‘That would be helpful, Sergeant.’ Flowers closed his notepad, signalling the discussion was coming to an end, and tucked it safely away in his pocket. He’d tried taping his interviews the way Ryder did, but he found it annoying replaying the recording over and over. His notepad was old school, but he could flip to the appropriate page in seconds when he needed something.

‘How were things down at the airstrip this morning?’ Flowers asked.

‘Forensics finished late yesterday afternoon.’

‘Yes, I had a message from Harriet Ono.’

‘The safety bureau was going to work through the night. I’ll shoot down there again once we’re finished here.’

‘I think we’re all done for now,’ Flowers said, standing up. ‘I’ll come with you if you’re heading down. I need to get the maintenance man’s address from Ben Hoff.’

‘I can give you that.’ Sergeant Collins jotted down the details on a notepad. ‘Orville’s place is only two minutes up the road,’ he said, tearing off the page and handing it to Flowers. ‘Everything is close by in Khancoban.’

After thanking Sergeant Collins, Flowers left the station. He had just enough time to speak to Orville before he met up with Ryder.

‘Orville meant “gold town”,’ Orville Parish told Flowers as he led the way down a central hallway to the back of his single-storey house. The older man wore a grey tracksuit, a battered cap with a petrol-company logo on it, and slippers. He was small and wiry with bowed legs, making Flowers wonder if he’d spent a lot of time riding horses.

‘One of my ancestors discovered gold up in Kiandra in the late 1800s,’ Parish said. ‘Not enough to make him wealthy, but enough to give the family a start. Our clan have lived in this area ever since.’

Parish stopped at the kitchen door. ‘Can I get you something to drink?’

‘No thanks, I’m good.’

‘Right, well let’s go and sit down in the sunroom.’ Parish led him into a bright room overlooking a well-maintained yard.

‘You’ve got a nice spot here.’

‘Can’t complain.’ Parish sat in a recliner rocker and pressed a button on the control to bring up the footrest. ‘Kiandra’s a ghost town since the old courthouse museum burned down years ago. Nothing left up there except a few old pieces of mining equipment and a handful of graves.’ He waved his hand at a chair, indicating Flowers should sit. ‘I’ve been expecting you, Detective.’

‘We’ll get started then.’ Flowers left his notepad and pen in his pocket, feeling a more relaxed conversation with Orville was the way to go. ‘Ben Hoff said you’ve been mowing the airstrip for about ten years now?’

‘That’s right. I mow a few other lawns, but the airstrip is the only job where I use a tractor.’