‘Call it off, Arthur. Martin’s lost and there’s no need to lose you and Davie as well. He wouldn’t have wanted that.’ Pausing to suck in some hot, dry air, he continued, ‘Not everything out here, maybe anywhere, can come to a closure. There will always be an element of mystery but it’s up to you – up to us – to keep Martin alive in our hearts. He’s part of the earth now, part of this forest. And always will be.’

Chandler looked at them. With the truth out in the open he felt relieved. It was more than could be said for father and son. Arthur’s head had sunk between his legs but Davie stared at Chandler, his face filled with shock as if trying to come to terms with what the voice of authority was telling him. With the limber ease of a child, he picked himself up and wandered away. Chandler searched for words to stop him but found none.

Arthur’s voice floated into the silence between them.

‘I don’t want Martin’s spirit to wander here.’

‘You have your wife and Davie to look after. You’ve done your best,’ said Chandler. The old man began to sob, reality becoming apparent to him in all of its nauseating glory. But Chandler couldn’t dwell on the old man’s misery. There was what to do next to be considered. First up – a call to base to get the chopper in the air and out to them. Then press statements confirming the conclusion of the search and thanking everyone who took part in it.

It was a sobering and tiring thought. What came next? The page would be turned in time, the contents of the last chapter steadily forgotten.

Chandler looked up. Davie was gone. The younger brother had disappeared like the older one.

‘Davie?’ shouted Chandler into the patch of outback where the boy had last been.

Helping Arthur to his feet he prepared to chase the boy. The tears had gone from the old man’s eyes, replaced by dread. Abandoning all precaution that had become instinct, they set off after him, stumbling through bushes and shrubs, crying out for an answer and getting none. Chandler’s panic grew. Mitch had been right. He should have called this off earlier. When the surviving family were still safe.

He crashed through the low canopy of the trees, a rotten branch snapping his stupidity back at him. Arthur quickly fell behind, only his warbled yells overtaking Chandler as they scoured the landscape for the clash of the bright blue jumper against the dull red earth. Chandler’s feet scuffed the earth, ripping seedlings from the harsh soil. His hair tangled in branches that dragged him back as if it didn’t want him to see something. Surely the boy couldn’t have got far? Unless he had started running.