When Anita finally called back, Paula hurried out into the street with her phone, needing more clear air around her than she could find inside the practice building.

‘Hi,’ said Paula. ‘Have you found out any more?’

Anita was steadier now, no longer in that wound-up state she could pitch herself into sometimes. In fact, she was in journalistic mode, laying out information in short sentences, careful to clarify when details were verified and when not. Paula appreciated that—it was like a page of medical notes, composed and precise.

Anita had learned that Brooke had collapsed in the foyer of the Royal Women’s Hospital at about eleven p.m. the night before, bleeding heavily. Her parents arrived some time later. It was still unclear if Brooke or the hospital had contacted Trish and Rob Lester. The Lesters then rang Rohan. Anita had previously given them his direct number.

Brooke told hospital staff and her parents that she’d been assaulted by John Santino. She said he had shoved her repeatedly against a table. Her abdomen had been slammed onto the hard edge several times. After the assault, Santino went out, leaving Brooke alone. She experienced severe pain and bleeding, so she caught a taxi to the hospital. Shortly after that, she underwent an emergency caesarean section. The baby was in a stable condition and although Brooke needed a blood transfusion, she was recovering well under the circumstances.

Paula exhaled heavily, prowling up and down the footpath outside the medical practice.

‘Has Santino shown up at the hospital?’ Paula asked.

‘No. But Marina’s been in there to see her. By the time the police had a chance to interview Brooke, she denied he ever assaulted her. “I tripped and fell against the table”, she’s now saying. Rohan reckons she looked really petrified.’

‘Can the police do anything?’

‘They’ve got a provisional order to restrict Santino from going near her. Cops don’t need Brooke’s consent to do that,’ Anita explained.

‘Well, that’s something.’

‘Yeah, for sure. But don’t know how much use that’ll be in the long run—I mean, if she’s too scared to make a formal complaint and he fights the order in court and whatever … who the fuck knows? How long will the docs keep her in hospital now?’

‘Hard to say,’ said Paula. ‘After a caesarean, if there were no other problems, she’d only be in there about five days. But in this case, probably longer.’