a landline for the home of Helen Deere’s parents.
The phone was answered on the second ring.
‘Mrs Deere?’ Stacey asked.
‘Who’s calling?’
Check before committing. Stacey liked that.
Stacey introduced herself and her position.
The woman offered no response and simply waited for the purpose of the call.
‘Mrs Deere, may I ask you a couple of questions about your daughter, Helen?’
‘I know my daughter’s name, officer, and I assume you know she died, so how can I possibly help you?’
The woman’s tone hovered around unfriendly with the threat of outright hostility if Stacey said the wrong thing or took too long.
‘Unity Farm has come to our attention and I understand that your daughter spent some time there before her death.’
‘My daughter was a normal sixteen-year-old before she met those people, officer. They changed her. They brainwashed her until I didn’t even recognise my own child. The place is evil and destructive and they took my daughter from me,’ she spat.
Killing Mind: An addictive and nail-biting crime thriller (Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Book 12) Page 13