Tempted by the sunshine warming the back verandah, she took her backpack and settled into a chair near a small table. The tangle of roses and bougainvillea protected her from the breeze but allowed her a partial view across the yard to the vines beyond. Nearby, the group of guinea fowl carefully pecked their way over the lawn. She could hear the occasional sound of a vehicle and movement at the distant sheds. From the activity she assumed there were others besides Euan and Flynn working at Levallier Dell.

A man passed close by along the outside perimeter of the house fence. He was tall and wore a khaki work shirt and a broad-brimmed hat. He stopped and glanced in her direction. The dark glasses he wore made it hard for her to tell if he was looking at her. Keely had been about to say hello but he made no acknowledgement that he had seen her and moved on.

She watched him head through the vines towards the sheds until he disappeared from her line of sight. Perhaps he hadn’t noticed her under the verandah but she had the distinct feeling he had.

For a while she worked on her sketch of Euan, adding the hat he had worn that morning and more detail to the face, but eventually she put the pad away. The silent man from over the fence had left her feeling unsettled and, anyway, she preferred to have her subject in view or at least to work from a photo. Not that she could take one. It was frustrating not having her phone. Euan had said the day before that one of them would run her to Bunbury. It was only an hour away but nothing more had come of it.

Keen to keep busy, she got out her jewellery-making kit. She never went far without it and was always on the lookout for bits she could use in her creations. First she unwrapped the soft fabric from around the tools and spread it across the table, then she took out the wire and the container of beads she had gathered from various sources over the years. This was her release; the one thing that gave free rein to her creative talent and allowed her to forget everything but the thrill of piecing together semi-precious stones, beads and wire to create bracelets, necklaces and earrings.

Her current creation was a bracelet that she had begun before she left home. It needed something special to add a final dimension and she had hoped to have the chance to find something in Perth. She wanted to make jewellery with beads or stones or adornments collected on her travels. She held the bracelet up to the light then draped it across her arm.