The Twisted Knot Read Online Free PDF Page B

before you get back on the road. By the time I’m finished at the academy, you’d be all over it again, back to normal at work,’ Gavin said. ‘I thought it would be cool to work together. And I think the police would be a good career move for me.’
    Sammi couldn’t argue with that. With shift allowance, she easily out-earnt Gavin. Plus regular pay rises, good holidays and extra superannuation. But his plans felt suffocating, overbearing. She didn’t want to say that out loud. Not to Gavin. Not to any of her colleagues who Gavin might already have spoken to.
    â€˜I guess I get the feeling that the only reason you’re doing it is for me. That you don’t think I can manage it by myself. Or you feel like you need to keep an eye on me,’ Sammi said softly.
    â€˜Nah. It’d be a good job, I’d enjoy it,’ Gavin said. He tipped back the rest of his wine and went inside.
    That had ended badly. Sammi felt like Gavin was implying that she couldn’t do it by herself, that she needed him to hold her hand back on the road. And the thing that bothered her most was that he may be right.

8
    It was like a shotput in the pit of his stomach, a cold dead weight slowing him down, occasionally stopping him in his tracks completely. Sometimes it weighed him down so much, he was sure everyone would see, and would know why he walked with his head down. Other times, he didn’t even notice it and he felt like a normal person, living an everyday life. He would get a burst of optimism and feel like he could beat it, that he wouldn’t want to do it again. But he always did.
    He couldn’t say why he did it. He knew it was wrong. Wrong on so many levels. It was a betrayal of trust. The worst possible betrayal of trust. Stealing innocence. Every time he did it, his conscience burned white hot with shame and remorse afterwards.
    She had no idea. The poor little mite didn’t know any different. He had made this abomination normal for her.
    He loved her so very much. He knew she loved him too. But it was not acceptable love. He couldn’t bear the thought of what would happen when she was older, and realised what he had done. Eventually their love would be discovered and stripped bare and made to look disgusting and unnatural.
    That would be the end of it. Not only his relationship with this beautiful little girl. It would also be the end of him. The guilt and shame would finally force him to tie the knot in the rope or put the hose in the tailpipe of his car. He would do it straight away, when the wave of guilt peaked, before it rushed away and he found ways to rationalise it again. He was so good at rationalising it. If only it was that easy to stop himself instead.
    But now it was just a matter of time until it all unravelled.

9
    Sammi was standing in aisle three in front of the canned pineapple in the supermarket after work when she had the breath knocked out of her. It wasn’t a physical punch, though it felt that way. So much so that she dropped the tin she was holding.
    â€˜I hear Pete the Ped’s up to his nasty old tricks.’
    She turned and saw an older woman standing next to her. She had seen her around town before but didn’t know her name, couldn’t even have said if she’d ever had reason to speak with her.
    â€˜What do you mean by that?’ She glanced up and down the aisle. There was no one else around.
    â€˜Evil cannot keep itself hidden forever. It will always be revealed eventually,’ she said, her eyes boring into Sammi’s. ‘So what are you going to do about it?’
    â€˜About what?’ Sammi asked. It was only a mature-aged woman in the supermarket, but there was something about her that made Sammi nervous.
    â€˜About a pedophile free to abuse children. You’ve heard about it, no doubt.’
    â€˜I’m just trying to do my shopping.’ Sammi bent down to pick up the tin she had dropped, hoping the