Dave had always taught him to be proactive. Jack googled ‘big protests in Australia’. That didn’t produce anything. He tried ‘Animal activists clash’. Plenty of hits for that. He clicked on a video and watched a crowd of people move towards a supermarket, yelling and calling out. He didn’t listen to what they were saying, he wanted to see the faces. Could he recognise Crumbs?

After two hours and five beers, Jack hadn’t seen him and closed the computer in frustration, before turning out the light and falling back on the bed.

Just before he fell asleep, he had a thought. What if they were looking at this all wrong? Maybe it wasn’t only animal protests they should be looking at. If Crumbs had been around for a while, maybe he’d been involved in other types of protests.

CHAPTER 28

Chapter 28

Zara was worried about her mum. She’d tried to ring her daily for the past three days and she hadn’t called back. On her way to the protest, she tried again.

‘You’ve called Rowberry Glen. Thanks for calling. Please leave …’

Zara hung up. No point in leaving another message. Maybe she should ring James. She’d planned to go up there this weekend and stay for the fortnight. She still had the interview to do with Brock Doyle about the saltbush he’d planted.

The phone rang and she glanced down at the screen. Relief surged through her. ‘Gee, I’m glad you’ve called me back, I was beginning to get worried,’ she said by way of greeting.

‘Bad few days,’ Lynda answered. ‘But I think I’m on the up and up now.’

Instantly Zara was on alert. ‘Bad as in grief?’ she asked.

‘That and it’s just so dry. Another one of the dams has run out of water. So we’re having to cart it from one end of the place to the other. Not that it’s a hard job, it’s just time-consuming and soul-destroying.’ She paused and Zara could hear the rattle of the ute in the background. ‘And it’s also soul-destroying burying one of your children,’ she said in a low tone.

‘Oh, Mum.’ Zara glanced in the rear-view mirror and flicked on the blinker to change lanes. A truck in front of her was labouring up a steep hill. ‘I was going to come home this weekend, would that help?’