Killing Mind: An addictive and nail-biting crime thriller (Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Book 12)

by Angela Marsons

‘What the hell?’

  ‘Fuck, Bryant, what have you?…’

  She stopped speaking as he shone the torch down at his feet. Damn it, he’d trodden on a tripwire leg snare. The cord around his leg stretched up to a thick branch on a tree about twelve feet away.

  ‘Shit,’ he said, trying to pull the rope from around his ankles.

  The more he pulled, the tighter it got.

  ‘Bryant, stop,’ she warned. It was a complex knot and he was going to cut off the circulation if he kept tugging at it. Discomfort was already shaping his face. The only way to free him safely was with a knife.

  Indecision tugged at her. One colleague was injured and another…

  ‘Go,’ Bryant hissed, in a whisper shout. ‘I’ll keep still, I swear.’

  ‘You sure?’

  He nodded and moved his hand away from the rope.

  She shone the phone back down to the ground, locating the exact line of the path.

  She would have to face Jake Black alone.

  One Hundred Nine

  Kane let go of Stacey’s arm and moved slowly towards Sophie.

  Stacey glanced at Penn, who was as dumbfounded as she was.

  She watched as Kane gently touched the skin at the girl’s wrist.

  ‘There are no ties, Sophie,’ he said, gently. ‘You can move your arms and open your eyes whenever you want.’

  ‘Fuck off,’ she hissed. ‘He told me you’d say that. He told me everything you’d do to try and brainwash me. He told me. He knows all your tricks. He knows everything.’

  Kane continued to rub the bare skin on her wrist.

  ‘Is this the same man who told you that your parents didn’t really want you, that you were an accident and they’d only ever loved Sammy?’ Kane asked, quietly.

  A tear forced its way from the corner of her eye.

  ‘Yes, and it was true. I hate them, both of them. They love her more than me and I can prove it. Jake explained it to me.’

  A wave of sadness engulfed Stacey as she watched this young girl, lost inside herself.

  Stacey met Kane’s gaze and he shook his head. She didn’t know her sister was dead.

  Kane returned to stand beside Stacey. ‘Almost five days she’s refused to open her eyes. I can’t force her. That’s the whole point. I have to allow her to understand and realise on her own that I don’t have her tied down.’

  ‘How did she get this way?’ Stacey whispered.

  ‘My understanding is that Jake played the sisters off against each other. Sophie followed Sammy into the cult because she idolised her, but Jake broke that bond and enforced the separation once Sammy was gone. He’s done a real number on her, but forcing her to open her eyes will only reinforce everything she’s been told.’

  ‘She doesn’t trust you,’ Penn said, quietly. ‘You’re everything Jake warned her against. She’s been expecting everything you’ve said and done. Every time you speak you prove Jake right and strengthen his hold of her mind. You’re actually making it worse.’

  Kane nodded his agreement. ‘With the way she now feels about her parents I’m not sure they’d have any more luck.’

  Stacey swallowed back the emotion as she watched the girl fidgeting in the chair but never once moving beyond the invisible ties that bound her.

  Of course everything Jake said was true, she thought. If he had convinced her about her parents then she would believe him on everything.

  ‘May I speak to her?’ Stacey whispered.

  Sophie tipped her head at the unfamiliar sound of a woman’s voice. There was something Kane had said that she might be able to work with.

  ‘Don’t mention Sammy. She can’t take that yet.’

  Stacey nodded her understanding and approached cautiously.

  ‘Hey, Sophie, my name’s Stacey and I’m a friend of your mum and dad.’

  Her face tightened.

  ‘Listen, I don’t know Jake but I think he might be wrong about your parents.’

  ‘They proved him right,’ she spat.

  ‘By taking Sammy first?’ Stacey asked.

  She nodded.

  Of course the master manipulator had turned that around to poison her mind. Both girls were in the cult and yet they’d chosen to get Sammy out and not her.

  ‘Ah, but I know why they did that. Your mum told me that you were the stronger of the two of you. That’s why they took Sammy first.’

