Dear Suz,
This FREAKS me out, what I found:
Both girls came to Australia but are missing.
USA one came 2 years ago, last seen Daintree, Qld. 3 months later.
UK one came about 1 yr ago, last seen Adelaide, SA, 6 months later.
Both listed as missing, but not under current investigation
Investigation summary –
- Girls may have wanted to disappear
- Both withdrew most of their cash before they left
- Both announced they were going on a trip – never seen since
- Did not say where were going or with who
- No current links between cases
- Last contacts followed up, no useful information
- Both girls seen meeting unknown man a couple days before last seen.
- One friend thought this man’s name was Mark – no such person located
- Parents are convinced of abduction or worse
- Re Fiona Rodgers, that was her real name but everyone called her Kate – dead sister’s name she used from when a little girl – bit weird
This all makes me scared – Be Careful!!! Take extra care if you meet a Mark.
Love Anne
This was the smoking gun, this was dynamite. It all made sense, an almost exact fit to yesterday’s speculation. This must be Mark, her Mark.
Alan must now confirm that the two girls were still missing. That would be a job for tonight, when offices on the other side of the world were open. Then he must get back to Darwin in the morning before the sentencing hearing was finished. He must give this evidence to both barristers and the judge.
He rang Susan’s barrister, a man who he knew socially. They had an off the record chat where Alan advised him that by tomorrow he would be in possession of new evidence that would dramatically change the complexion of the whole case, but it might be mid-morning before he had it all, as he needed to get some information from the USA tonight.
The barrister advised that Alan would need to be there by 2 pm sharp as he would begin his summing up around then and needed anything he could give him at that time. He could stall a bit but once he was finished it would be too late, the judge would make his decision and it would be very difficult to reopen the case after that.
He also advised Alan that he did not want him to come early as before that all the different parties’ depositions would be made. So he wanted that all out of the way before he produced this. “In fact,” he said, “when you arrive the best thing would be to approach the bench directly on your own behalf, but send me an advance copy just in case anything happens to delay you.”
Alan printed the text. He put it inside in an envelope and wrote on the outside, “Only to be opened if I do not arrive in time.” Then he put this into an overnight express bag, marked with the barristers address and dispatched it.
Girl in an Empty Cage Page 29
