‘Of course not.’ Kelly nodded at Jake, who took the proffered magnum. The label sported an image of some old English lord and the name ‘Primae’.

Mason Campbell stepped to one side to let the men file out. As Evelyn Kelly reached the front door he smacked her on the behind. ‘You’re a good girl, always were.’

‘Jesus, Dad,’ Max said. ‘You can’t do stuff like that anymore.’

‘It’s fine,’ Aiden Kelly said as he reached out to shake Mason Campbell’s hand. ‘No harm done.’

Evelyn pushed past her father to storm down the path, Max close on her heels.

Jake scrutinised his superior officer, who seemed oblivious. An unwelcome, familiar wariness crept into the back of Jake’s mind. He headed down the stairs to catch the others.

‘I’m sure he has dementia,’ Max was apologising again. ‘He’s changed so much, but I can’t get anyone to come and assess him.’

‘He seems exactly the same to me,’ Evelyn spat, her eyes narrowing. ‘So do you. When are you leaving?’ She spun on one heel to stalk down the driveway.

‘Evelyn, I …’ Max Campbell called, then shrugged. ‘Oh well, what’s done is done.’

‘Care to explain?’ Jake asked as they strolled back toward the front stairs.

‘I went to live with my mother in Melbourne when I finished year ten. I told Evelyn she could come with me. She didn’t, of course. We were just kids. But I don’t think she’s ever forgiven me.’

‘Surely that was a long time ago?’

Beyond the rusted gate Evelyn planted her foot hard enough on the accelerator to fling mud and small stones in her wake.

‘Twenty-five years, at least.’ He paused. ‘If there’s anything I can do, just let me know.’

‘Thanks, Mr Campbell.’

‘Max, please.’

As he waited for Kelly to finish his farewells Jake noticed a statue of a child in a nearby garden bed, its feet buried in moss and leaves. Drizzle collected in the carved creases that formed the child’s locks of hair, channelling it into tiny rivulets that cascaded down its cheeks.

‘Hunter,’ Kelly said, marching down the stairs and opening his car door.

‘Sir?’

‘Look, it’s not worth me having a go at Mason over that nonsense. He’s old and unwell. Evelyn knows that. She’ll be fine.’ He winked at Jake.

Jake teetered uncertainly between the urge to express his concerns and the need to build a solid relationship with his new boss.

‘Now, where are you up to and what do you need?’ Kelly asked. ‘I assume you have Murphy off taking statements?’

The moment was lost.

‘I’ve asked him to go through the list of campers to see if any of them have priors, and if so, to make sure they’re still in town. We also have locations to secure—the vineyard, the girls’ home and Ava O’Brien’s home—and her car to locate. Then we need to interview the Taylor boy, see what the forensics people have to say, and start on the paperwork.’