‘No,’ she sighed. ‘Please act as though everything’s normal—it’s the only way for her to get through this. In a while she’ll get up and go to her room. We’ll find out how bad it is later on.’

‘Are you certain she’s okay?’

Mary reached over to squeeze Jake’s forearm. ‘As well as she can be.’

On that dismaying note, he stood up. ‘I’ve asked the questions I needed to for today,’ he said. ‘But once Amelia is recovered I may have more.’

‘I’m happy to drive her down to the station if that’s easier for you.’

As they paused at the front door, a lanky teenager swooped out of the living room, heading along the corridor.

‘Andrew!’ Mary called over her shoulder. ‘What have you got there?

‘Sorry, Mum.’ He paused and glanced towards them, then moved off again, the cake box clutched in both hands.

‘Get back here!’ she demanded of her swiftly retreating son. She returned her attention to Jake and Evelyn. ‘What can I say? Boys’ appetites.’

*

‘She’s such a little drama queen,’ Evelyn said the moment they were in the car.

Jake switched on the engine and ensured the heating was set to full bore. ‘Is that an official diagnosis?’

Evelyn rolled her eyes. ‘You know what I mean.’

He decided to change the subject. Pulling away from the curb he asked, ‘What’s it like inside the girls’ home buildings?’

‘You were there yesterday.’

‘I didn’t have a chance to go in. What’s it like?’

‘I haven’t been inside either.’

Focused on the road ahead, Jake couldn’t see Evelyn’s expression. Even so, he had the distinct impression she was lying.

Realising he would likely have to work with her frequently over the next two years, Jake decided to back off until he could learn more about Evelyn Kelly and her official role in the Dunton police service.

‘Where should I drop you?’ he said.

Evelyn directed Jake along a street he hadn’t yet driven down. Two-storey, red-brick federation homesteads on acre blocks peaked through stands of enormous oak trees. Evelyn had her car door open before he had finished pulling up alongside the most uniformly cut grass Jake had ever seen.

‘Father said to tell you to come straight back after you interview Charlotte Murphy.’

Evelyn Kelly still lived at home?

‘He wants you to come to dinner.’

At least one of Jake’s assumptions about country living was proven true. In ten years at Internal Affairs, Jake hadn’t once been invited to his boss’s house for a meal. Here, it had taken less than a week.

He wasn’t due to pick Murphy up for the interview for a couple of hours. Time to see the girls’ home with his own eyes.

Chapter Five

Dunton, Tasmania

Saturday, 11.09 a.m.

Crunching his way up the gravel drive toward the manor, Jake studied the dejected state of the Campbell property trying to imagine what it might have looked like in its prime. A waft, the merest hint of rotting cow manure, tainted the air.