‘I’m just—I’ve just … The police found a video on Matt’s phone.’

‘From that day?’

‘Yeah. He filmed Stacey.’

‘You’ve seen it?’ Paula asked.

‘Just now. By accident.’

‘Tell me.’

‘I dunno. It’s …’

‘What about the kids? Does it show the kids?’

‘You hear the gun but you can’t see the—y’know—the moment, thank Christ.’

‘But on the video, can you tell if—I mean, does Stacey see what happened?’

‘Yes. He wanted her to watch him do it. Before he shoots, he says, “This is your fault.” Says it again afterwards. Then the film cuts out.’

There was a silence on the phone line.

Eventually Paula spoke, stepping carefully from one word to another, as if trying to maintain control of her own thought process. ‘Well, so, it’s what we thought probably happened.’

‘I guess it is. But knowing for sure is—fuck … We can’t hope it was different. We can’t kid ourselves.’

‘No,’ Paula said, but then she went very quiet on the other end of the phone.

‘You still there?’ Anita asked. ‘I’m sorry … I shouldn’t’ve told you.’ Blurting it out in the moment—Anita immediately saw that had been a mistake. ‘Do you want to grab dinner tonight or … ?’

‘Can’t. I’m working until nine. And I’ve got a patient waiting right now. Talk tomorrow?’

‘Yes. Yes. For sure. Bye, lovely.’

The instant the call ended, Anita regretted even mentioning the video existed. The details would have come out at the inquest in any case, but that would be many months down the track, when they’d all be better fortified to handle it. Not that Anita ever described the footage in graphic detail. But Paula would be imagining every beat of it anyway.

A car pulled into the car park, and Anita saw Rohan Mehta hop out of the driver’s seat while an older detective, Gary Walsh, emerged from the passenger side.

As the two cops headed towards the entrance together, Rohan spotted Anita sitting in her car. He waved hello, squinting against the afternoon light that bounced off the windscreen. As he walked further on, he must have caught a clearer view of her face through the glass, because he stopped and exchanged a few words with Walsh. Then the older cop continued into the building on his own while Rohan approached Anita’s car.

Through the side window, he said, ‘Are you okay?’

Anita shook her head.

Rohan indicated the front passenger seat, miming Should I get in?

Anita nodded, then swept the notebook and bag and other stuff onto the floor so he could sit.

‘I saw the phone video.’

‘Oh.’ Rohan sighed. ‘I’m sorry. How?’

When she explained, he wanted to march straight inside and tear strips off Bronwyn, but Anita urged him to leave it be.