‘Don’t sound so dramatic,’ said Cierra, nudging Madison in the side, her voice shaking. ‘We don’t even know if it was the spirits.’

‘It’s just a coincidence that we both had the same dream?’ said Madison, pushing her back.

‘This is crazy . . .’ said Cierra. Her fear, if feigned, was perfect.

‘We need to think about how to share it, and who to share it with.’ Madison eyed the camera. ‘We better go. See you soon.’

Con paused it just before the end. ‘Look there, there’s something written on the outside of the sleeping bag. In white lipstick.’

‘The word is kundela,’ read Gabriella. ‘What’s that mean?’

A quick Google search returned their answer. ‘In Australian Aboriginal culture, it’s a bone used to curse people,’ said Con.

There was silence.

‘This is the best case we’ve ever had,’ whispered Gabriella.

Con closed the laptop. ‘Enough of that bullshit. Let’s go see her.’

CHAPTER 19

ELIZA

It was five o’clock in the evening. Eliza and Tom sat on the couch, both watching the video on their phones. Sarge was on the other side of Eliza, sandwiching her between the hulking dog and the hulking man, the smell of dog and Tom’s sweat mixed with his David Beckham cologne heavy in her nose.

She kept trying to think about anything other than her memories.

How close was I to . . .?

The video they were watching had been posted by a public Facebook page called ‘Justice for the Limestone Four’. It had been shared by thousands.

The video was a splice of the Facebook Live video of Kevin Mason confronting Murphy outside his house, including Murphy’s damning confession – ‘We don’t sell weed to minors’ – followed by new footage of Murphy leaving the police station, punching a journalist, and being set upon by a mob. The end of the video displayed Murphy’s home address and a photo of his house.

‘I always thought Murphy was sketchy,’ Tom muttered.

‘Don’t,’ said Eliza. ‘Don’t you dare.’ She scrolled through the comments. ‘This is horrible . . .’

I have to tell someone, she thought, still shaky from the trip to the mountains. Before this gets even further out of hand . . .

‘Madison has posted her own video in response,’ said Tom. Eliza watched on his screen:

‘I know Jasmine’s dad, Mr Murphy, and I can promise you, he would never have taken the girls. Yes, I know that was my dad in the first video, making accusations against him, but he’s wrong: Mr Murphy is not that kind of man. He would not have done this! Please stop accusing an innocent man. For the sake of my friend – whose name we can’t say anymore – for the sake of her memory, we can’t waste time chasing the wrong people. If you want to confront Murphy, then come confront me first. My address is 23 Wirrawee Way, Limestone Creek.’