‘No, we –’

‘Don’t.’ He takes a slow inhale. ‘Do not waste my time with more bullshit. I can either let young Roberts run with what is clearly the truth or I can shut this down once and for all. It’s your choice. You tell your sister to get her husband to back off and this goes away. Otherwise, I’ll have you both arrested by the end of the week. And the kid can fuck off into foster care forever.’

Abby doesn’t need to call Mark at his hotel in Alice Springs, though she was pacing the living room gearing herself up to do so. At six-thirty, after the kids have eaten dinner and been bathed, Mark shows up unannounced. Sarah, Petey and Joanne run down the hallway to his call, tumbling into their father as he squats down with his arms out wide.

‘I thought you were back tomorrow,’ Abby says. I see her anxiously scan the hallway, but Beau stays in the bedroom.

‘Yeah, well, I’m back early. Nice to see you, too.’

They’re spiky when they speak to one another. I don’t know how long that will last or how they’ll move on to whatever the next phase is. But because they have kids, there has to be a next phase.

‘Not a great time to get them riled up,’ Abby says. ‘It’s bedtime. They have school tomorrow.’

He rolls his eyes. ‘Don’t make a fuss, okay? I haven’t come back early to cause drama. I actually need to talk to Charlie.’ He turns his attention to me. ‘Got a minute?’

Mark starts talking as we walk into the living room, Abby following after she sends the kids back to their rooms. ‘Something huge is about to go down on the commune. We’re not entirely clear about it but we have enough intel that we know we need to be there –’

Intel. I’m about to laugh but he’s not joking. He keeps talking, on a roll.

‘– cameraman and sound guy. Like, tomorrow, Charlie. I’m going to need you to be awake at the crack of dawn, and help us get there. No.’ He holds his hand up when he sees I’m about to speak. ‘Mate, you owe me.’

‘You can’t go to the commune,’ Abby says.

‘I bloody can.’

‘Mark –’ She pauses.

He shakes his head. ‘Abby, this is separate from our stuff. It’s work, okay? I’ll make sure he doesn’t get hurt.’

‘It’s not that.’

Mark must hear the change in her voice because he turns to face her without any sign of the coldness or steel that’s become their norm. He scans Abby’s face for information. I watch her eyes soften. She tilts her head and takes a deep breath.

‘I know this is important to you but you can’t go to the commune. The police have said if you don’t back off, stay away from Eumundi, they’ll charge Charlie and me with Skye’s death.’

Mark’s shoulders drop as he makes a quiet groan. ‘How much do they know?’