  Sophie shook her head. ‘No that’s…’

  ‘Sophie, I have no reason to lie and I’m sure Jake thought he was helping, but even your dad said you’d be stronger and would cope better. They trusted in your strength and asked Kane to get you as soon as he could. They knew Sammy was weaker than you.’

  Stacey could see that Kane was uncomfortable with her lying, but the spell that had hung fast for days needed to be broken and the only way to do that was to cast even just a shadow of doubt on Jake’s words without calling him a liar. She would not accept that accusation. That could come later but right now all that was needed was an entry point, a way to reach the girl inside.

  ‘Sophie, I’m going to untie your ankles and your wrists, okay?’

  Sophie nodded.

  Stacey leaned down and fussed around her ankles making sure she made contact with the skin. She repeated the process around the wrists.

  She stood and leaned over the trembling girl, who hadn’t moved an inch.

  ‘Now I’m taking off the blindfold.’

  Stacey touched the girl’s cheeks gently and then fumbled at the back of her head.

  ‘Okay, sweetie, it’s all gone. You’re totally free now.’

  With a hammering heart Stacey touched the girl’s hand.

  ‘Come on, Sophie, please look at me. Trust me that the blindfold is gone.’

  Sophie finally opened her eyes.

  One Hundred Ten

  Kim knew she was just metres away from the cabin. A roaming torchlight and the low hum of voices told her she was getting close.

  Being forced to walk slowly and carefully had given her mind a chance to clear. For the life of her she hadn’t been able to work out the link to the death of Derek Noble, their third victim. He had no connection to the college or any of the victims. But for his body to be found in the same place as Tyler had to mean something. And now she knew what it was.

  She stood perfectly still as she reached the trees that circled the cabin. Two Victorian street lamps either side of the wooden structure lit up the small clearing and the leaves already being shed from the overhanging branches. Two figures sat on a fallen log. The glint of something in the lamp light confirmed her suspicions.

  She was close enough to hear every word.

  ‘I’m sure he’ll be here in a minute,’ the redheaded girl said.

  ‘That’s not true at all, is it, Britney?’ Kim asked, stepping out of the shadows.

  Both Tiff and Britney turned to stare at her, one expression bathed in relief and the other rage.

  In a split second Britney whirled around, grabbing Tiff’s hair and forcing her to the ground.

  ‘Get away from us,’ Britney cried out. ‘You’re just trying to take her away from me.’

  Tiff cried out in pain as Britney wound her hand further and further into her hair. Britney reached behind her and took a knife from her back pocket.

  ‘Take one step and I’ll slice her throat.’

  ‘Like you did with Sammy?’ Kim asked, not moving an inch. ‘Was she your best friend too?’

  The fog had cleared in her mind as she’d left Bryant behind. She remembered Kane’s words about newbies being flattered and showered with love. How potent that was and the power it had on the individual receiving the attention; but how powerful for the person showering the love, especially if they themselves were vulnerable too.

  ‘You recruited Sammy, didn’t you, from the college?’

  Britney said nothing.

  ‘There was no way she wouldn’t allow you into her flat. She trusted you and you killed her.’


  ‘She left me,’ Brit said, as though that explained everything.

  ‘And what about Tyler? You liked him, didn’t you? Even though you weren’t supposed to find love at the farm, you fell in love with Tyler?’

  ‘He loved me too,’ she growled, pulling tighter on Tiffany’s hair.

  ‘But he left after Sammy went, didn’t he? He followed her into the cult and he followed her back out again. He may have loved you but he was obsessed with her, had been for years.’

  Britney began pulling back and forth on Tiff’s hair. The hand holding the knife was flailing around all over the place.

  ‘He shouldn’t have left me,’ she said, her face creasing into an ugly sneer.

  ‘Like your father did?’ Kim asked, glancing at the butterfly hanging around her neck.

  ‘Everyone leaves me,’ she said. ‘And Tiff was going to leave me too. I saw the messages between the two of you. She never liked me from the first—’

  ‘Is that what you think?’ Kim asked, trying to divert Britney’s hatred away from Tiffany. She tried to think quickly and prayed Tiff had said nothing.

