Kate shook her head. ‘Oh, Rob . . . it’s going to take longer than that,’ she said, her voice catching.

‘So, what are you waiting for?’

‘It’s the owner of the farm. The anonymous director. I still need to find out who he or she is.’

‘And how long’s that gonna take?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Well, weeks? Months?’

‘I’m sorry, Rob.’

‘Cos we haven’t got months, if you know what I’m saying.’

‘Can’t you get the money from somewhere else? Friends? The bank?’

‘Bank and me don’t exactly see eye to eye at the moment. Bit of a falling-out over the mortgage payments. I guess that’s why the credit-card applications failed.’

They both sat in silence.

‘Rob, can I ask you something?’

He nodded.

‘Have you accepted?’

‘That’s not the point. He needs to know we’re all backing off. Not just me. Or I get nothing.’

Kate thought for a moment – something wasn’t quite right.

‘What was Justin like? When you told him about the plan to sue his boss?’

‘Like you’d expect. Not happy.’

‘Yes, but was he worried? Anxious? Panicky?’

‘Well, I don’t know. He was quite insistent about it being dropped. Made sure I understood fully what the deal was.’

Kate nodded.

‘Why do you ask?’

‘Do you mind telling me how much he offered?’

‘Ten.’

‘Ten? Ten what? Grand?’ Try as she might, she couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice.

Rob flashed her a look. ‘It’s a lot of money.’

‘I know, it is. But is it enough? What if Abby needs further treatment? What about Helen? My estimate for her home-care help was eleven thousand a year, remember? And that was very conservative.’

‘But you ain’t got nothing yet.’

‘Rob, you may not realize this but that farm will have insurance – public liability insurance. If we win against them, the insurance company will pay out much of the claim.’

‘So?’

‘Well, don’t you wonder why he’s so desperate to shut this down?’

Rob shrugged. ‘Dunno. Save his boss the headache?’

‘You reckon? I think there’s more to this. Why’s his boss got him doing the dirty work for a start. He’s just the farm manager. Maybe he knows something about those chemicals being sprayed on those fields. Something his boss wants to keep very quiet. And if we all go away, there’s a good chance it will be kept quiet.’

‘Like what?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘See, that’s the problem, Kate. You’ve got good intentions, I’ll give you that, but at the moment, it seems like it’s just wishful thinking—’

‘It’s more than that,’ she jumped in.

‘Remind me again, how close are you to taking this to a court?’

She didn’t answer.

‘See.’ He took another sip of his drink. ‘Some of the others have already agreed.’

‘Who?’

‘Ian.’

‘Who else?’

He set his lips hard.

‘Have some refused?’

His eyes blazed, refusing to admit defeat. ‘They’d change their minds if you told them to.’

‘Oh, Rob, I don’t think they would. Some of them maybe, but some just want to know the truth. They want the truth out there. And they want justice.’ She sighed. ‘Look, there’s only one way to resolve this. We need everyone to take a vote. If you want to back out, then I wish you the best.’