‘I think we’re OK,’ Alice said. ‘But it’s unnerving, for sure. Tom’s gone to get some additional locks.’

‘In my view you’re quite safe,’ Wynne said. ‘I don’t think the killer is interested in you. Which is why I don’t fully understand these letters. But we can provide some protection, if you’d like?’

‘That’s OK,’ Alice said. ‘As long as your officers know to prioritize a call to this address, I think that’s enough.’

‘Me too,’ Wynne said. ‘I must say, you’re very calm, Ms Sark.’

Alice shrugged. ‘I believe what you say about me not being a target. It feels that way.’ She shifted on the couch. ‘Do you have any leads?’

‘We’re pursuing a number of lines of enquiry,’ Wynne said.

‘That’s the on-the-record statement,’ Alice said. ‘I get that. But what does it mean?’

Wynne folded the letter and put it in her pocket. What it meant was that the investigation was going nowhere. They had no leads, no suspects, nothing. She had meant what she said about considering that the letter was mocking the idea it was someone with an Australian accent because it really was an Australian, but it hadn’t helped. They had interviewed all the Australian males – and females – they could find, and all of them had alibis of some type or other.

And, other than that, they had nothing. It was frustrating, and she was starting to worry they were going to see more murders before they caught the perpetrator.

But she did not want that showing up in Alice Sark’s news stories.

‘It means,’ Wynne said, ‘that we are pursuing a number of lines of enquiry.’

Tom

He had sliding bolts for the top and bottom of the front door and back door. It would still be possible to break in, but would take a lot of effort and a pretty big axe, which would make a lot of noise. A stealthy entrance would be impossible.

He also had bolts for the interior doors downstairs, so when they were upstairs they could lock those doors as well. Given the fact that one or other of them was awake most of the night he was confident that – in their house at least – they’d be safe.

He stood on a chair and drilled a couple of holes in the front door frame, then reached down for the bolt.

‘Handy man,’ Alice said. ‘Did you get what you wanted?’

He had a couple of screws in his mouth. ‘Uh-huh.’ He pointed at the bolt and gestured for her to pass it to him.

‘This?’ She lifted up the bolt and he held out his hand for it. He fixed the top screw, then the bottom one.

‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘There’s a couple for the back door too. It should be enough.’

‘I’d think so,’ Alice said.

‘What did the cops have to say?’