Fractured by Dawn Barker Read Free Book Online

shoulder. At that, he stopped moving.
    ‘Jack’s not there,’ he said in a flat voice.
    ‘I know, love.’ She squeezed his shoulder to keep her own hand from shaking, and looked through the back window too. On the
     floor on the left-hand side, just beneath the baby capsule, was a big black bag. It was the nappy bag, the one Anna always
     keptstocked up with everything Jack would need. She gently steered Tony away from the car. ‘Come on, love. Let’s go. We’ll be
     more help back over there.’
    Tony nodded. Ursula led him towards his family.
    * * *
    He couldn’t stand it any more. The light was fading. They had scoured the beach and the path and the bush, but found nothing.
     A helicopter was on its way to help search the craggy rocks and caves that lined the ancient sandstone cliff wall, only visible
     from the churning air above the ocean. The police had stopped reassuring him that they would find Jack; now they only said
     they were doing everything they could. Their glances were drenched with pity. They wouldn’t look directly at him, or allow
     themselves to be engaged in conversation. He knew they were giving up.
    But Tony knew that Jack wasn’t here. He couldn’t be. Jack was somewhere else, somewhere safe. He had to be.
    He stood at the top of the cliff, swaying with the wind, and wondered what it would feel like to fall, and whether he would
     survive. What had Anna been doing here? Was she running, afraid? He squeezed his fists tightly then stepped back onto the
     path. He was losing his mind; Anna and Jack needed him to take charge here, to help them. He crouched down and put his head
     in his hands again, trying to concentrate, then heard himself let out a moan. He looked up, shocked, then noticed his parents
     and sister behind him. His dad held out his hand to help Tony to his feet. Ursula hugged him.
    ‘Mum, where is he?’ The words forced their way out of him raggedly.
    Ursula took a deep breath, then shook her head. ‘I wish I could answer that.’ He heard the tremor in her voice.
    ‘We need more people! He could be anywhere! Time’s running out.’
    ‘We’ll find him,’ Jim said, stepping towards him. ‘We will, Tony.’
    Lisa covered her face and muttered something before hurrying away. He could hear her stifled cries.
    He suddenly thought of something. ‘We need to get it on the news, now! Everyone in Sydney needs to get out there and look
     – he could be anywhere, he could be on a plane by now. I don’t know what to do! I feel like I’m doing nothing, and every minute
     …’ He couldn’t finish the sentence. He’d never felt so helpless before. ‘Where the hell is he?’ He swiped at a tear. He couldn’t
     let himself think like the policemen, couldn’t give up on Jack. ‘Take me back to the hospital. Anna knows where he is – she
     has to. I’ll try again, she might be better now, she has to talk to me, she’s the only one who knows what happened!’
    Ursula put her hand on his arm. ‘Please, calm down, the police said they’re doing everything they can —’
    ‘It’s not enough! We need to do more!’ He clenched his fist then punched the trunk of the gnarled gum tree behind him.
    ‘Tony! Stop!’ Jim grabbed his wrist.
    He tried to wrestle his arm away, but his dad’s grip was too strong and he gave up, letting himself go limp. Jim put his arm
     around Tony’s slack shoulders. He couldn’t look at his father. All his life, Jim had quietly trusted him to do the right thing;
     he had never pressured him into anything. As a kid, he’d sometimes wished that his dad would be more involved in his life:
     yelling at him from the rugby pitch sidelines like the other dads instead of just telling him he’d done a good job, or clipping
     him round the ear when he staggered home drunk. Now, like then, he knew that Jim wouldn’t blame him, or believe that he’d
     been wrong to leave Anna and Jack this morning; he’d say that Tony had done his best. That was what