‘Just wondering what she’s like,’ said Con. ‘Haven’t properly met her yet. The ambulance took her almost as soon as we got there. We didn’t get a chance to ask too many questions. She was a bit . . . would you say “delirious”, Gab?’

‘“Delirious” is a good descriptor,’ said Gabriella. She had closed the file on Murphy and was reading the emails being sent their way – Detective Stuart Coops, also assigned to this case, was currently interviewing the teachers, the school social worker, the parents, going through school reports and police records.

‘Yeah, well . . .’ said Murphy, sounding defensive. ‘Eliza’s good with the kids. Best Literacy teacher Jasmine’s ever had. The girls all love her. She went through the ringer last year when her niece killed herself, so this is going to really mess her up.’

‘Her niece?’ That caught Gabriella’s attention and she began typing into her computer to look up the details.

They entered the outskirts of Deloraine, the closest large-ish town – not that any towns in Tasmania were particularly large; the whole island had a lower population than the district of Geelong. Con navigated the streets, all the traffic pulling aside for his lights and siren, until they merged onto the Bass Highway. Now he could really stretch the Stinger’s legs, and they sped towards Launceston.

‘Do you mind if I ask another question?’ said Con. ‘Do you know why Sergeant Doble has a grudge against you?’

‘Yeah, I slept with his wife,’ said Murphy sarcastically.

Gabriella chuckled without looking up from her laptop. ‘Delicious. I love a little country-bogan scandal.’

‘Laugh at me again and see what happens.’

‘Threaten my partner again and I’ll bury you in the ground,’ said Con, his voice sudden ice.

‘Stop it, boys, you’re both pretty,’ said Gabriella, hitting Con on the leg.

The men had a brief staring contest, until Con had to look away to focus on the road. ‘Whatever, mate,’ muttered Murphy, leaning against the window.

Gabriella turned on the radio, so she and Con could talk without being overheard. He glanced back at Murphy and saw his eyes closed.

‘What’s wrong with you, Badenhorst?’ said Gabriella. ‘Getting a bit testy there? Those poor girls going missing a bit of an inconvenience for you?’

‘Keep your voice down, he’s still awake,’ whispered Con.

Gabriella glanced behind her. ‘No he isn’t.’

‘He’s pretending,’ said Con, watching him in the rear-view.

‘I don’t reckon he had anything to do with the girls disappearing,’ said Gabriella.

‘You’re just a sucker for a lumberjack,’ said Con. ‘Listen, I have an idea.’ He leaned across, watching the road even as he spoke low into Gabriella’s ear. Whispering, he explained that he wanted to send Murphy in to coax information out of Eliza, but he needed to find some way to get his voice recorder into the room to capture their conversation.

Gabriella shook her head. ‘Sounds unnecessarily complicated.’