Zara felt the keenness of his stare. ‘Oh, come on now. You know us journos never give up our sources. I’m just asking you to confirm or deny whether you’ve had reports of drones being flown over properties.’

Jack paused for only a moment before responding. ‘Yes, we have.’

‘And are you investigating?’

‘There’s no active investigation ongoing at this time.’

Stop being so arrogant, Zara thought.

‘Can I ask why?’

‘You can, but that’s a question I’m not going to answer. Now, is there anything else I can do for you?’ Jack stood up.

Zara had dealt with enough coppers in her time to know there was no point in trying to get anything more out of Jack. She stood up and fixed a smile on her face.

‘Thanks for your help.’

‘You’re welcome. This way.’

Out on the street, Zara shook her head and looked back at the station. Either Jack had been badly burned by a reporter at some stage in his career, or he’d been schooled never to have anything to do with them.

It’s not like I’m chasing a murder investigation, she thought grumpily.

Glancing up at the sky, she realised the clouds had started to break up in the south, which was where any rain would’ve come from. Now, on the horizon, she could see the dirtiness of a red smudge. Dust.

The wind whipped around her and she pulled her coat tighter and put on her sunglasses. Looking down at the pavement, she started to walk towards home, composing the start of a story in her head.

When asked if there was an ongoing investigation into unusual drone activity in the Barker region, the Farming Telegraph was told no. No further information was forthcoming.

However, for the farmers around Barker there is a sense of disquiet. Drones aren’t new technology and laws on their usage have been in existence since 2002. However, the last few years have seen an increase in their use; often for good, but sometimes not.

Farmers have found drones to be very helpful when checking water levels in tanks and mustering from the ground. Barker farmer Ian Wood told me …

Zara grabbed her phone and switched on the voice memo. ‘Call farmers met last night for comment on usefulness of drone within the farming industry.’ She switched it off and glanced at her watch. Maybe she could catch Danny at the pub before she went home. She really should be getting out to the farm, but it would only take a couple of minutes and hopefully she would have enough to write a story for this week’s paper. Changing direction, she walked to the pub, wanting to get out of the foul weather.

She pushed on the door and found it was locked, but she could see Danny restocking the fridge behind the bar. Knocking loudly, she waved when he looked over.

‘Too early to start drinking,’ he said when he opened the door. ‘Damn, that weather is revolting. Come in, come in, before I have to sweep the floor again.’