Bitter Nothings Read Online Free PDF

camping?”
    “All over. Anywhere within a day’s drive.” She shifted in her seat, uncrossing her legs and recrossing them. “Although if it was only an overnighter, he usually only went as far as the Toolangi State Forest.”
    “Any particular area that you know of?”
    “Dad liked to explore. Said what was the point of going back to somewhere you’d been before, when there are so many places yet to be discovered. Sorry, not much to go on, I know.”
    “It’s a start,” DSC Stewart said, writing in her notebook.
    “You should also know,” Todd said, “that we’ll be making a statement to the media later this morning. We’ll be releasing your father’s photograph, together with details of his vehicle, and appealing to anyone who’s seen him or the vehicle to come forward.”
    Dervla twisted a hank of damp hair around her hand. “I’m not saying he is, but if my father is hiding out as you suggest for whatever reason, what makes you think he’s gone bush and not jumped on the first international flight out of Melbourne?”
    “It appears that the backpack containing your father’s tent, sleeping bag and other camping gear is also missing.”
    “Says who?”
    “Gabe.”
    “Well, maybe Dad or Lucinda moved it.”
    “Maybe. Although, if he has left the country, he didn’t pay for the ticket with his credit card. Nor did he withdraw cash from his bank account.”
     

CHAPTER 5
     
    A mugshot of her father, his dark eyes creased in amusement above pouched cheeks, filled the television screen.
    “…considered armed and dangerous, and should not be approached.”
    Dervla’s jaw dropped.
    “Anyone who sees or knows the whereabouts of Warren Andrew Johns should immediately call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, triple-0 or contact their nearest police station.”
    She stood stock-still, unable to move.
    A stern-faced newsreader appeared on screen. “Protestors,” he said, already on to the next story, “disrupted…”
    Trust me, he had said. Her hand closed around the remote control, the urge to hurl it at the television strong. “Fool,” she shouted, her taunt aimed not at the newsreader but at herself. Would she never learn?
    She threw her hands in the air and with an exaggerated shrug, collapsed in a heap on the couch. Tears pricked her eyes. She blinked them away. Her father armed and dangerous? Absurd. Anyone who knew him would know that. Not unless…
    The saliva in her mouth dried. Not unless something terrible had happened and tipped him over the edge. Was it possible? Could he be responsible for the cold-blooded murder of a woman and her two young children, his own family?
    She sat bolt upright, bile rising in her throat. What was she thinking? The bastards had her doubting her own father. Sure, he was no contender for father-of-the-year but nor was he a killer. To believe otherwise would mean her whole life had been a lie.
    An overwhelming need to escape drove her to her feet. If she stayed locked up inside the house any longer, she would go stir-crazy. More stir-crazy.
    Two minutes later, keys and wallet in hand, sunglasses shielding her puffy eyes, she stepped out into the street for the first time since her world had imploded. The man next door was reversing out of his drive. He gave a cheery wave, obviously unaware of his neighbor’s connection to the family slaying making news headlines. She waved back, the normality of it somehow grounding, fleeting as it was.
    Head down, she walked quickly, paying scant attention to familiar surroundings. Why hadn’t her half-sister made contact? Unless Alana and her drug-addled boyfriend were on another planet, they had to have seen or heard the news reports by now. Dervla reached the top of the steep concrete steps leading down to the footpath alongside the Yarra River, hesitated and glanced back over her shoulder. What had possessed her to leave her mobile phone at home? What if Alana called? Or her father…
    She took two steps and stopped. Ten