‘First I heard about it was the morning we got to the farm and some cop was telling Dad.’

‘Who’s we?’

‘Abby, my sister. We drove there together.’

‘Morning after the crash. Didn’t you say he’s near Chinchilla? You must’ve left Brisbane at the crack of dawn.’

I reach for my glass but it’s empty. I can’t believe I told him earlier where Dad’s farm is, but I did. Stupid. Tried to make him laugh at my description of the turkeys. ‘I don’t know exactly what time we got there. Doesn’t matter anyhow. I didn’t know about Skye until then, is what I’m saying.’

He twists in his seat to face me. ‘She was a good driver, cautious. Like, boringly cautious.’

‘Maybe there was something wrong with the engine. Or there was a kangaroo. Or she’d gone into labour.’ I think I’m talking faster than normal, but I can’t be sure. ‘Maybe she fell asleep.’

He waits a moment before replying. ‘Maybe.’

A car pulls up outside the house and parks on the gravel driveway. I hear the slam of doors, then Ryan talking to Sal.

Finn speaks in a low voice. ‘It’s been a real treat having this chat. But if you or your father come near my farm again I will break you.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Monday 30 December 1974

Charlie

I stand next to Dad on the veranda, in the morning shade, drinking black coffee, giving him an edited version of what I told Abby in full about my evening. I want him only to know I saw Beau and that he’s okay. And that ‘rescuing’ him is entirely off the table.

Ten feet away from us, perched on a thick branch, a kookaburra tilts its head from one side to the other as it considers whether to leave the safety of the gum tree to eat the shreds of ham Dad put on the wooden balustrade, shreds that are darkening and warping in the heat. It isn’t far for him to come: the tree almost touches the railing, so he could inch his way along and get to the meat in a small jump. But he keeps his distance.

‘Did you wear that?’ Dad points to my t-shirt. It’s pale blue, with a drawing of two of those big-headed, tiny-body nude kids, smiling and hugging, the words Save Water. Shower with a Friend.

‘No, why?’

‘Bloody ridiculous,’ he says. ‘You know, if you’d called me from the pub I could’ve come down.’

‘To get Beau?’

‘That didn’t occur to you?’

‘It’s still kidnapping. And Finn will know it’s you or me if Beau goes missing, and he’ll come take him back – legally. How would that drama be good for Beau?’

Dad stares at me, a hard, unwavering stare that makes my gut clench. He really hates being told he’s wrong.

I hear a screech of tyres. A green ute flings around the corner into Abby’s street and the driver stops suddenly, right in the middle of Abby’s driveway. A woman gets out of the ute.