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Back Dead Horse Gap Save as PDF
Chapters (58)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  3. DEDICATION
  4. Prologue
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Forty-three
  48. Forty-four
  49. Forty-five
  50. Forty-six
  51. Forty-seven
  52. Forty-eight
  53. Forty-nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-one
  56. Fifty-two
  57. Fifty-three
  58. Acknowledgements

‘There will still be large tracts of land for grazing and forestry, as well as farm-stay accommodation and other things,’ Buchanan told Flowers as they prepared to leave. ‘Ethan Lorrimer is thinking of buying forty hectares. He’s keen to stay on the land, and he’d be able to work a property of that size himself.’

‘You’ve spoken to him?’ Flowers asked.

‘Not personally. Temple told me he’s interested.’

section break

‘Thoughts, Daisy?’ Ryder asked as they headed to the car.

‘I liked the guy. He was upfront, and didn’t apologise for what he’s doing, and why should he?’ Flowers zipped up his jacket. ‘If I were a councillor, I’d support it. The Buchanans have maintained the hut at Dead Horse Gap for decades, and Wendy and Cate have a track record running the cafe. It’s their relatives in the graveyard, and if they want to share all that history with the public, well, that’s cool.’

‘Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.’ Ryder looked at his phone as a message came through. ‘It’s Harriet,’ he said. ‘She’s sending through the forensics report.’

Ryder began scrolling through the main points of the report. ‘They’ve identified Art Lorrimer from the dental records, so the body can be released.’

‘We can tell the Lorrimers they can go ahead with the funeral now,’ Flowers said, then groaned as they walked up the couple of steps to the carpark.

‘What’s wrong?’ Ryder asked.

‘I’m sore. All that snowshoeing yesterday. I swear, it doesn’t look hard but every muscle in my body’s screaming.’

Ryder chuckled. ‘Now you know how I feel when I come in from skiing. Here, let me drive.’

‘What else does the report say?’ Flowers asked when they were in the car and Ryder had turned the engine over.

‘I think we might have to scrap our theory of Lorrimer transporting drugs. Harriet found no trace elements in the plane wreckage.’

‘And he hasn’t been done for drugs since his prior. Damn it.’

Ryder thought for a moment. ‘I think we’d better get Benson down here. Ring him and tell him to pack a bag. We need to interview the tourists at the caravan park, starting with the ones who have teenagers. The others can chase up any who’ve gone home in the meantime. And, Flowers, tell him to give the tractor analysis to Brown.’

Flowers nodded. ‘Where are we going from here, Sarge?’ he asked, the phone to his ear.

‘We need to talk to the Lorrimers again, but I want to call into Khancoban first.’ Ryder was worried about Sterling’s close call with the dog last night.

They both were.

Twenty