“And then to win the prize had been incredible. She felt like she was being seen, actually being seen, for the first… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“If the clean man was not the boy’s father and if he had taken him, Tina knew that someone must be looking… — Nicole Trope Parenting Copy Share Image
“Just because the package was beautifully wrapped didn’t mean it wasn’t still full of shit.” — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Tina knew she could have taken the man a tree that grew its own money and he would say, ‘Not much call… — Nicole Trope Money Copy Share Image
“Lockie got lost.’ ‘Yeah, he did.’ ‘But you found him.’ ‘I think we kind of found each other.” — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Tina wondered how long it had taken Lockie to give up on his parents. How long had he shouted and screamed and… — Nicole Trope Parenting Copy Share Image
“Logically she understood that everyone had something they were hiding, some hurt they kept deep inside, some reason why they were not… — Nicole Trope Every morning Copy Share Image
“She could not remember the casual Sarah who needed her morning latte before she did anything else. She had willingly given that… — Nicole Trope Coffee shop Copy Share Image
“Little boys who were suffering were all the same. Lockie was making chinks in the wall. No matter how hard she tried… — Nicole Trope Little boys Copy Share Image
“There were no dreams that night. Tina fell asleep to the feeling of Lockie’s ribs moving up and down. It felt strange… — Nicole Trope Dream Copy Share Image
“But when they couldn’t find Lockie she had to slip back into mother mode. There were days when mother mode pulled her… — Nicole Trope Mother Copy Share Image
“Tina and her mother were in the process of healing; they had to heal and soon they would be healed. But Tina… — Nicole Trope Mother Copy Share Image
“Tina began to breathe in a little of the boy’s despair. It crept up her spine and tingled at her neck. Right… — Nicole Trope Panic Copy Share Image
“The night people, people like her, had melted back into their hiding places. Now the city was ruled by the day people.… — Nicole Trope Busy bee Copy Share Image
“Outside the night worked its way towards dawn and inside Tina talked. When she got to the part about seeing Lockie in… — Nicole Trope Eye for an eye Copy Share Image
“There was colour everywhere you looked. Colour and beauty and she understood how desperately Lockie would have missed his home. Under the… — Nicole Trope Beauty Copy Share Image
“His body had become a statue as soon as the man’s hand made contact. He was perfectly still on his bed of… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Right now the nightmares were in her waking hours so she needed to stay asleep. She was broken. Shattered. Devastated. Crushed. There… — Nicole Trope Nightmares Copy Share Image
“Tina dropped her eyes. She hated this feeling. She wished she could tell the woman that her life hadn’t always been governed… — Nicole Trope Desperation Copy Share Image
“Now she took the pills and, just before she closed her eyes, she summoned Lockie and his smile, and then the dreams… — Nicole Trope Dreams Copy Share Image
“Doug, you have to prepare yourself. You have to prepare Sarah. It won’t be long before they have some answers. You have… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“He said they would be mad at me. He said they would hate me.’ Tina saw her hand on the poker again.… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Lockie stood with his arms by his sides as she ran her hands over his hair and squeezed his arms. Tina could… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Sometimes Sarah would be up and about and when she saw Pete she would let something slip.He would walk into the kitchen… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“The boy was tied up under the table, scrabbling his way through an empty packet of biscuits, licking his fingers to gather… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“He said I was a dirty boy,’ whispered Lockie. ‘I was a dirty boy and that was why he did stuff to… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Sarah put the man and the other dead children out of her head. Later, perhaps, she would watch Lockie out in the… — Nicole Trope Children Copy Share Image
“She didn’t see what she didn’t want to see. The women on the street were pretty girls waiting for a date and… — Nicole Trope Pretty girls Copy Share Image
“Right now he needed to concentrate on keeping himself under control. Inside, his gut churned. There was a war going on. The… — Nicole Trope Children Copy Share Image
“There was a man in the garden with the little girl. He was turning over the soil in a garden bed. He… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“na kept her head down and pulled Lockie out into the street. She hoped he would manage to avoid standing on anything.… — Nicole Trope Bare feet Copy Share Image
“Kids didn’t just disappear unless someone made them disappear.‘Relax, mate,’ the head of security said. ‘We’ve never lost one yet.’ Lots of… — Nicole Trope Children Copy Share Image
“In Cootamundra the station was quiet. Tina looked around but before she could see anyone she saw the poster on the wall.… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Tina and Pete stood together. Pete knew he should be grilling the girl, getting the full story before details were lost, but… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Sarah wondered what they—the ‘they’ who had taken her child; the ‘they’ or the ‘him’ or the ‘her’—were feeding him.Sometimes a fear… — Nicole Trope Children Copy Share Image
“Tina woke to a thin beam of afternoon sun. She lay still for a moment, revisiting, reliving, trying to get comfortable with… — Nicole Trope Afternoon sun Copy Share Image
“The police up in the city had endless files filled with people who were so malevolent it was almost impossible to believe… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“In all his years as a cop he had never felt this helpless, as though he had one hand tied behind his… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“She thought about the last car ride she had taken. It had only been a few days ago but it felt like… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“That’s what Lockie was—a little boy.It could do your head in if you thought too much about the cruelty that one person… — Nicole Trope Cruelty Copy Share Image
