It was clear that someone had moved the Kombi. Almost certainly Katherine and Carolyn went with them either voluntarily or unwillingly. But who, why? It was most unlike his quiet, shy wife to go willingly with a stranger unless she felt safe to do so. Yet she was not there and there were no signs of a struggle. The more he thought about the situation the more anxious he became. By the time he saw Sergeant Murray pull up in the police vehicle, he was convinced that harm had come to Katherine and baby Carolyn.
‘Any news?’ Alec almost shouted as Murray came through the gate.
‘Ah! Mr Thompson. About your wife? No, sorry. Absolutely nothing new to report.’
‘So what are you doing?’
‘We’ve advised Border Village, Norseman and Port Augusta and have sent copies of your photo. Couldn’t get a copy to the Village but gave a good description. This afternoon I’m going out with several officers to the two sites we visited yesterday in case we can find anything else.’
‘Can I come with you?’ The desperation in his voice was obvious.
‘Sorry. Best you stay in town and in contact with the station in case we get news. We’ll let you know if anything turns up. You’re still at the caravan park, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, same place. I’ll stay there for as long as it takes. Anyway, my Kombi won’t be fixed for a few days yet. The garage tells me they’ve got to get spares from Adelaide.’ Alec followed Murray into the station.
‘Good, we need to know where to get hold of you,’ Murray said over his shoulder.
‘What more do you think you’ll find on the track?’
‘We don’t know until we look. Any clues at all will be useful at this stage.’
Alec knew the search the previous day with Tommy had revealed a great deal of information but little by way of explanation. The fact that they were now returning with a team made him nervous. Dark thoughts flashed through his mind but he couldn’t say them aloud. The mere thoughts upset him so much that, in spite of trying to retain control, he started to cry. At first just small, salty droplets at the edges of his eyes but when the secretary who had been present at the interview came across and put her arm around him, he wept openly.
Murray looked carefully at this display of emotion to see if he could detect any sign of sham but from his long experience he knew he was looking at a man in genuine distress.
‘Right then. You just stay here as long as you like, Mr Thompson. Sally, could you get Mr Thompson some tea or coffee? I must be on my way. We’ll be in touch.’
‘But what are you doing? I mean you’ve already checked the track and you know there was another vehicle there.’
‘Mr Thompson, there are many reasons that people go missing but not usually under these circumstances. I’ve registered Mrs Thompson’s disappearance with the Adelaide Missing Persons Unit, just in case. I’ve sent messages to Border Village, Norseman and Port Augusta police, and circulated a description and a fax of your photo to them. Just in case. This might become a situation where the problem has to be passed up the line to Whyalla. There’s a Detective Sergeant Finney there who is very experienced. If we need we can bring him in. We’re doing all we can at the moment, so please just be patient.’
With that, Sergeant Murray left the front room and disappeared into the recesses of the police station to gather his team. He was not sure what they might find out on the track but he had to search in case there was some evidence they might have missed. Before he left the station he made a call to Port Augusta to see if they could send some tracker dogs and more trackers. It was possible that the missing woman had obtained a lift for part of the way or even tried to walk to Ceduna, like her husband. People did unexpected and foolish things in the outback. Only a few months ago a couple had broken down and, without water, tried to walk through the bush to seek help. Their bodies had been found several miles from their vehicle some weeks later.
* * *
Alec spent a full week in Ceduna, regularly checking hotels and campsites, calling, asking questions. He became well known to the staff. As he entered the hotel reception the answer, cloaked in genuine sympathy, would be given even before he asked his question. ‘Sorry love, no news.’
By the end of the week, when the Kombi was repaired and released by the police, he drove to the dog fence and searched for hours, hoping to find clues that perhaps had been missed. He sat in the sand near the pit at their final camp site and recalled the time spent with Katherine that last day. His soul burned with grief and guilt. He beat the sand with his fists and howled his misery into the emptiness of the desert.
His searching was in vain. He spent so many hours in the police station that the large notice outside, the bougainvillea on the wire fence and every blemish in the white pointing of the brickwork became as familiar to him as their little rented unit in Adelaide.
Murray passed the investigation up the line; now it was being conducted by Detective Sergeant Finney from Whyalla. After a thorough examination of the Kombi and its contents he decided that there was no reason to bring in the forensic squad. The smudged fingerprint near the side doors had been totally useless. He interviewed Alec several more times asking questions that seemed to have no real bearing. Was Katherine depressed? Had she made any substantial cash withdrawals recently? Who were her close friends? Did she suffer from postnatal depression?
Alec was asked intrusive and seemingly pointless questions about their marriage and relationship. So pointless that he became angry but nonetheless answered all to the best of his ability.
All for nothing. By early November he was advised to return to Adelaide.
A very dispirited Alec set off on his return journey across northern Eyre Peninsula, stopping briefly only in Port Augusta to refuel before turning south to Adelaide. He did not go straight to their unit but first to Mitcham, the home of Katherine’s moth
er, and a meeting he dreaded.
He arrived to find his parents there as well as his younger sister, Amy. He had hardly knocked on the door when his mother-in-law flung it open and her tear-streaked face greeted him. ‘Oh, you poor boy, you poor boy.’
Alec hadn’t expected sympathy. Given his profound feelings of guilt he would have coped better anger or severe admonishment.
He burst into tears only to find himself being simultaneously hugged by his parents, his mother-in-law and his sister.
Katherine’s hopes of trying to escape at Yalata were dashed when Benjamin slowed down about two miles from the roadhouse and took a quiet side road into the bush. Once well away from the main highway he stopped. He unhitched the trailer.