Free Little Girl Lost by Janet Gover

From the back of a storage cupboard, under the bench seat, she pulled out a small vinyl rucksack.
    She dropped it onto the table and slid onto the bench seat along the trailer wall. She glanced around to double check that no one could walk in on her, or see what she was doing.
    She unzipped the bag and emptied the contents onto the table.
    The gun landed on the wooden surface with a dull thump. It was enclosed in a plastic bag. Tia assumed it was still loaded. She had never checked. She hadn’t touched it since the moment she’d picked it up and sealed it to preserve the evidence on it. She’d been around enough cops to know that was how it was done. She laid her hand on the cold plastic, feeling the hard shape inside and remembering what it represented and how she had come by it.
    Tia didn’t consider herself a criminal. Sure, she’d stolen a few things from time to time. You had to if you were fifteen and living on the streets. But she’d never mugged anyone. Never sold drugs. Never sold her body. Well, not for money. There were times she had used her body to help her survive. And, as far as she was concerned, there was nothing wrong with that. She would do it again if she had to; although she hoped it would never come to that again.
    She had stolen the gun from her boyfriend on the day she fled her old life never to return. She wasn’t really sure why she had taken it. She told herself it was to stop it being used again. Her one little contribution to crime control. Sometimes she thought it was for her own protection. She would never use it herself, but if Ned ever found her, she could trade the gun for her freedom. For her life, maybe.
    As she looked at it her mind turned to the cop who pulled her over tonight. Sergeant Delaney. While he’d been checking her out she’d asked some questions of her own. He was an honest cop. That’s what everyone said. If he found that rucksack and the contents …
    She should get rid of the stuff. It would be easy enough way out here. All she had to do was head off into the bush somewhere and dump it. But it was her safety blanket, and she wasn’t ready to let it go yet.
    Tia pushed the gun aside and found a small sandwich bag. Inside were her driver’s licence and a credit card that she never used. The rucksack also held some paperwork – letters and a very old, and slightly tatty, Christmas card. It was red and had once been covered with golden sparkles; the sort of card you might give to a young teenage girl. And there was a small velvet box. She immediately tossed that back into the rucksack without opening it. She knew only too well what it contained.
    She’d show her driver’s licence to Delaney before the forty-eight hours were up. He’d no doubt check on it, but that was okay. It was real and legal and valid. With luck he’d stop there and wouldn’t look any further. She put everything back in the rucksack and shoved it back into its hiding place. It occurred to her that the cop might already have taken a note of the Harley’s reggo, if he’d been able to read it under the layer of mud. If so, there was nothing she could do about it. She’d face that problem when and if she had to.

Chapter Eight
    A sign flashed past. Pete was coming into Coorah Creek. He’d been doing this run for a long time, and the Creek was one of his favourite places. But today, his mind was too far away to appreciate the town.
    He was going to be a father.
    He’d had a few days now to get used to the idea. He’d even gone with Linda to a doctor’s appointment. He’d listened carefully to everything the doctor said about what was ahead of them, but he was still struggling to put himself in the picture the doctor’s words had painted.
    Linda was bubbling over with plans; talking about buying things for the baby and setting up a nursery. There hadn’t been any mention of marriage, but he knew Linda was thinking about that too. Marriage and setting up a home together. All the things