The man who’d been working in the garden came in. Ethan Lorrimer was Ryder’s height, his wide shoulders and muscular frame testament to years of physical work. More mountain man than grazier, he wordlessly pulled out a chair and sat at the head of the table, eyeing them warily.

Once again, Ryder introduced himself and Flowers, then left it to Flowers to go over what they’d just told Dan and Heidi.

‘We’ve also been in touch with the relevant people at Cessnock Airport,’ Flowers said. ‘They’ve confirmed that Art did log a flight plan to Khancoban two days ago. They know of a former girlfriend of Art’s but no one current. Daniel is listed as his next of kin on the paperwork they have, but all of you are equally his next of kin.’

Heidi and Ethan exchanged glances while their brother stared down at the table.

‘Well,’ Dan said eventually, struggling to control his voice, ‘it doesn’t seem like Art had a significant other in his life, so I suppose we’d better start making funeral arrangements.’

‘You can go ahead and make preliminary arrangements,’ Flowers said, ‘but you’ll need to wait until the body is released before you can set a date.’

Dan nodded while Ethan and Heidi said nothing. To Ryder, it was obvious the firstborn reigned supreme in the Lorrimer household.

‘We’ve opened an investigation into the suspected murder of your brother,’ Flowers said. ‘The likelihood of a tractor blocking the runway when he flew in after dark is too coincidental to be an accident.’

Heidi began to weep again, wiping the tears away with her tissue. Ethan rested his elbows on the table, his hands clasped together.

‘We know Art has a record,’ Ryder said. ‘Detective Flowers has already spoken to Sergeant Collins about the historical drug charges.’ He looked at each Lorrimer sibling in turn. Ethan was glowering. Heidi was shredding the tissue between her fingers and didn’t meet his eyes. Dan was still, his gaze fixed on Ryder as though he were delivering a sermon. ‘Do any of you know if Art had trouble with anyone in the past, someone who may have still held a grudge against him?’

Ethan unclasped his hands and leaned back in his chair. ‘Art had problems with a lot of people,’ he said, his voice half an octave lower than his brother’s. ‘He got mixed up with the wrong crowd years ago and got into drugs . . . it caused a lot of problems.’

‘Who with exactly?’ Flowers asked.

‘Art owed certain people a lot of money—the kind of people with long memories,’ Ethan said. ‘They used to turn up here looking for him.’

That explained Kristin’s wariness when she opened the door yesterday, Ryder thought. ‘Are you talking about an organised crime ring?’

Ethan nodded.

Ryder caught Flowers’ eye. ‘Do you remember their names?’

‘No,’ Dan said. ‘We never knew who they were.’