‘You know, I picked something else up while I was in Hobart visiting Shelby. He’s waiting in the truck. He’s a bit shy at the moment, though.’

Forest’s eyes lit up. Over the past week, Mack had been taking loads to the tip, getting rid of all sorts of things at Ivy’s house, starting with the decorative life rings. The sign that read Safe Harbour had come down too, with a new sign announcing it as Huck’s House. Mack had installed a wraparound deck, a new attic room with perfect 360-degree views, and . . . dog doors in every entrance. He’d also enclosed the whole property in a canine-proof picket fence.

‘So you got him?’ said Forest.

‘Not the one in the pic,’ said Mackenzie. ‘There was another in the litter – he just came up and flopped on my shoe. Not as cute as the one in the pic, but I like him, I’m pretty sure he’s the runt but it’s hard to tell, they were all pretty small . . .’ Mackenzie was already up and limping towards the door, eager to show off his new puppy friend.

Forest moved off his stool carefully, distributing his weight across his good leg and the wooden peg-leg.

Forest limped out after Mackenzie, following in his footsteps.

Tail wagging, Zeus stirred from his spot and trotted behind.

EPILOGUE

The red double-decker tour bus rumbled down the hill, into Shacktown. The side of it read:

SEE TASMANIA? SEA TASMANIA

The top section, open to the elements, was at full capacity, as it was most days now. Since the discovery of Alexandra Cave, the scuba-diving tourism had boomed. Even those who couldn’t dive still came with snorkels and fins, searching the shallower and calmer waters, caught up in the treasure hunt.

The bus came to a halt, right near Overeem’s Dive Centre. The sound of seagulls, the smell of the sea, the heat of the autumn sun . . .

A man sat right at the back of the bus, sunglasses on his face, a cap pulled down low. He appeared to be asleep.

Two women, freshly flown in from Sydney, rose, backpacks on their shoulders. ‘Excuse me, mate?’ one of them called to him. ‘We’re here.’

He stirred, looked around himself. He took a deep breath, smelling the air, and gave a sigh. ‘Home,’ he said, with a wry smile.

‘Oh, you’re a local?’ said the woman politely.

‘Not anymore,’ said the man, taking off his sunglasses as he stood to stretch. He had the most startling blue eyes, the colour of ocean water.

‘We’re here to dive in Alexandra Cave,’ said the woman.

‘Is that so?’ he said softly.

He looked out over the marina, over the ocean, and up towards a mansion set high on the hill.

‘I’m here looking for my son,’ he said. ‘Forest Dempsey.’

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS