Sergeant Collins studied him for a long moment. ‘Look, when he was working up at Perisher full-time he started mixing with a different crowd. It was around then that he was charged with possession. Personally, I don’t think he was intending to sell the weed found on him when he was charged. It’s just that he had more of it on him. He paid his fines, did his community service, and you can see from his record he’s stayed out of trouble ever since.’

Flowers looked up. ‘Or he hasn’t got caught.’

Collins didn’t answer, just fixed him with a dead-eyed stare. It was obvious Collins had taken his comment the wrong way, as if Flowers were insinuating a member of the force had turned a blind eye or been part of a drug racket. Flowers didn’t flinch. It happened all too often.

‘Well, you’re the detective,’ Collins said eventually. ‘I’m sure you’ll get to the bottom of it.’

‘I’m sure we will.’ Flowers turned to a fresh page in his notepad. ‘So, did you see much of Art Lorrimer after he’d completed his community service?’

‘No, and I was happy about that,’ Collins stressed. ‘I heard on the grapevine he was learning to fly. Once he got his licence, he was off.’

‘Did he come back from time to time?’

‘I assume he did. I know he came back for his father’s funeral, and then later for his mother’s.’

‘What about his old friendship group? Any of them still living in Khancoban?’

He glanced up to see Collins running a hand over his head as though smoothing down imaginary hair.

‘I couldn’t be sure about that. You need to understand what kind of a town this is. Originally, the place was built to house the Snowy Hydro workers. A lot of kids whose parents worked on the Murray 1 and Murray 2 power stations left town to find work. Khancoban is mostly a tourist town now. People come here to ski, hike and fish, or to visit the snowfields in winter, or maybe take a tour of the Snowy Hydro and learn—’

‘But Lorrimer came from a property in Tooma,’ Flowers interrupted, attempting to shift Collins’ focus back to the deceased pilot. ‘Why was he spending so much time in Khancoban?’

‘All the young people in these small towns know each other. They play footy together, go to school together, ride horses together. They make friends from all over, Tumbarumba, Thredbo, Jindabyne, even Corryong. The border’s only across the river.’

‘Yes, I know where the border is,’ Flowers said, ignoring Collins’ tone, which had turned slightly condescending. ‘So, do you remember whether any of Lorrimer’s friends were charged at the same time?’

The sergeant thought for a few moments. ‘I recall charging a couple of the others. I’d have to search my records and get back to you with the names.’