Into the Fog

by Sandi Wallace

  That would put them on the cusp of Friday morning peak hour when they passed through the CBD, which combined with the wild weather could add thirty-plus minutes to their journey. But they couldn’t be far away now.

  Sam had no idea how she’d face the mum. Vanessa had trusted her kids into their care. And they were police, for God’s sake. It was unthinkable that two cops, a cop’s daughter, another teen and two other adults managed to lose her children. As the camp’s co-organiser, Sam shouldered the blame.

  Her insides cramped again.

  Franklin was warming up near the hydronic heating radiator in the kitchen. He heard a long beep and watched the housekeeper shuffle in. He couldn’t make out what was on the wall-mounted screen, but he saw Elke press a button and heard the beep of the intercom system releasing the front gates.

  This might be Ness.

  While he was thinking that, the bell sounded again and Elke peered at the monitor.

  This time, she held down a button. ‘Upalong House. How may I help you?’

  After a fuzzy airwave crackle, a male spoke. ‘Duane Smith and Vanessa Savage. We’re here to meet Sergeant Lunny.’

  As they wound along the driveway, Bernie flashed a glance at the rear-view mirror. Sam twisted around and took in a maroon-over-grey station wagon behind them.

  The sarge pivoted too and muttered, ‘Holy hell. The family’s here.’

  None of them spoke again until Bernie parked. Sam and Lunny went to open their doors, but the Olinda cop didn’t move.

  ‘I’ll let you handle this. I’m going to pick up my wife.’

  Sam gaped. It wasn’t the time to prioritise family.

  Bernie justified himself. ‘Vikki’s famous around here for taking in injured animals and breathing life back into them. And she does it with people too.’ He inclined his nose to the car alongside. ‘She’ll be the best thing for Vanessa. Friends and family will help out with our kids and menagerie.’

  ‘Good idea, mate.’

  Sam wasn’t convinced. ‘Shouldn’t it be a cop – someone trained?’

  ‘We still don’t have a full-scale situation here,’ Lunny said. ‘If this blows into a major incident inquiry, we’ll be out in the cold, wishing we could do things our way, the country way. So, believe me, Bernie’s got the right idea.’

  ‘Got it, Sarge.’

  And Sam did get it. During her training at the academy, she’d spent a week at each of the Dandenong, Camberwell and Fitzroy stations, which had certainly been a learning curve and sharply different to her eventual post at Daylesford. If she compared the two models, she’d take the country way of policing over the city version any day, although she realised she couldn’t be too choosy when it came time to work her way up the ranks.

  Besides, she’d liked Bernie within seconds of meeting him. She imagined his wife would be equally likeable.

  Georgie watched Sam and Lunny alight from the police truck, and Bernie drive off. She wondered if he’d been called to another job.

  As Vanessa stumbled out of the other car, a screech tore Georgie away from the window. She raced to the back room and found Sara and Anna thumping each other, while Kat hovered nearby. Nicole and Noah were huddled away from the fighting sisters, but Tom stood close enough to be collateral damage.

  ‘Stop it.’ Kat held up her hands but the girls paid no attention. ‘What’s going on with you two?’

  Anna yanked Sara’s hair. Sara almost collected a figurine on a sideboard as she belted her sister. Kat looked close to tears.

  Georgie yelled over the top, ‘Cut it out. Now!’

  At the same time, Elke entered, shrieked and scooped up the figurine.

  One or both did the trick, because the girls stilled.

  Softer, Georgie said, ‘Listen up.’

  She beckoned to the kids and they flocked in.

  ‘Mrs Savage and Mr Smith have just arrived. The last thing they need is you mucking about while their kids are missing.’

  Kat’s face was too pale. It flitted through Georgie’s mind that Josh and Seb shouldn’t have left her alone.

  Tom’s bottom lip quivered.

  ‘Uh. No tears.’ She crouched in front of the little boy but made eye contact with them all in turn. ‘I know this isn’t what we expected when we came on camp and we’re a bit scared for Hanny, Riley and Cooper.’

