I glanced down the road to the jetty. Warren and Jake were standing at the water’s edge.

‘Where are the others?’ I asked.

‘Launching their rafts.’ Seeing my expression, Shaun explained, ‘Joe and Rhys are with them. Don’t worry—they won’t be heading for Cleveland.’

‘Is everyone accounted for?’

‘Yes. Why? What’s up?’

I ushered him into the kitchen and lifted the jars off the nails.

‘Jesus.’ He blanched beneath his sunburn.

I waited.

‘It wasn’t Jake,’ he said at last. ‘It couldn’t have been. We were watching him the whole time.’

‘I know.’

‘Matt dropped a box of nails. And Zac had the other box…’

‘Anyone could have picked up a nail. It’s what happened afterwards that matters.’ I was way ahead of him. ‘Who had enough time? Did you see? Someone went missing for a couple of minutes, between about ten forty-five and eleven.’

‘Not Matt,’ he said. ‘And not Connor. I was reaming him out for pushing Matt.’

Okay. So I could cross Connor off the list: Connor and Ali and Jake and Matt and probably Dean. That left eight. ‘Think about it,’ I urged Shaun. ‘Ask the others. We’ve got to find out who did this.’

‘We will.’ He was staring at the nails. ‘Christ, this is…I can’t believe it.’

‘Why was it done?’ That’s what I didn’t get. ‘Is it a prank? Is he a psychopath? Is there something he hopes to gain?’

‘Could it be Darren?’ Shaun asked suddenly. His eyes searched my face, as if he hoped to find an answer there.

‘I don’t know.’ It was the obvious conclusion, but it didn’t feel right. ‘I don’t think so.’

Without warning, Shaun hunkered down and gently touched one of the nails. ‘I’ll get rid of these. Have you got any pliers?’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll sort it.’

‘Rob—’

‘You’re busy.’ I was feeling like a target again. Harassed. Persecuted. It triggered something that I could hear seeping into my voice. ‘Just do your job and I’ll do mine. The sooner you stop this, the sooner I’ll be able to sleep.’

Shaun straightened. His look of concern annoyed me. ‘I’m sorry, Robyn.’

‘I’ll have to report it. The department will decide what to do.’ I saw something flicker across his face but couldn’t pin it down. ‘You need more staff. Or better screening. Or maybe you should stop taking police referrals.’

He narrowed his eyes. ‘You think it was Nathan? Or Tyler?’

‘I don’t know. I’m just saying, something has to change.’