‘Well they’re lucky they didn’t get their heads kicked in,’ growled Brian as he backed off towards the door.

Chandler watched him go inside before turning to Mitch’s officers.

‘I warned you about drawing your weapons.’

‘He threw a punch,’ said Sun, unmoved by the rebuke.

‘You were sneaking around his backyard in the dead of night. You’re lucky he doesn’t have a gun.’

‘If that’s the case, then he’s lucky too,’ said Sun, chillingly.

It was a lot easier at Mincey’s, the man himself out on the porch to greet them, enjoying a late-night rollie. He invited them all in for a beer despite being strictly teetotal since his first wife had left him. He answered Chandler’s questions in good humour. He’d seen nothing out of the ordinary that night other than his youngest son, Wayne, trying to climb out the kitchen window because he’d been dared to. There had been no cars, no bikes, in fact no movement at all until Chandler and company had arrived.

Calling it in, Chandler received an update from Nick about the other searches. It was the same everywhere, the farms, the bars, the church hall, and even the church itself, all quiet. Gabriel was nowhere to be found.

All crews regrouped at the station en masse.

Mitch was pacing the floor, nervous. ‘I want all the other farms checked in case someone’s being held hostage or putting him up for the night.’

‘That’ll take until morning at least,’ warned Chandler.

‘I know.’

‘How do you want it done, Inspector?’ asked Luka.

Chandler was annoyed by how keen to please he sounded. Within a couple of days Mitch had brought the wild horse to heel.

‘As with everything,’ said Mitch. ‘Start at the beginning.’

Start at the beginning. There it was again. Another reminder of the note in the cabin: ‘They have been named at the beginning’.

As Mitch launched into a motivational speech about redoubling their efforts, Chandler reviewed what Gabriel had said on the phone: the declaration that he was going to kill ninety. It was a shocking boast, possibly one designed to make them panic and abandon the station to leave Heath exposed, but there had been a poise about the way he had said it that made Chandler think that he had an exact plan of how to go about it. But killing thirty-five people could not be an exact science so maybe in stating the number ninety he meant just that. He was intending to kill ninety; not total kills, but the number.

‘Gabriel said he was going to kill ninety.’

Chandler said this out loud, interrupting Mitch as he accelerated into full flow.

‘We know that, Sergeant. We’re trying to prevent it,’ said Mitch, more exasperated than angry.