  She paused, struck by the truth. Camp was everything but what she’d expected and she was worried – more than she’d admit.

  ‘The best way we can help is to play quietly, do what we’re told and act as grown-up as we can.’ She waited a beat. ‘Okay?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Noah piped up, then the others followed suit.

  ‘Can we go outside?’ Nicole asked.

  Georgie checked the window, although she knew the answer. The mist was thickening again, concealing trees bent backwards in the wind and a bleak sky – the miserable weather had totally set in.

  ‘Let’s go to the summerhouse and play games instead.’

  It was crucial to keep the kids away from the shocked parents. And she wanted to delay the moment Kat had to look Vanessa in the eye and explain how she didn’t notice Hannah and her brothers duck away.

  Sam sniffed what she mentally dubbed wet ant smell – the promise of more rain soon. The wind whipped at Vanessa’s long sandy hair so it stood on end and flew in every direction. She seemed oblivious, even when strands blew into her mouth.

  ‘Any news?’ She directed her question at the sarge.

  Sam didn’t take offence. In the mother’s shoes, she too would turn to the most senior officer for answers and comfort. She hung back while Lunny, Vanessa and Duane talked, but she couldn’t look away from Vanessa. Her nostrils flared and the whites of her eyes were huge. Her forehead wrinkled in the middle, yet Sam had never noticed her frown lines before today. Vanessa’s mouth was open and her top teeth showed through two taut, bloodless lips that trembled.

  Sam thought that image of the mother’s terror would haunt her for the rest of her life.

  Duane rubbed Vanessa’s back. A big man, his hand was massive. He didn’t say much. He stared at the sarge, his face almost expressionless compared to his partner’s unrestrained fear.

  ‘Let’s go inside.’ Lunny’s mouth opened again, then closed.

  Maybe he’d nearly said It’s too cold to be outside. A terrible reminder of what Hannah and her two brothers had suffered for eighteen or so hours.

  Franklin felt invisible. He’d greeted Ness and Duane, then they’d narrowed in on Lunny, seemingly unaware of him and Sam.

  It was a massive relief. In time, their tunnel vision would lessen, but for now he could observe and act without being conspicuous. He could start doing what he did best—investigating—while Lunny did the handholding.

  Sam hung up everyone’s coats and entered the room last, unnoticed by the Daylesford couple seated on the white couch, clearly overwhelmed. The sarge looked equally awkward. The way he stood before them reminded Sam of the few times she’d had to account for bloopers to her station boss.

  She debated where to position herself: join Franklin near the door, which might be even more intimidating for Vanessa and Duane, or take one of the other two seats opposite the couch? Flimsy, Queen Anne style carver chairs with gold velvet upholstery, they might be just for show but Sam sat anyway and warned herself not to fidget.

  As the sarge murmured on, she registered that something was wrong.

  No kids’ noise.

  What were they up to? Where were they? Georgie, Kat, Josh and Seb would make sure they didn’t lose anyone else, yet anxiety made her legs twitch.

  ‘We have to do something.’ Vanessa’s voice shrilled. Not angry – tortured.

  Sam silently agreed. They were wasting precious time.

  Vanessa turned sharply and looked straight at her. Maybe she’d picked up a vibe.

  Sam did what Franklin had tried to teach her from her first day under his wing. She shuttered her face – sympathy or fear could d
estroy the fragile strands that held the children’s mother together.

  ‘I appreciate your frustration,’ the sarge answered. ‘You’re best based here, on hand for when Hannah, Riley and Cooper return.’

  Duane interrupted. ‘But you don’t understand.’ He sought and squeezed his partner’s hand. ‘We can’t sit around while our kids are lost or hurt.’

  Lunny knelt in front of the couple. ‘I promise you, we’ll find your children.’

  Sam winced. They couldn’t make that promise.

  ‘The best thing you can do right now is help us with some information. We need to know anything and everything that could’ve prompted them to run off and any clues about where they might have gone. We’ll need your help contacting their friends and in numerous other ways – all of them important.’