  ‘You read the messages and so you know why Tiff was here, but did you look at the call register?’

  Brit’s face creased in confusion.

  Thank God.

  ‘She called me earlier,’ Kim said, being as vague about the time as she could. She didn’t know when Britney had gotten hold of the phone.

  ‘Yeah, she called. She told me she didn’t want to leave. She said she’d met a new friend and she wanted to stay here for a while. She said she wanted to be with you.’

  ‘No, no, she hates me, just like…’

  ‘Britney, no one hated you,’ Kim said, realising that she had to keep talking. She had to throw as much doubt and uncertainty at her to douse her rage at Tiffany before she did something stupid.

  ‘Even your father didn’t hate you. Yes, he left when you were young. He was in a bad state but he came looking for you, didn’t he? Bought you that necklace. He told all his colleagues about you, about how…’

  ‘I don’t believe you,’ Brit said, as the strength returned to her voice.

  Too abstract, Kim realised. It was a man she had never really known. She’d veered too far off track but she had one last ace to play.

  ‘Brit, Sammy didn’t leave you either.’

  ‘Of course, she did. She hated…’

  Why the hell was the girl convinced that all the people who had left hated her?

  ‘She was snatched,’ Kim explained. ‘She didn’t run away. It was all arranged by her parents. Sammy didn’t have any choice. She didn’t even know it was going to happen.’ Kim paused. ‘She didn’t hate you and she didn’t leave.’

  ‘No… no… no,’ she cried, shaking her head. ‘It’s not true. She left me. They all left me. Tiff was going…’

  ‘I wasn’t Brit, I swear,’ Tiff said, trying to move her head with Britney’s erratic actions.

  ‘She’s right, I called and told her I wanted to stay. I wanted to learn more from you. We’ve had such a laugh and I love being with you.’

  ‘You do?’ Brit asked, in a voice that held hope that it had all been a misunderstanding and everything could go back to the way it had been earlier.

  Britney’s hesitation was all Tiffany needed to turn herself one hundred and eighty degrees and head-butt Britney in the stomach.

  Britney’s hand unwound from Tiff’s hair as she fell backwards.

  Kim took the opportunity to lurch forward and wrestle the knife from Britney’s hand by applying pressure to the wrist.

  Britney bucked and flipped, but Tiffany was already straddled across her, in a move that Kim had used herself once or twice.

  Kim felt the knife drop from her hand as a force from behind knocked her to the ground.

  One Hundred Eleven

  Kim turned to see Jake Black standing over Tiffany and Britney with the knife in his hand.

  ‘Get off her,’ Jake said, touching Tiff between the shoulders with the blade. His expression was unreadable.

  ‘Do it,’ Kim said, turning herself to a sitting position. The person who held the knife held the power.

  Tiff moved aside and Britney sat upright.

  ‘Oh, Britney, what have you done?’ Jake asked, gently.

  ‘She was going to leave me, Jake. Just like the rest of them. I had to stop her,’ Britney said, staring up at him. Both she and Tiff were forgotten, and the girl only had eyes for the man towering over her.

  ‘We don’t hurt people, Brit,’ he said, softly.

  Kim studied his face. The words were gentle but the expression in his eyes was hard. His right hand gripped the knife tightly.

  A shiver ran down her body. Jake Black was not here to help.

  She had no idea what he planned to do with the knife in his hand and until she did she couldn’t move. He was too close to Britney and in striking distance of Tiff.

  ‘But you said they all hated me, you told me where Sammy lived and…’

  ‘I told you so that you’d know she was safe. I knew how close you two were. I wanted you to know she was okay.’

  ‘B… but… you said they needed to be punished… that they had let us down. That they were ungrateful and that they were going to say bad things about the farm… about the family.’

  ‘I didn’t mean that we had to punish them, Britney,’ he said, smoothly.

  ‘You told me they hated me, that they’d never liked me.’

