Chapter One
The wind blew hard, the sky darkening and threatening a storm when Lyndsay left the marked track and quietly followed the baby kangaroo along the edge of the mountain. The baby was moving with an unsteady gait, it appeared to be injured. I’ll only follow for a few minutes and then I’ll hurry back to the car, she told herself.
The clouds burst without warning, torrential rain had her drenched within seconds. Lyndsay shivered as she tried to push into the wind, trying desperately to return to the marked track. Fear raced through her body as the ground rumbled. Landslide! She started to run, adrenalin pushing her forward. It was too little too late. The ground slid away beneath her, she tumbled head over heels down the mountainside. Acres of mud and rubble assisted her fall, pushing her along. Gallons of water washed over her, she spluttered and coughed, trying desperately to breathe. Her backpack pounded into her back as she rolled. She was in a great deal of trouble.
A branch, attached to a tree stump seemed to reach out and grab her by the ankle, it stopped her from tumbling off a ledge and into the river below. It would have been certain death. Lyndsay clung onto the stump with half frozen, numb fingers until the landslide finally ceased. She glanced around at the rearranged landscape. She was perched precariously on the cliff edge, her ankle was at a strange, unnatural angle and pain wracked her body. She had no idea how she was going to get back to safety.
I have to get away from the edge and find somewhere safer. Lyndsay unpeeled her fingers from her savior and crawled upwards dragging her leg with the broken ankle behind her. Tears mixed with the rainwater which relentlessly pelted down on her.
Why did I stray from the track? She asked herself for about the hundredth time, but she knew why, an animal appeared to be in distress and she had to try and save it. An experienced hiker like her knew anything could happen when you were out in the bush. How many times had she drummed into her Boy Scout team, you must stay on the marked paths? But she had been prepared to take the risk to rescue the little kangaroo. An animal lover all her life, what else could she do?
A cave opening caught her eye and she crawled towards it. She pulled herself out of the rain and flopped onto her back. The five minutes of crawling had exhausted her. She was wet, freezing, and covered in mud. She was a long way from the marked track which led to America Bay and the waterfall, what if no-one found her? She would never see her three year old son, Dylan, again. He was her last thought before she passed out.
***
Rick pushed the button at the pedestrian crossing lights. While he waited for the lights to change, he squinted, taking a closer look at the picture attached to the pole. Weather had taken its toll and the paper was tattered but he could still make out some of the pretty face gazing back at him. She looked familiar but why? He fought the wind to straighten the paper so he could read what was written. Missing since June 10. Lyndsay Richards. Aged 22.
Lyndsay Richards . He hadn’t heard that name since they’d been students at Narrabeen High, four years ago. He’d had a crush on the pretty, blonde haired, blue eyed girl who had represented the school in Netball. He’d spent many hours sitting in the stands admiring her as she ran from one end of the court to the other. Her skirt dancing over her rear end, showing off her long, slender legs. It had been painful leaving his crush behind when they’d left school. He, to head into the Police Force. Her, he had no idea. People like Lyndsay Richards didn’t give people like him the time of day. While she had been tall, slim and beautiful, he had been short, chubby and dorky.
An old lady patted his hand. “Sir, the light’s green. We can cross now.”
He was startled from his thoughts and dropped his head to gaze onto a small, feeble-looking old lady. “Sorry,
The wind blew hard, the sky darkening and threatening a storm when Lyndsay left the marked track and quietly followed the baby kangaroo along the edge of the mountain. The baby was moving with an unsteady gait, it appeared to be injured. I’ll only follow for a few minutes and then I’ll hurry back to the car, she told herself.
The clouds burst without warning, torrential rain had her drenched within seconds. Lyndsay shivered as she tried to push into the wind, trying desperately to return to the marked track. Fear raced through her body as the ground rumbled. Landslide! She started to run, adrenalin pushing her forward. It was too little too late. The ground slid away beneath her, she tumbled head over heels down the mountainside. Acres of mud and rubble assisted her fall, pushing her along. Gallons of water washed over her, she spluttered and coughed, trying desperately to breathe. Her backpack pounded into her back as she rolled. She was in a great deal of trouble.
A branch, attached to a tree stump seemed to reach out and grab her by the ankle, it stopped her from tumbling off a ledge and into the river below. It would have been certain death. Lyndsay clung onto the stump with half frozen, numb fingers until the landslide finally ceased. She glanced around at the rearranged landscape. She was perched precariously on the cliff edge, her ankle was at a strange, unnatural angle and pain wracked her body. She had no idea how she was going to get back to safety.
I have to get away from the edge and find somewhere safer. Lyndsay unpeeled her fingers from her savior and crawled upwards dragging her leg with the broken ankle behind her. Tears mixed with the rainwater which relentlessly pelted down on her.
Why did I stray from the track? She asked herself for about the hundredth time, but she knew why, an animal appeared to be in distress and she had to try and save it. An experienced hiker like her knew anything could happen when you were out in the bush. How many times had she drummed into her Boy Scout team, you must stay on the marked paths? But she had been prepared to take the risk to rescue the little kangaroo. An animal lover all her life, what else could she do?
A cave opening caught her eye and she crawled towards it. She pulled herself out of the rain and flopped onto her back. The five minutes of crawling had exhausted her. She was wet, freezing, and covered in mud. She was a long way from the marked track which led to America Bay and the waterfall, what if no-one found her? She would never see her three year old son, Dylan, again. He was her last thought before she passed out.
***
Rick pushed the button at the pedestrian crossing lights. While he waited for the lights to change, he squinted, taking a closer look at the picture attached to the pole. Weather had taken its toll and the paper was tattered but he could still make out some of the pretty face gazing back at him. She looked familiar but why? He fought the wind to straighten the paper so he could read what was written. Missing since June 10. Lyndsay Richards. Aged 22.
Lyndsay Richards . He hadn’t heard that name since they’d been students at Narrabeen High, four years ago. He’d had a crush on the pretty, blonde haired, blue eyed girl who had represented the school in Netball. He’d spent many hours sitting in the stands admiring her as she ran from one end of the court to the other. Her skirt dancing over her rear end, showing off her long, slender legs. It had been painful leaving his crush behind when they’d left school. He, to head into the Police Force. Her, he had no idea. People like Lyndsay Richards didn’t give people like him the time of day. While she had been tall, slim and beautiful, he had been short, chubby and dorky.
An old lady patted his hand. “Sir, the light’s green. We can cross now.”
He was startled from his thoughts and dropped his head to gaze onto a small, feeble-looking old lady. “Sorry,
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