‘A bit of everything,’ Hoff said. ‘Private planes are able to land here, and the National Parks and Wildlife fly out when they do weed control. Of course, the Snowy Hydro use it, and sometimes a resident needs to be flown to hospital.’

‘That’s probably my team,’ Alam said suddenly.

Flowers looked up. Sure enough, the recognisable sound of a helicopter rotor cutting through the air could be heard in the distance.

‘That chopper isn’t going to land here, is it?’ he asked, surprised that he sounded a lot like Ryder. ‘I won’t risk the crime scene being compromised.’

Alam shook his head. ‘There’s plenty of space for it to land on the other side of the road.’

‘Good.’ Flowers stood up. ‘Nothing happens until the police forensics team gets here. Our investigation takes priority.’

Two

Detective Sergeant Pierce Ryder kept his eyes on Nerida Sterling’s olive-green jacket and black helmet. Detective Sterling was two places ahead of him in the chairlift queue at Thredbo Ski Village in the Snowy Mountains, standing alone with her snowboard. The Chili Peppers’ ‘Higher Ground’ blared from a speaker overhead, enhancing the holiday atmosphere. Ryder slid forward on his skis, using his poles to stop him from running into two young snowboarders in the line in front of him. They were brimming with excitement about how much air they’d caught on their last run down.

‘Excuse me fellas, I’m a single,’ said Ryder, his neck warmer pulled up to the bottom of his goggles. The pair cordially parted, giving Ryder the space he needed to move ahead of them. He glided past, nodding his thanks, but they took no notice, already discussing which run they were going to take next.

Ryder drew level with Sterling. Careful not to let his left ski drift anywhere near her snowboard, he stared straight ahead. Her right foot was free of its binding in readiness for the ride up, and the last thing he wanted to do was trip her.

An empty chair rounded the corner, scooping up the couple ahead of them. ‘Have a good one guys,’ the liftie called before beckoning Sterling and Ryder forward.

With his poles tucked under one arm, Ryder glided towards the designated red line stating ‘wait here’ then watched over his shoulder as another empty chair approached from the rear. To anyone watching, they were strangers about to share a ride up the mountain, not two members of the Sydney Homicide Squad. When the chair nudged them in the back of the knees, they sat simultaneously.

Ryder brought down the safety bar, watching Sterling from the corner of his eye. ‘How was your counter surveillance?’ He spoke quickly, conscious of their limited time.

‘Safe. I made sure I wasn’t followed.’