  Kim’s heart broke for the child in Britney that was speaking as the depth of Jake’s manipulation became clear.

  He shrugged. ‘They didn’t stay for you, did they? No one stayed for you.’

  The tears were now running fast over Britney’s cheeks. Tiffany gazed at her with concern and then turned her head to Kim.

  Kim shook her head. Jake was still holding the knife and neither of them was close enough to get up and wrestle it from him before he could do any damage.

  ‘I told you everything, about my father and…’

  ‘Yes, you told me how you arranged to meet him at the lake and that you killed him. We talked about that. You were sorry for what you’d done. How could I know that you had it in you to do it again?’

  He’d known exactly which buttons to press to get this girl to do his bidding, Kim realised. All she wanted, had ever wanted, was a family and he had given her that, in return for hurting the people he felt had betrayed him. Everything came at a price.

  He knew full well that Sammy had been snatched. His problem had been that she hadn’t returned; however slowly and steadily, Sammy had been trying to make normal life work. Something either Kane or her parents had said had registered in her brain.

  This man had destroyed countless lives through manipulation and coercion. He had destroyed this girl and was continuing to do it now.

  ‘What about your last Farm, Jake?’ Kim asked, to get his attention away from Britney. ‘People died there too, didn’t they?’

  He turned towards her, as though surprised that she was still there.

  ‘Accidents happen,’ he said, without emotion.

  ‘Graham Deavers falling from the roof was an accident, and Christopher Brook really did kill himself?’ she pushed.

  ‘So the inquests said,’ he offered with a smugness that crept into his eyes. It was the expression of a man who knew he had got away with murder. He would never admit to what he’d done.

  ‘Did you know Christopher was a police officer?’

  He shrugged leaving her in no doubt. ‘No good ever comes to snoops.’

  ‘Did Graham want to leave you?’ she asked. ‘Did he hurt your pride and your ego?’

  His expression darkened.

  ‘You’re no different to Britney. You build a family and people leave. That hurts Britney because of her past, but it only hurts your ego not your feelings; it’s proof that you failed. How could anyone want to leave you and what you’ve created?’

  She saw a muscle
jump in his cheek as he turned towards her.

  ‘You use vulnerable people to get revenge,’ she spat, knowing that Britney was going to have to pay a high price for the things she’d done, for him.

  If she could just get him to move a couple of steps away from Britney, she could take her chances and rush him for the knife.

  ‘You use people to build your empire. You seek out vulnerable people and take everything you can: their money, their families, their free will and you call that a family. It’s not a family,’ she taunted. ‘It’s a dictatorship and you’re going to lose everything you’ve built.’

  He laughed out loud and took a step towards her. ‘You think anyone is going to believe a word she says?’ he asked, waving the knife towards Britney. ‘I have a hundred people back there who will…’

  ‘Yes, a hundred people who also knew Sammy, who also knew Tyler and have known Britney. You really think you can convince them all that you had no part in this? Do you really think your intelligence is superior to everyone back there, that not even one of them will doubt you? All it takes is one person, Jake, and your house of cards…’

  He took another step towards her.

  Britney sprang from her seated position and grabbed the knife from Jake’s hand. She turned it and thrust it into his stomach.

  ‘Noooo…’ both she and Tiff screamed running towards her.

  In her frenzied state the girl landed another two wounds. Blood stained his white shirt immediately as he stared at Britney in shock.

  ‘He has to die,’ Britney screamed, as Jake fell to the ground.

  Kim grabbed the knife and threw it as Tiff pulled Britney away.

  ‘He used me. He had to die,’ Britney cried as she tried to wriggle out of Tiff’s grip.

  ‘Jesus,’ Kim said, assessing the mess before her. The blood was pooling either side of Jake’s torso and his colour was fading fast.

  Kim ripped open his shirt as his eyes rolled back in his head. Of the three wounds the first and last seemed to be spewing the most blood.

  She placed both hands over the wounds and tried to apply pressure. The blood seeped over her hands as the wounds tried to suck her fingers down.