Free Lost Girls by Graham Wilson

late news, the first he had
heard about the search.
    In five minutes
Alan and Vic were in a squad car, going to meet the witness. He was
a pleasant young bloke, trying hard to be helpful. He had no
description of the car driver, and all he could say about the
vehicle that stopped was that it was a white Toyota tray-back which
looked like it had a few boxes on the back, nothing distinctive.
But he was fairly sure that the girl he had seen was Susan, even
though he had only glimpsed her in the half light from across the
road. He was also fairly sure, at the time he first saw her, that
she was carrying a small overnight bag in one hand, but nothing
bigger like a backpack.
    So that was it,
the next day the search was widened across the NT, particularly
focused on the top half. Nothing was found or reported that helped
find her. Within a week lots of vague reports of people who looked
like Susan were coming in from all parts of Australia. But none
came to anything. So the police opinion became that she had run
away to an unknown place. Based on the sighting of her going with
the man in the Toyota, serious fears were held for her safety when
she was not found.
    It was all too
general, too many white Toyotas were registered in the NT and
nobody came forward to admit to having given this girl a lift.
    A week passed,
then it was two and then it was a month. Still nothing had been
found. The police had now raised a warrant for the arrest of Susan
Emily McDonald for absconding on bail, should she be found. The
judge who had released her on bail reluctantly confirmed the
warrant and asked Alan to press on with his investigation of the
other missing girls.
    Now the papers
had taken to calling Susan, “Gone Girl”, based on the book and the
movie. Slowly “Gone Girl” slid away from peoples’ memories as other
stories came and went. Only her closest friends continued the
search, refusing to give up.
    Vic was plagued
by guilt and Anne was plagued by guilt, Vic for allowing the
operation to happen despite his fears, Anne for leaving her friend
unattended on this critical day. But nothing made any difference;
nothing could bring “Gone Girl” back.
     
     
     

Chapter 11 - A Clue
     
    It was now
almost six weeks since Susan had vanished. The time had drifted out
of March, through April and into May. The weather was getting cold
at night. Charlie had decided to go and camp on a waterhole on the
Mary for a night, with a plan to fish once there was some warmth in
the sun in the morning. Now it was “Yegge”, the season after the
knock-down late wet season storms had gone and when the coolness
came, with a dry south-easterly wind during the day. However when
the wind dropped there was still wetness in the air as the land
gave up its moisture.
    Since he had
found the man’s head he had avoided his favourite billabong on the
Mary, the big croc had spooked him. But he missed his fishing, this
Mary country was like a link to his father who was gone now. Now
Rosie wanted a big catfish for another curry, and this river was
still his best place. So he had decided to go to a different place
on the same billabong, maybe a mile further along. It connected to
where he had gone last time but he felt it held a different
crocodile spirit and would be safe. It was another place his father
had shown him and this time it was outside the locked gate place so
more people came here. But it should be quiet on a Thursday
morning, the weekend warriors would not be here until before
tomorrow afternoon so he should have the place to himself.
    It was more
than hour after dark when he arrived and already the night was
chill. He parked at the opposite side of the cleared area from the
water and took out a big torch to have a look around.
    As he walked
across the open camping area towards the water he saw a plastic bag
lying on the ground. It annoyed him when people came to this place
and did not take their rubbish with them. There was obviously
something in it or