surely.
I am sour today. She said pointedly,
When you realised that Katie hadnt slept at Sarahs last night, what did you
do?
Made a couple of calls.
Who did you call?
My mum, said Donna. She lives up
in Frankston.
You thought Katie was there? Why?
Pedder exchanged a glance with
Donna. Look, he said, she sometimes runs away, all right?
Ah.
She always comes back.
She runs away from you? Ellen
demanded.
No, said Pedder stiffly.
We usually track her down to me mums
or another of her friends, but this time no ones seen her, said Donna,
tearing up swiftly and dabbing her eyes with a damp, crumpled tissue. There was
a box of them beside her, a cheap, yellow, no-name brand from the supermarket.
And so you called the police?
Yeah, Pedder said.
How many times has Katie run away
before?
Not many. A few.
Do you fight with her? Argue? Smack
her when shes naughty?
Weve never smacked her.
Fights? Arguments?
No more than any other family.
How about Wednesday night, Thursday
morning?
Nothing happened.
Does she ever spend time on the
Internet?
When shes got a school project and
that, said Donna.
Pedder was quicker. Are you asking
did she spend time in chat rooms? You think she met a paedo, a paedos got her?
Is that what you think?
Im asking you.
Well need to look at any computers
you have, Ellen said. Well give you a receipt.
Oh, God, said Donna.
Well also need a list of all Katies
friends and acquaintances.
Donna was sobbing now. You think
she met some pervert on the Internet, dont you?
Very unlikely, said Ellen
soothingly. Has she ever wandered off before?
We already told you she does.
I dont mean running away; I mean
is she a dreamer? Maybe she likes to explore creeks, the beach, farmland,
deserted houses.
Not really.
Not the beach? I know I did when I
was a kid.
She hadnt done anything of the
kind. Shed grown up in the hills. She meant that her own daughter had liked to
explore the beach, back when she was little, back when Ellen and her husband
and Larrayne had been a happy family.
Maybe with her friends of a
weekend, but she has to ask permission first, said Donna, the responsible
mother.
You think she drowned? said
Pedder.
Donna moaned. Ellen gave Pedder a
look that made him go pale. What about the area between here and the highway?
Katies scared of snakes, said
Donna.
Larrayne had been, too.
Theyd all run out of things to say.
Ellen gathered her notes together and got to her feet.
What do you think happened to my
baby? whispered Donna.
That was in the script, too: the
words and the whispered voice. Kids go missing every day, said Ellen warmly. They
always turn up again.
She glanced at Justin Pedder as she
said it, warning him not to say the obvious.
* * * *
3
It
was now 11 am. Ellen was due at the Supreme Court by early afternoon. Saying
goodbye to Donna Blasko and Justin Pedder, she called Scobie Suttons mobile,
and met him outside Katie Blaskos primary school. Ill have to leave it in
your hands for a few hours, she told him. Its possible that Katie simply ran
away, but why would she stay away for this long? To be on the safe side,
continue the doorknock, check with hospitals, contact family and friends. Im
going to see Kellock. We need more uniforms.
Thanks. He shivered. Missing kid.
I hate it, Ellen.
Scobie Sutton was nuts about his own
child, Roslyn, who was also aged ten. He could be a bore about it. Stay in
touch during the day, Ellen told him. Call or text me if you find anything.
The police station was by the
roundabout at the head of High Street. She parked at the rear and entered,
heading first for her pigeonhole, where she collected a sheaf of letters and
memos. She found Kellock, the uniformed senior sergeant in charge of the
station, in his office. He was a barrel of a man, his head a whiskery slab on a
neckless torso. There were cuts on the hunks of flesh that were his hands. He
tugged down his shirtsleeves
I am sour today. She said pointedly,
When you realised that Katie hadnt slept at Sarahs last night, what did you
do?
Made a couple of calls.
Who did you call?
My mum, said Donna. She lives up
in Frankston.
You thought Katie was there? Why?
Pedder exchanged a glance with
Donna. Look, he said, she sometimes runs away, all right?
Ah.
She always comes back.
She runs away from you? Ellen
demanded.
No, said Pedder stiffly.
We usually track her down to me mums
or another of her friends, but this time no ones seen her, said Donna,
tearing up swiftly and dabbing her eyes with a damp, crumpled tissue. There was
a box of them beside her, a cheap, yellow, no-name brand from the supermarket.
And so you called the police?
Yeah, Pedder said.
How many times has Katie run away
before?
Not many. A few.
Do you fight with her? Argue? Smack
her when shes naughty?
Weve never smacked her.
Fights? Arguments?
No more than any other family.
How about Wednesday night, Thursday
morning?
Nothing happened.
Does she ever spend time on the
Internet?
When shes got a school project and
that, said Donna.
Pedder was quicker. Are you asking
did she spend time in chat rooms? You think she met a paedo, a paedos got her?
Is that what you think?
Im asking you.
Well need to look at any computers
you have, Ellen said. Well give you a receipt.
Oh, God, said Donna.
Well also need a list of all Katies
friends and acquaintances.
Donna was sobbing now. You think
she met some pervert on the Internet, dont you?
Very unlikely, said Ellen
soothingly. Has she ever wandered off before?
We already told you she does.
I dont mean running away; I mean
is she a dreamer? Maybe she likes to explore creeks, the beach, farmland,
deserted houses.
Not really.
Not the beach? I know I did when I
was a kid.
She hadnt done anything of the
kind. Shed grown up in the hills. She meant that her own daughter had liked to
explore the beach, back when she was little, back when Ellen and her husband
and Larrayne had been a happy family.
Maybe with her friends of a
weekend, but she has to ask permission first, said Donna, the responsible
mother.
You think she drowned? said
Pedder.
Donna moaned. Ellen gave Pedder a
look that made him go pale. What about the area between here and the highway?
Katies scared of snakes, said
Donna.
Larrayne had been, too.
Theyd all run out of things to say.
Ellen gathered her notes together and got to her feet.
What do you think happened to my
baby? whispered Donna.
That was in the script, too: the
words and the whispered voice. Kids go missing every day, said Ellen warmly. They
always turn up again.
She glanced at Justin Pedder as she
said it, warning him not to say the obvious.
* * * *
3
It
was now 11 am. Ellen was due at the Supreme Court by early afternoon. Saying
goodbye to Donna Blasko and Justin Pedder, she called Scobie Suttons mobile,
and met him outside Katie Blaskos primary school. Ill have to leave it in
your hands for a few hours, she told him. Its possible that Katie simply ran
away, but why would she stay away for this long? To be on the safe side,
continue the doorknock, check with hospitals, contact family and friends. Im
going to see Kellock. We need more uniforms.
Thanks. He shivered. Missing kid.
I hate it, Ellen.
Scobie Sutton was nuts about his own
child, Roslyn, who was also aged ten. He could be a bore about it. Stay in
touch during the day, Ellen told him. Call or text me if you find anything.
The police station was by the
roundabout at the head of High Street. She parked at the rear and entered,
heading first for her pigeonhole, where she collected a sheaf of letters and
memos. She found Kellock, the uniformed senior sergeant in charge of the
station, in his office. He was a barrel of a man, his head a whiskery slab on a
neckless torso. There were cuts on the hunks of flesh that were his hands. He
tugged down his shirtsleeves
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