  Vanessa nodded repeatedly. Duane narrowed his eyes. They were naturally small in comparison to his rectangular face but shrank into currants, deep-set and unreadable.

  Only then did it occur to Sam that they’d have to question these two as suspects. They’d purportedly been hundreds of kilometres away when the kids disappeared but one or both may have been involved. And, rather than the distance from home simplifying the case, it made it immensely more difficult to investigate.

  Chapter 15

  Hannah

  Hannah could hardly see and wished she had windscreen wipers for her eyes. It weirded her out that she heard the rain slap her head and body but couldn’t really feel it. She was numb, except for waves of horrible pain that randomly hit her. She kept going because she needed to find her bros before they got totally scared and took off to find her. Or worse, before the man or someone else got them. She also knew that if she stopped, she wouldn’t be able to move again. And she still hadn’t found BD, and Coops was devo without his favourite toy.

  Like that’s our biggest problem.

  Her toe caught on something and she tripped, crashing hard onto all fours. It took her a minute to stop panting. Then she felt around, struck something solid and square-shaped. She ran her hand upwards. It was a post.

  Hannah’s heart pumped wilder. She staggered forward, waving her hands in front to feel her way. Seven steps on, she hit another pole.

  She moved faster, excited. She’d been here before, not long after she’d left Riles and Coops at the toilet block.

  Soon, she reached a cyclone wire gate. Earlier, she’d jumped over it, hyped that she’d found a house and somebody that would help them. She’d knocked, but nobody had answered, she’d sworn and struggled not to cry. She’d had to scale the gate again.

  Not long after that, the man had scared her and she’d started running, then got lost.

  Now, she clung onto the wire and strained her eyes. As far as she could tell, there was still nobody about.

  But it didn’t matter. She was close to the toilet block. Close to her little bros, although not a lot closer to getting them home safely…unless her last message had made it through.

  Anxiety bubbled inside Georgie. The kids couldn’t agree on games to play and had spread over the summerhouse. Half were sulking; the others were niggly. She could do with help.

  She heard the door open and a shaft of chill came through with Seb.

  ‘It’s the pits out there.’ The camp instructor paused in the doorway, dripping onto the mat. He half-turned to look through the glazed panels in the door and shook his head. ‘Can’t believe Josh.’

  Georgie was about to comment, when Kat said, ‘Is he still out there?’

  ‘He won’t give it up. Over the past hour—since the parents got here—he’s been like a man possessed. But I’m done. Don’t see the point going over and over the same ground. Not in these conditions.’ Seb rubbed his thighs, hard muscle outlined through his soggy track pants.

  Kat moved to the door. ‘Maybe I should check that he’s okay.’

  ‘I wouldn’t.’ Seb touched her arm. ‘He’s in a mood.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Georgie sounded sharp.

  ‘Dunno really.’ Seb shrugged. ‘Like something’s bothering him.’ His face fired bright red. ‘Something on top of this.’ He waved.

  Georgie’s imagination went crazy with scenarios that might account for Josh’s mood. She met Kat’s miserable gaze, before the teen reached for the door handle.

  ‘Katz. Don’t –’

  ‘I’m not going to Josh.’ She added over her shoulder, ‘But it’s time I faced Ness and Duane.’

  Franklin swivelled his chair side-to-side in time with the tick of the clock mounted on the study wall. He pictured the three fair-haired Savage kids and his chest contracted. Despite not being here when they disappeared, he was far from impartial. He was desperate to find them safe and well. And he didn’t want his mates to be held responsible for whatever had happened.

  Well, you’re fucked there.

  They were responsible to some extent. The kids had been in their care.

  How do cops lose three kids on camp?

  He refocused. Barring the Olinda cop, he was the most objective person on the case because he had been in Ballarat when the kids went missing. He had to act accordingly.

  Unless they made good progress and fast, the Daylesford crew would soon be relegated to the outer, while others took over the investigation and coordinated a full-scale search to look for their kids. He was loath for that to happen, though he wouldn’t let emotion impede an effective inquiry.

