‘Did you have any breaks? Recess? Lunch?’

‘Just the usual. I was on lunch duty on the oval.’

Brendan hadn’t told anyone at school that he’d forgotten his lunch. And no-one would have seen him. He’d cut across the oval, past the back of the playgroup, along the laneway to his house. Hold on—had he stopped to get a coffee from the bakery? He couldn’t remember.

There must be a few lawyers at the rugby club but Brendan didn’t want to involve anyone unless it was absolutely necessary. Steve’s dad, he was a lawyer. Commercial law, but he’d have mates—Canberra was so small, he must know a criminal lawyer. What should Brendan do otherwise? He could search online. But how would he know if the lawyer was any good? It could be the most important decision of his life.

‘Did you help with the search last night?’ Caruso asked.

‘No, I was at rugby training.’

‘Were you planning to help search tonight?’

Brendan didn’t know what answer the detective wanted. He’d been planning to watch sport, drink beer, unwind and hope that Claire would come over later, after her work drinks, for sex.

‘Um, yeah … maybe.’

‘When did you last see Bella?’

‘I only saw her once properly—when I took the photo. And I think she waved to me at the shops one time. But lots of kids do that. It’s what happens when you live near your school.’

The detective suddenly stood up.

‘Right, thanks for your time. Now, would you allow us to have a quick look around your house?’

The poor thing with her broken wrist.

They did that to her.

Such a lovely little girl.

She deserves better than them.

She deserves to be kissed and cuddled and indulged.

25 LEXIE

25

LEXIE

CRIMSON WAS SPREADING ACROSS THE SKY, WITH FLECKS OF LIGHT pink clouds. Bella loved sunsets and sunrises and fluffy marshmallow clouds and the long white trails drawn by planes. She loved Weet-Bix for breakfast, pasta carbonara for dinner and chocolate ice cream for dessert. She loved wearing fairy wings and dancing in twirly skirts. She loved playing in the garden, digging in the dirt, searching for fairies in the bushes and listening to the birds chirping. She loved jumping on the trampoline.

My little Tinker Bell hated the dark.

The pink flecks changed to grey and the sky darkened to a cobalt blue. Tremors ran the length of my body, from the tips of my fingers to my toes.

On a normal day, I’d be getting Bella’s dinner and running her bath. Lying down on her bed and reading Hairy Maclary while Bella giggled at the rhymes and named each dog. Her favourite was ‘Muffin McLay, like a bundle of hay’.