I nodded as I returned his bag—which had Shaun’s radio in it. ‘Where’s Shaun?’

‘In there. With Nathan.’ He cocked his thumb. ‘We’ve got a result.’

‘Sorry?’

‘Tyler saw Nathan slip under your house yesterday. See, we told ’em they wouldn’t be getting their phones back until someone owned up—’

‘Wait.’ I cut him off. ‘You mean Nathan’s the one?’

‘Looks like it.’

‘Why?’

Joe shrugged. ‘That’s what Shaun’s trying to find out.’

I decided it wasn’t the right time to say sorry for losing my cool. Instead I went to the kitchen, where someone had attempted to clean up the crushed cornflakes. I mopped the floor and made a mental note: along with a new mattress, a replacement stop tap and some piping, Vetnet owed me a toaster.

After assembling the boys’ lunch, I retreated to my vegie garden. While they ate, I weeded. Shaun was barking orders and calling names. At one point I saw him steering Nathan past the other kids.

I was tidying the kitchen yet again when four groups of campers marched off into the bush. One group passed the window just as Warren stuck his head through the door.

‘Hey, Rob,’ he said. ‘You got a minute?’

I followed him. The veterans had created a command centre in the dining hall by spreading a map out on one of the tables. Shaun was there with Joe and Warren. They were all carrying radios.

Rhys was on the parade ground, drilling Nathan and Jake.

‘Hi, Rob.’ Like a true professional, Shaun spoke as if our run-in had never happened. ‘You heard about Nathan?’

‘Yes.’

‘Trying to pin him down is like trying to catch a grasshopper. He’s the weirdest kid, I swear. You think he’s going to own up and then he wriggles out of it.’ In the brief pause that followed, we could all hear Rhys shouting commands. ‘Jake says you were a soft target. That’s why he did what he did. I haven’t extracted a good reason from Nathan yet, but I will.’

‘Okay. Thanks.’ Though I didn’t want to apologise in front of the other two, I couldn’t really put it off. ‘Sorry about earlier. All this stuff is pushing buttons for me.’

‘No sweat.’ Shaun flapped his hand, dismissing the topic. ‘Joe tells me all the tech’s in place. Is that right?’

I nodded.

‘And there aren’t any other visitors on the island?’

I shook my head.

‘Good. Then I suggest you enjoy the peace and quiet for a couple of hours. It won’t last long.’

He was right. Exactly thirty-nine minutes later, everything went pear-shaped.

I was vacuuming the dormitory when a voice cut through the roar of the machine.

‘Robyn? Robyn!’

I looked up and saw Joe. His expression alarmed me. ‘What is it?’ I asked, kicking the off button.