  Franklin stilled the chair, sat forward and opened his daybook, rubbing his chin while his eyes flicked over the action points he’d jotted earlier. Edgy, he held his phone, ready to pretend to be checking messages if anyone approached. If his private musings got out, it would carve rifts in Daylesford that may never heal.

  He silently read: Check alibis for Ness and Duane. Why didn’t they answer phone last night?

  He glanced up and pinpointed the parents in the adjacent family room where Lunny had relocated the group. He had to consider that one or both could be involved, even though it felt disloyal to Ness. He’d known her and the kids for a long time. They were a close-knit unit and she seemed to be a good mum.

  Conversely, Duane Smith had only been on the scene for the past few years and didn’t give away much about himself. Franklin swayed his head, conceding that he’d never suspected Duane of being less than a good partner for Ness or father figure for the kids.

  Personal feelings aside though, he admitted that either of them could have orchestrated an abduction. There was a good reason why cops looked to family first in crimes against persons, especially in incidents involving kids or women. The majority uncovered a connection between victim and offender, with the latter often being a trusted adult. Stranger abduction and murder were still relatively uncommon in Australia.

  Back up, Franklin. Murder? There’s still a fifty-fifty chance the kids are just runaways.

  There was another—better—reason to interrogate the family. If the kids had done a runner, Ness or Duane might know or suspect why.

  Franklin returned to his daybook and read the next dot-points.

  Check with close mates of H, R and C. What do they know? Have they seen or heard from the kids?

  Willem and Elke Agterop. Check and corroborate movements, especially W – AWOL, then uncooperative.

  Seb O’Brien, the Camp Silvan instructor, followed on Franklin’s list. He was working-with-children qualified and accounted for when the kids were last seen, but Franklin’s note said: Run checks anyway.

  He drummed his fingernails, dreading the next entry in his daybook: Verify movements of team.

  He cringed at having to investigate his friends in order to eliminate them. He trusted every one of them or they wouldn’t have been on the camp. But he shook his head. While certain they couldn’t have instigated this, he acknowledged that something they said or did may have inadvertently triggered it. Or maybe they knew or had noticed something that could help but they hadn’t realised it yet.

  ‘Mrs Savage?’ Kat’s v
oice broke his concentration.

  Franklin glanced through to the family room and saw his daughter standing before Ness and Duane. She looked like she was about to vomit or cry.

  ‘I’m so sorry…’ She wrung her hands.

  In long lopes, Franklin covered the space to the couch where the couple sat.

  ‘I’m sorry. It’s my –’

  He cut her off. ‘Kat!’

  It wouldn’t help if she told Ness and Duane she was to blame for the kids’ disappearance.

  Chapter 16

  Hannah

  Hannah bounced on a hard surface, landing on her cheek and the side of her mouth. It couldn’t have been the first time because her head hurt all over and she was dizzy. It was hard to think straight. Ridges of metal pressed into her skin. Something masked her eyes and half-covered her mouth, and her nose was caked with snot, so she couldn’t see and her breathing was raspy. She picked up a funny smell, like her little bros had been having a farting match. Her stomach churned. She didn’t want to chuck up.

  Vaguely, she noticed other things. One at a time, they sort of came forward, then faded back, so that she could work out what the next thing was. The rumble of an engine. Tyres swishing on a wet road. Bangs under the bottom of the car, maybe when it hit potholes or sticks. A man singing over the top of the radio – the song had a lot of screeching electric guitar and lyrics about sick bitches. She could hear another banging noise in rhythm with the song, as if someone was playing the drums inside the car.

  Tired. So tired.

  As Hannah fought sleepiness, panic made her stomach churn even faster. She couldn’t think why she felt nervous or where she was because everything was fuzzy. But she knew it was bad.

  Franklin raked his fingers through his short hair. Over the past few hours, he’d worked with Ness and phoned her kids’ closest friends. So far they’d come up blank. In between phone calls, he’d managed to interrogate her and Duane without them clueing up. He’d hit a wall there too.