He paused by the desks, filtering out Heath’s bleating cries. Even the chorus from the cells drifted into nothing but a background hiss as he struggled to comprehend what this information meant. He was still struggling even as he loaded up the foster records Perth HQ had sent. It now suddenly made sense. Why Gabriel knew so much about the search for Martin, why he knew so much about his and Mitch’s past. And the Hill.

He had been there.

Gabriel Wilson had been previously known as David Gabriel Taylor, the younger brother of Martin Taylor, his new name burying the past to clear the way for the future.

The memories flooded back. The kid – Davie, as Chandler now recalled Arthur calling him – had been eleven or twelve at the time of Martin’s disappearance. And eleven years later he had returned, only twenty-two or twenty-three, though he looked older, his skin ragged, his body scarred and beaten, nothing like the innocent floppy-haired kid he had been back then.

With the truth laid in front of him Chandler wondered how he hadn’t recognized him before. Gabriel had certainly recognized Chandler, though he supposed he hadn’t changed much over the years. Still a cop in Wilbrook, only a few kilos and a couple of kids heavier. But Gabriel – Davie – looked like a completely different person.

Why had Gabriel come back? Revenge? And if so, revenge for what? And why had he killed six people before presenting himself? The sweat dripped down Chandler’s forehead and splashed on to the desk. His body felt like a pressure cooker with no vent, building and building, about to explode at any second. His entire life about to explode. He tried to focus. The reason for Gabriel’s return was important but wasn’t the most urgent issue – his kids were in danger. Other possible motives forced their way into Chandler’s mind. Did Gabriel – David – feel they gave up the search for Martin too early? Or that they hadn’t done enough to help? But if Gabriel truly was after revenge for his brother, why did he not take it earlier, as soon as he knew Chandler still lived here? And if he was after revenge and just wanted to kill Chandler’s family, why was he offering a swap? To kill them all? To take his kids and the witness? To finish them all off?

All he wanted to do was speak to Gabriel. Now. Speak to him and speak to his kids.

A cry from the cells interrupted him; Nick pleading for Chandler to give himself up. To not do whatever he was planning to do.

‘I know who he is – who Gabriel is,’ said Chandler, replying to thin air. ‘I know how he knows this town and why he knows me. Why he knows Mitch. Everything. I’m going to meet him.’