KIMMY'S LIST

CHAPTER 7

Jax Higgins marched through the bull pen and dumped his folder and car keys onto his desk. He glared at his whiteboard and shook a slow, disapproving head, concerned at the unprecedented high number of people missing due to suspicious circumstances.

He flipped open his folder and lifted a ten-by-eight, colour photograph - the seventh in his growing collection. He paused to pass his eyes across the whiteboard, then affixed the photo.

Taken during happier times, the photo was given to him by Tanya Denver, the distraught wife of Malcolm. She had one stipulation when Jax visited her earlier this afternoon and that was, the photo had to be returned to her in the condition he received it.

Three months had passed since her husband, Malcolm was last seen leaving the charity soup kitchen in Oolong’s CBD around 10:00PM. His bank accounts remained untouched. His mobile phone diverted to voice mail and probably the most telling was, his social media was inactive.

Malcolm regularly used Facebook. He invited all his students to interact with him, via the social media platform. He viewed it as a way to break down perceived barriers between students and their principal.

He used it as a news forum and a way to distribute information to students and their parents. It was also his clever way to deter online bullying among students.

He was considered somewhat of a pioneer in this area. The concept was embraced by all at the school, including his teaching staff, so his long-term absence from Facebook concerned all who knew him.

While passing his eyes over his photo board collection, Tanya Denver’s heartfelt question resonated with Jax. It was a question that so many others in her position asked him, and it was the one question he avoided answering… ‘Do you think he is still alive?’

TO BE CONTINUED….