Empty Places — Graham Wilson

An English backpacker is on trial for murder in Australia . The tabloids say she killed her lover, fed his body to crocodiles then hid the evidence. She refuses to say what happened. She is trapped within a jail cell and inside her mind in a place of guilt,horror and emptiness, her only companion an ancient creature of the crocodiles who inhabits her dreams Only one person knows and can help her. But he and his helicopter have vanished in the place that locals call The Empty Place with a few fragments of metal from it found washed out to sea. Everyone is convinced he has perished. Is there any way out for Susan. She is determined to plead guilty to protect her child from the deeds of the father. She refuses to reveal what occurred. She awaits conviction and sentencing, expecting to spend her life in jail. But the detective who discovered Susan's identity continues to seek the truth. He knows there must be another story to explain why. He must discover the past of this man she murdered to unlock the secret. The rest of officialdom just wants to lock this girl up and throw away the key. As time ticks away towards the trial, Susan's sanity is falling apart - guilt for what she has done, lonely depression at the prospect of years in prison without her child. She loses hope when the helicopter vanishes and lives inside herself in her own empty place. Yet she must still keep alive the fathers good legacy for the sake of the child. In her mind she sees an escape, she will return to her lover and his crocodile spirit - end it all and be free of this misery. Her friends and the detective suspect her suicide plans. They are desperate to help but powerless to protect her from herself. They must keep seeking truth. It is a race against time. Can the truth be uncovered before the trial ends. Susan is increasingly desperate too. She wants her escape, she must keep the truth hidden, the investigation is closing in. She must divert them. She has a plan, her own death will be the diversion and will bury the secret forever.