Chris was a journo from a different rural paper; a very pretty young woman.

‘Nah, she doesn’t do it for me. But you do,’ he’d answered without missing a beat.

‘Gee, Scott, such a shame. You just don’t do it for me.’ She’d tried to duck out from under his arm, but he’d clamped down and pulled her to him. Thankfully Chris had come to her rescue, but not before she’d had to endure Scott’s beery breath close to her face as he whispered what he’d like to do to her if only she’d come back to his room.

She shuddered at the thought of Scott. Maybe she’d ask one of her male colleagues to deal with him. Slamming down the receiver, she reached for her water bottle and remembered it wasn’t there. She sighed heavily, got up and walked quickly to the kitchen, where she grabbed a glass of water and downed it in one gulp.

‘Oh, there you are!’ Liz popped her head around the door. ‘I wasn’t sure you were back yet.’

‘Only about ten minutes ago. Have you borrowed my water bottle?’

‘Why would I do that?’

‘I don’t know. Just asking. Mine’s missing. I wish I knew what was going on,’ Zara frowned. ‘That’s the second time this week something has gone missing from my desk!’

‘Mr O’Grady, my nana would say. Whenever anything went missing or something strange happened in the house, she’d blame him.’

‘And who is Mr O’Grady when he’s at home?’

‘I dunno! Someone she made up to account for her bad housekeeping, I think. If there was an empty coffee cup on the table, she’d swear he’d shifted it from the kitchen sink, or if the ironing had built up, it was because Mr O’Grady had taken it out of the cupboard and put it back on the ironing board. If the floor wasn’t swept, same deal. She was weird like that.’

‘Well, he’s being annoying! Last week it was my good pen and coffee cup, and the time before, those little green stones I have on my desk as good luck charms.’

Liz leaned against the door and crossed her arms. ‘We’re going to have to mount a search because my four favourite highlighters have gone.’ She grinned widely, before lowering her voice. ‘Just joking. I haven’t had anything go missing. Maybe Mr O’Grady’s come to haunt you and you alone.’

Zara laughed and refilled her glass.

‘What happened at the trial?’

‘Guilty on both counts,’ Zara answered, sinking down into a chair at the table and running her fingers across her forehead.

Liz gave a low whistle. ‘That should set the cat among the pigeons.’

‘In a good way.’

‘I’m really glad that was the result. About time someone stood up to these people. Your case was all about trespassing on forestry land, but more and more it seems activists think they can trespass on private property and cause havoc. They’re putting the stock and the people in danger. These are not just farms, they’re people’s homes, where there are kids. Not to mention the risks to bio-security. There is so much wrong here. You know, when I was home on the farm over the weekend, Mum and Dad said they’ve been getting phone calls in the middle of the night, and when they answer, there’s no one there. It’s like someone is checking to see if they’re home, or they’re harassing them or something.’