Page 81 of A Step You Shouldn't Take

“See what?”

The last thing I needed was more bad news, but I very much suspected that was what we were about to get.

CHAPTER 24 - REED

KIM DIDN’T SPEAK, just walked back towards the kitchen, and Wyatt and I both followed. The TV beside the fridge was on, the volume low, and a sombre reporter from the local news channel spoke to the camera from a dimly lit street.

Wyatt grabbed the remote and turned it up.

Friends say Katia de Bruin was stressed over upcoming exams, but as a diligent student, she’d never have skipped class or done anything to jeopardise her future in business. So the question remains, where did she go after she left Bar One in the early hours of yesterday morning? Police are appealing for anybody who saw her to come forward after one witness reported seeing a girl fitting Katia’s description talking to a dark-haired man beside a black car. Katia’s parents have offered a twenty-thousand-dollar reward for any information leading to her safe return.

Kim gripped the edge of the counter, her knuckles white. “Did you hear that? A black car. He took another one.”

“Sweetheart, we don’t know that. A lot of people drive black cars.”

Wyatt was still staring at the screen, where an elegant-looking brunette stared out from a “missing” poster.

“I’ve seen that face somewhere before.” He snapped his fingers. “Got it. Her father’s a hotel magnate, and there was an uproar a few years back when he built a new resort on a nature reserve. The environmentalists were furious over a bunch of rare frogs or something.”

“Frogs?”

“So they said. There were threats. I can’t remember what exactly, but we’ll have a file.”

“And you reckon that might have something to do with Katia’s disappearance?”

“I thought it had all died down, but I guess it’s a possibility.”

“Or Tim took her because he didn’t manage to keep me,” Kim said. “You said that before, but…but…”

“You didn’t want to believe it. Trust me, I didn’t either.” I unpeeled her fingers from the counter and clasped her hands in mine. “And we still don’t know for sure that’s what happened.”

“Well, I think it’s more likely than Katia getting kidnapped by some freaking environmental group!”

A tear rolled down Kim’s cheek, and I wiped it away. “I know this is hard.” If Wyatt hadn’t been there, I’d have cuddled her close to me, but I didn’t want to answer questions about a relationship we didn’t have. “Don’t cry.”

“We’ll add her to the board as a possible,” Wyatt said. “Shall we get back to work?”

In the dining room, Kim grabbed a handful of paper clips, bending and twisting the metal as she stared blankly at the whiteboard. I waited for another grilling from Wyatt.

“Where were we?” he asked.

“Emma. Her debit card.”

“Ah, yes. Your mysterious witness.”

“Look, I—”

“Wait!” Kim dropped a half-made chipmunk and ran to her sideboard. What was she doing? A few seconds later, she came back with a stack of name cards, those expensive silver-edged ones you get on the table at fancy events, and began writing all the names out again.

“We can do that on the whiteboard…” I began.

“No, look.” She shuffled the cards around into a different order. “See?”

Brianna.

Dawn.

Emma.

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