Ryder had to forcibly stop himself from rolling his eyes.

‘I do, but my levels still aren’t high enough, and this house is so cold in winter.’

‘Ah, fair enough,’ Flowers said with a smile. He pointed to the hedges where Ethan had been working. ‘I was wondering, is that a maze over there, that tall, square hedge?’

‘A maze?’ Kristin gazed out across the circular driveway to where Flowers was pointing. ‘Oh, no, Detective,’ she said with a serene smile, ‘that’s the old cemetery.’

Eight

‘I wonder how they all get along,’ Flowers said when they reached the cars. ‘It must be like living in a share house.’

‘Heidi seems different to the others, doesn’t she?’ Ryder said.

‘Hmm. There’s definitely tension between her and her sister-in-law.’ Flowers glanced back at the house where Kristin Lorrimer was watching them leave. ‘And I don’t know what to think about Ethan.’

‘Kristin must feel a bit powerless,’ Ryder said in a quiet voice, his back to the house, ‘like she doesn’t have a say in the decision-making regarding the property, including who lives in the homestead.’

‘Yes, she wasn’t part of the discussion about Art’s drug history, though it’s obvious she knows about it. She defers to her husband.’

‘I’m sure they’d discuss things privately,’ said Ryder, jangling his car keys.

‘Did you notice how close she was to the window?’ said Flowers.

‘I did. Perhaps the vitamin D thing was an excuse to sit close by and eavesdrop.’ Ryder nodded at the tall, shaded hedges. ‘So, that’s the family cemetery.’

‘Yep, and it looks like Ethan’s the gravedigger.’

Ryder snorted and unlocked his car. ‘Your imagination’s running wild, Daisy. I’ll see you at the airport.’

When Flowers arrived in Khancoban thirty-five minutes later, he found Ryder stonewalling reporters who’d emerged from two regional news vans parked at the entrance to the airport.

‘Detective, was the pilot making an emergency landing?’

Ryder spoke to the short, stocky male reporter who had shoved a microphone close to his mouth. ‘It’s only been two days since the crash occurred. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau have completed their work here, but we won’t know the answer to your question until we receive their report.’

‘Detective?’ A blonde woman edged out the other reporter. ‘It’s obvious this is being treated as a murder, otherwise Homicide wouldn’t be here. Do you have any idea how the tractor came to be in the middle of the runway?’

‘No, but I can assure you that is the focus of our investigation. Thank you.’

‘Detective?’

‘Detective?’