The Twisted Knot Read Online Free Page A

car in the staff carpark at the back of the station. For one brief moment, she considered starting the vehicle up, driving home and calling in sick from under the safety of her doona.
    Aiden’s car was parked in the best spot, under the shady tree against the fence. He lived at the barracks, so it was usually parked there. It didn’t necessarily mean he was at work. She was pretty sure he was rostered on though. She drew a deep breath and a little sigh escaped as she exhaled.
    She had done the right thing yesterday. Aiden had acted like an arsehole and everyone knew it. Sammi glanced over. Bob’s white Landcruiser was here too. Someone on her side. Bob had known her for years and still treated her exactly the same as he had before the abduction.
    Angel’s Crossing police station had a fairly high turnover of staff, particularly amongst the junior members, because if an officer did three years there, they had a better chance of securing a posting at one of the sought-after coastal spots. So in the year that Sammi had been on extended sick leave, there had been several new officers start. They only knew her by reputation – crazy stories of serial killers and helicopter rescues – and regarded her with a mixture of fear and reverence, neither of which Sammi felt deserving of. They seemed to be scared they may say the wrong thing to her, or thought she was some sort of hero. Either way, they didn’t particularly want to work with her.
    And then there was Aiden, who she had often worked with before the abduction. They’d never really had a problem beforehand. She couldn’t fathom why he was now outwardly hostile to her. He sneered at her anxiety, stopped talking when she entered the room and put her down at every opportunity. To what end? What had she done to deserve his rudeness?
    Sammi let the indignation rise and build, little eddies of self-righteousness swirling in the front of her brain. Sometimes a little anger gave her the confidence to inhabit ‘Constable Willis’ and stride back into work like she belonged there. It would have been so easy to leave, or to let them tuck her away into a desk job at headquarters. But she did still want to be a cop. Some days she wasn’t sure if it was passion or stubbornness, the refusal to let anything or anyone dictate what she did or didn’t do. Either way, she wanted to get back out there. Otherwise, ‘he’ would win. She avoided even thinking his name.
    Sammi tilted the rear-vision mirror towards her so she could stare herself down. ‘My ability to overcome my obstacles is limitless,’ she muttered. She hardly recognised the woman staring back at her, felt completely at odds with her. She looked like a professional and capable police officer. Someone you could turn to with your problems.
    A movement to her left caught her attention. Mel was climbing out of her silver hatchback two cars down from Sammi. Mel always arrived only a couple of minutes before the start of the shift. How long had Sammi been sitting there, mired in her own thoughts? Too late to turn around and go home now.
    She swung out of her car and smoothed down her shirt.
    â€˜Morning, Mel,’ she called, trying to make her voice sound light.
    â€˜Hey Sammi.’ Mel gave her a smile. ‘Another day in beautiful downtown Angel’s Crossing.’
    They walked in the back door together, splitting at the first corridor. Sammi walked back to the locker rooms to pretend to kit up, while Mel went to unlock the front door. When Sammi walked out to the counter, tucking her notebook into her top pocket, Mel was walking back from the front door.
    She held an envelope out to Sammi. ‘Someone must have slid this under the front door overnight.’
    It was a plain white envelope, with ‘POLICE’ written on the front. Sammi took it, turning it over once before ripping it open. She pulled out a single sheet of A4 paper, folded evenly twice.