‘That’s odd for someone in their thirties.’

‘There’s not even a website advertising his joy flights.’

‘How does he get business then?’ Ryder asked, opening the vanity unit.

‘Through those experience websites. Customers book online. All they have to do is turn up at the airport with their printed voucher.’

The bathroom was standard with only some razors and deodorant in the small vanity unit. ‘Plenty of strands of hair in here,’ said Ryder, poking a bar of soap on the side of the basin.

The final room was a small but functional laundry with a dryer stacked on top of a front-loader washing machine. A square wooden deck at the back of the house couldn’t even boast the most basic of barbeques, while the yard was a tangle of overgrown shrubs.

‘I don’t get it,’ said Flowers, gazing through the window at the broken rotary clothesline. One of the arms had been bent all the way to the ground as if kids had swung on it too many times. ‘This guy was an adrenaline junkie; he had a plane and was into snow sports. There isn’t even a pair of skis. A ghost could live here.’

‘But there is a boat.’

Flowers swung around, a fishy aroma filling his nostrils. Ryder had thrown open the internal doorway leading into the garage. There, taking up the entire space, was a white fishing boat and trailer.

Flowers watched a little water taxi pull up to the marina while Ryder spoke to Brown at Homicide.

‘Forensics are going through the house and garage now. Can you confirm the appointment I have with Cessnock Airport this afternoon? Remind them that a team from Newcastle will be with me, and they’ll be impounding Lorrimer’s car.’

Flowers sipped his takeaway coffee and watched a well-dressed couple disembark from the water taxi.

‘Flowers is on the twelve-forty pm flight back to Canberra,’ Ryder was saying, ‘so call him if you need anything. And, Brown, when you’ve got the airport on the phone, ask them for Lorrimer’s mobile number so we can apply for a warrant. We need a copy of his call log.’

A water police boat arrived and began cruising between the boats moored further out in the bay, as though they were looking for something. Flowers shifted his gaze to the couple. They were walking towards a schmick blue-and-white restaurant on the marina. When he turned back to the police boat, it was already motoring out of the bay. He mentioned it to Ryder as they walked to the car.

‘They were patrolling around the boats that were anchored further out. Maybe we should give them a call, see if they suspect someone’s bringing drugs into Port Stephens.’

‘You think Lorrimer was meeting up with someone offshore?’ asked Ryder.