‘I have nieces of my own . . .’ said Gabriella. ‘I’m so sorry about what happened.’

‘And now I’ve lost another four girls.’ Eliza covered her face with her hands. ‘Teacher of the year.’

‘It wasn’t your fault —’ began Gabriella.

‘I know, I know,’ Eliza said, although she sounded thankful. She dropped her hands, her eyes fresh with tears. ‘Everyone keeps telling me. In my head, I know that. But in my heart . . .’

‘Can I ask about the fight the girls had?’ said Con. ‘You definitely don’t know what caused it?’

‘They wouldn’t tell me.’

‘You have an idea, though, don’t you?’ said Gabriella.

‘Honestly? I think it was about boys. What else would it be?’

Gabriella nodded, a smirk in Con’s direction. ‘I think you’re right.’

‘Madison always has approximately fifty thousand boys on the go,’ said Eliza. ‘Jasmine never seems interested in anyone for more than a day, but there’s been rumours she’s dating someone. It must have been serious, though, for the fight to go the way it did. Neither of them is the type to go to blows over some crush.’

‘Something serious,’ said Gabriella. ‘A relationship . . . I wonder if anyone else knew about Jasmine’s supposed boyfriend.’ She turned away from the conversation and began typing on her phone – Con knew she would be texting Detective Coops.

‘Yesterday you told me that Georgia had seen a . . . bear,’ said Con. ‘Now that you’ve had a chance to rest and recover – do you think she could’ve been making that up?’

‘Georgia isn’t that kind of girl . . . But when you’re up in those mountains, detective, it is easy to see things. The whole place is eerie. And, I mean, for her especially, all that blood in the soil.’

‘You mean from 1985?’

‘I mean the Black War,’ said Eliza. When Con and Gabriella looked at her blankly, she continued. ‘Aboriginal history was never a strong point of our generation’s schooling, was it? The Black War was one of the first recorded genocides in human history. The European settlers declared all-out war on Tasmania’s Aboriginal people, killing almost all of them. And it began here, at the Great Western Tiers. Kooparoona Niara, the local mob call it. Mountain of Spirits.’

‘Mountain of Spirits,’ said Gabriella with something akin to glee.

‘Okay, so the mountains can be unnerving,’ said Con, not liking the interest appearing on Gabriella’s face, her text message to Coops unsent. ‘Helped, I’m sure, by the legend of the Hungry Man.’

‘There are many who think the Hungry Man is not just a legend, detective.’

‘Do you?’ said Con.