‘I’d just forgotten. A number of farmers went. They don’t take the wives. So bit of a piss up, too.’

‘What was the Wongan Hills farmer’s name?’

‘Jesus, Cardilini.’

‘Doney,’ Cardilini said under his breath as the phone clicked.

Sheppard and Doney could show their faces at Lake Grace before heading to Perth. Sheppard could possibly contact the farmer to find out when the roo cull was taking place. Then he takes the shot while Doney waits in the car. They had a powerful motive, they knew how to accomplish it and they had the skills and rifle to do it. Now to prove it.

Day 5

St Nicholas College

4.35 p.m. Thursday, November 1965

The boy sat with his back against the gym wall watching boys play handball. He used to be a star handball player, he was quick, he had been one of the best in his form.

‘What are you looking at, creep?’ a third form boy from the courts called to him. He stood and walked away. ‘Creep.’

There was a radio shack near the science department where all the brainy kids hung out. He wandered down and sat opposite its doorway on a low brick wall, looking in.

‘Harper, do you want to come in?’ Mr Copus, his science teacher, asked. The boy shook his head and stayed seated, looking in.

Brain-Box Boxel, from his form, poked his head from the door and called, ‘Hey, Harper, come in! We’re making crystal sets.’ The boy shook his head. He had the feeling he was protecting them from what had happened to him, but Captain Edmund’s dead and no one will ever find out, he reminded himself. He pushed himself from his seat and wandered to the doorway and stood there. Boys were sitting on high stools at a long table.

‘Do you know how to solder?’ Mr Copus called.

‘No, sir.’

‘Better get over here then. Hurry up, you can watch.’

The boy wandered to the free stool Mr Copus had pointed to.

‘Harper, is it?’ an older boy beside him asked, the boy nodded. ‘You can watch me.’ The boy climbed onto the stool.

He walked alongside Brain-Box to dinner. Brain-Box talked and talked, he had two crystal sets and he was going to lend one to the boy. Brain Box listened to his crystal set in bed at night, when the cricket was on. The boy would listen to the cricket too. Brain-Box didn’t mention Captain Edmund or Carmody. Harper thought that even though they were at the same school, Brain-Box must live in a different world to him. The boy prayed as they walked to dinner that his world, now that Captain Edmund was gone, would go wispy and blow away like smoke.

‘Well . . . well?’ Brain-Box was demanding of him but the boy hadn’t been listening, dark shadows of fear had caught him.

‘What?’

‘Come to the dorm and pick up the crystal set straight after dinner, dozy.’