He had apparently been eavesdropping, catching just enough of the conversation to get the wrong idea. ‘Murphy, you need to shut up and mind your own business. Right now.’

‘So you are human.’ The constable’s grin broadened. ‘We were all starting to wonder.’

‘Murphy, I’m warning you, drop it.’

‘Sure thing, boss.’ Murphy dug at Jake’s ribs with his elbow and started talking about pubs near their accom­modation, wondering how late—or early—they stayed open.

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Melbourne, Victoria

Tuesday, 7.36 p.m.

In the sterile surrounds of his government-rate accom­modation, Jake let scalding water run over the back of his head. With his mouth open and liquid streaming down either side of his face, he gulped at clouds of steam. He slammed the side of his fist against the cheap white tiles, over and over. A hairline fracture appeared, somehow satisfying his most urgent need.

Deep breaths. On with the job. Leave the past behind. Think about the case.

Lilith’s quiet desperation in seeking her lost child marked a turning point in the investigation for Jake. He owed it to her—and the other girls in that home—to reveal the full sordid tale of what had occurred in that frigid cottage.

He’d have dinner with Murphy in the hotel restaurant downstairs, talk through next steps in the investigation, and get back on the plane tomorrow with laser focus. Once in Dunton he’d grind this case until it cracked, then he’d find Lilith’s missing baby.

He was a few minutes late to dinner, having wrestled with his limited clothing choices. Murphy was waiting for him at the table with a half-empty glass in hand.

‘We have a lot of questions and not many concrete answers,’ Jake began.

‘Hmm …’ Murphy’s vacant gaze betrayed his multiple pre-dinner drinks.

‘We’ve got no confirmation of where the girls who lived at the home came from, where they went when they left, and—now—we need to locate Lilith’s baby …’

‘Don’t you mean Matilda?’

Jake chose to ignore that.

‘… And, for that matter, the identity of the child’s father. Was Lilith raped, or did Ava drug and inseminate her?’

‘O’Brien’s the most likely suspect there,’ Murphy said, showing a glimpse of attention paid.

Along with the saliva sample Meena had already taken from O’Brien for exclusionary purposes in relation to his sister’s death, the sample of Lilith’s umbilical cord—now locked in the safe in Jake’s room—should prove that one way or the other.