Flowers nodded. ‘He was never the same after the war, apparently. He’s the last Buchanan buried on this land.’ Flowers looked at the grave, trying to imagine how Henry’s wife would have felt, visiting her late husband’s grave on the family property she been forced to sell. And then the later blow when Mrs Lorrimer, wife of the Sydney brewer’s son and mother of the four Lorrimer children, had banned the Buchanans from visiting at all.

‘You can see where Ethan has been tidying up,’ said Ryder, wandering around the remaining headstones. James Buchanan had married again after the death of his first wife. Both wives’ headstones were located close to his grave. ‘It’s very overgrown towards the back.’

Flowers nodded. ‘I can understand Ethan wanting to clean it up before Cate sees it, and I totally get why the Buchanans would want the allotment with the house and cemetery. There’s a lot of history here.’

‘I didn’t realise you were such an historian,’ said Ryder.

‘I’m not usually. But I don’t know, there’s something about this whole area. The mountains, the alpine huts, the snow leases and this grazing land.’

‘Man from Snowy River country,’ Ryder said as they turned and began retracing their steps. ‘Jack Riley’s grave is just across the border in Corryong if you want to visit that one too.’

‘Settle down,’ Flowers said as they skirted around the hedge and headed back to the driveway. ‘I’m just curious about this one because Cate told me the family history, and I’ve seen the sketches.’

As they began walking towards the front steps, Kristin Lorrimer came back out onto the verandah to greet them. When they reached the top, a car was winding its way down the hill towards the homestead.

They gathered on the verandah and it was obvious from Dan and Ethan’s concerned expressions that they were expecting unpleasant news.

Flowers turned to Kristin first. ‘Has your sister-in-law been home today?’ he asked, taking out his notepad and pen.

Kristin shook her head. ‘I haven’t seen Heidi for the last few days. Dan told me she was supposed to be at the meeting with you this morning.’

‘We haven’t been able to contact her,’ Ryder said, watching as Flowers took a seat so it was easier for him to take notes. Everyone else remained standing. ‘We’ll call in to the hotel on our way back and see if we can catch her there.’

Ethan stood, his hands braced on the back of a cane chair. ‘It’s unusual to see you twice in one day,’ he said, clearly keen to get things underway.

‘We were in Khancoban,’ Ryder said. ‘We’ve just taken a statement from Ben Hoff.’ He shifted his gaze to Dan. The eldest Lorrimer sibling was standing with his arms folded, his back against the wooden verandah railing. ‘We understand you know Ben.’