‘The man in chains went on a killing spree, one of the worst in the state. He was the first serial killer in Queensland. He murdered a group of stockmen that trusted him, one by one, and got about eight before they finally caught him. Important men came from Brisbane and even Sydney to keep the whole thing fair. It was felt a normal trial would’ve been too biased as many of the men were local.’

Her words leave a bitter taste in my mouth. If killing black people actually counted as murder, there’d be a lot more serial killers than that, stretching back 200 years.

I do a double take as the words ‘Oscar Miller’ leap out from the faded print. My stomach does a motion sickness dance and I have to fight to sound normal.

‘Did they say why he did it?’

‘Oh that’s not too clear, something about a dispute over property. They found him guilty the same day this was taken.’ I almost snort. ‘There is a newspaper article or two on this; they would probably give you more detail.’

I force myself back into the present. ‘So is that all there is then?’

I can almost touch her sarcasm. ‘As I said, you could always try the state library and see what they have.’

I pretend to think it over. ‘Nah, that’s cool. Could I take these up to the council and get them photocopied so I can make up my mind later?’

She shakes her head. ‘Sorry, they have to stay here. But I can take some copies and email them to you if you like? I can get the frames cleaned up at the same time.’

‘Yeah cool, thanks.’ I smile, more genuinely this time.

‘Write your email address down here and which ones you want, and I’ll get it to you later this week.’

I scribble the information down and carefully list the articles she’s shown me. Shrugging my port on a bit tighter I nod in the woman’s direction, eyes on the ground. ‘Well, umm, thanks for that … I’d better, ummm, get back to school.’

‘My pleasure. Make sure you ask your teacher if we can see what your class comes up with for their assignments.’ Her encouraging smile is all I wait on before I’m out the door, the guilt is back and I’m panicking a bit about her going to one of the teachers.