Because it was sneaky to be going behind his back, the little voice in her head observed. Yes? she mentally replied, And searching other peple’s belongings isn’t? But you don’t know that he did, the voice argued. Then why, another voice – the voice of reason – nagged, are you even thinking about it?

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake!’ Tilly grabbed the handpiece and stabbed fiercely at the numbers.

A few minutes later she put the phone down and sat staring at her empty cup. The receptionist had been quite sure. No student, mature age or otherwise, was registered under that name. They had no faculty member or visiting professor called Doyle in the university and no, no research grants were being funded at present – definitely not. Was Ms Hillyer quite sure that she had the details correct?

‘Perhaps it was Adelaide he meant, not Darwin, and I got the wrong end of the stick,’ Tilly had mumbled. ‘No, no, that’s fine. Thanks for your trouble, it wasn’t really important.’

She rose from the table and, tipping her half-drunk tea into the sink, went to the door to stare at the distant waters of the Nutt glinting between the jungle growth of the river bank. Matt had been right. If Connor was a botanist, he certainly wasn’t the one he was pretending to be. What possible reason could he have for lying to them, and what, if anything, should she do about it? Was it even her business? There could be a perfectly innocent explanation after all.

Like what? the annoying inner voice asked.

‘Well, I don’t know, do I?’ she exploded, venting to the empty air. ‘That’s the problem!’ Should she tell Sophie? She was in charge, after all, and it was her trust that had been exploited. Or she could simply confront the man himself and demand an explanation? Yes, she thought, she would do that first. And spill the beans after – if he had no reasonable excuse to offer.

No sooner had the decision been made than Tilly heard the approach of a vehicle from the camp. It was early for the others to be returning, and the pace of the Toyota made her heart jump in sudden dismay. She ran to the verandah’s edge just as it slowed to a stop before the shed. Luke jumped out, followed more slowly by Sophie, and both hurried into the building to return a moment later, hefting the heavy collapsible ladder between them.

Tilly jogged over as they struggled to lift it onto the cab of the vehicle. ‘What are you doing, guys? What’s going on?’

‘Ask those bastards!’ Luke said furiously. He was balanced on the bullbar, hauling the bulky ladder forward. ‘Tilly, there’s a rope near your foot. Can you chuck the end up to me?’

She obeyed, shading her eyes. ‘What’s that for?’