Caruso sized up the couple sitting in front of him. Both had hair matted into dreadlocks and medallions around their necks. Leather and beaded bracelets snaked up the woman’s arms. The air around them smelt musty.

He thought they’d come with information on Bella; but no, this was about their own child.

‘When did you last see your daughter?’ Caruso asked.

‘Maybe a week ago,’ answered the father. ‘The moon was a waxing crescent.’

‘Where do you think she would go? Have you tried to find her?’

‘Fox doesn’t always come home,’ the father said, scratching his beard as though that should explain everything. ‘She stays in town sometimes with my brother, Ray.’

They hadn’t reported their daughter missing. The school had called the Department of Education, who had called Child and Youth Protection Services. CYPS had been out to visit the parents and insisted the Hensleys come in and make a statement to the police.

‘Fox decides where she wants to go, does she?’

‘We named her Fox because we knew she’d be an independent spirit,’ the father said. ‘A wild spirit to choose her destiny.’

Caruso clicked his tongue. The girl was only eight years old.

‘So, do you have any idea where she may be?’ Caruso couldn’t believe these people. Once the girl was located, he would be charging the parents with neglect. ‘Are you concerned?’

‘On the path she has chosen, she will be strong and safe,’ the father declared. ‘She’ll come back when she’s ready.’

‘Have you heard of Bella Parker? The three-year-old missing from Merrigang.’

‘A three-year-old? Poor thing. No, we hadn’t heard,’ the mother murmured. ‘We’re off the grid. No phones, no electricity, no TV. But we’re sure Fox is fine. She’s probably with Uncle Ray.’

‘And have you spoken to him?’

‘No, he’s not at his house and he doesn’t use mobile phones.’

Parking at Merrigang Primary School, Caruso could almost see the spot where Bella had disappeared. How could two girls go missing less than a kilometre apart in a small community in the space of four days? Though Fox might not be missing at all—she might simply have ‘chosen her own path’, as her father suggested.

Two detectives were trying to track down the uncle but the man had no routines. He didn’t work, didn’t have a mobile phone, didn’t have a partner, often disappeared without telling others. The parents had labelled Uncle Ray a free spirit, just like their daughter. A neighbour said she hadn’t seen Ray Hensley for at least a week. But they did have a rego number for his car, which had been distributed through all channels. They would either find Fox quickly or have an even more complex case on their hands. The Intel officer was investigating any possible links between Fox Hensley and Bella.