‘Or a yowie. Could it have been one of the girls on its back?’

‘The girls were all still with Eliza at that stage.’

‘Maybe it was someone in a costume? Or just in a thick jacket?’ She sounded excited. ‘Or a yowie.’

‘Or the ravings of someone who’s just been hit over the head with a tree branch and then traumatised by the shock of losing girls in her care,’ said Con. ‘What does she mean, “everything went silent”? That part makes no sense either.’

‘Yes, it does, Con. It’s called the Oz effect,’ said Gabriella, bouncing on her heels and speaking quickly. ‘It’s a real phenomenon, there’s heaps of accounts. It usually begins with a sense of fear. Time seems to lose meaning. You feel isolation. And everything goes silent.’

‘And when do people feel this, exactly?’

‘Well, usually it’s associated with UFO encounters.’

Con was silent for five full seconds. He closed his eyes. ‘Please tell me you’re joking.’

‘That’s not all,’ she said, only gaining speed. ‘Sometimes it’s experienced during Bigfoot sightings.’

‘Come on, Gabby —’

‘And in Australia, those are called yowies.’

‘I thought we finally got you off all of this conspiracy junk.’

‘Just because it freaks you out doesn’t mean we have to ignore it,’ said Gabriella, her Kiwi accent heavier as she took offence.

‘We are not having this conversation,’ said Con.

‘Just take your cynic hat off for one second of your life —’

‘Wait,’ said Con, stopping short. ‘Where’s Murphy?’

‘His brother came to take him home. The lawyer tipped him off. The brother was mad to find him alone with us. Probably just as well: poor bloke was a mess. Murphy started to break down after talking to Eliza – I’m not sure that was good for him.’ Gabriella’s voice was frosty, but it was better than having to hear her conspiracy theories. ‘Should I have stopped him from going home?’

‘Probably, but you’ll learn. We’ll make a detective out of you yet.’

She punched him in the ribs.

Con and Gabriella agreed the case was not going to be solved before nightfall, so before leaving Launceston they stopped by their homes to pick up enough gear to stay a few days in Limestone Creek. As well as packing several suitcases, Con grabbed the go bag from his personal car, which included a swiss army knife, lock picks, zip ties, parachute cord and a few other things that might come in handy.

Every trick in the book.

After that, without the sirens, it was a long drive back to Limestone Creek. Gabriella continued researching on her laptop, making the occasional comment, hoping to draw Con into speaking.

‘Oh, that’s right, the dogs didn’t want to search, did they? I wonder what they were scared of?’