‘Print suits me,’ Oli snaps. ‘I have no interest in working in another field. Plus, it’s all I know, and I don’t think I’m at a stage in my life where I can just transition to something else.’ This isn’t dissimilar to the dialogue she’s been having with Dean lately, and the same heat rises in her cheeks.

Cooper laughs. ‘You’re not that old!’

‘I’m old enough to know that I like the job I have.’

‘We’ll see.’ He seems immune to her irritation.

Bushland completely surrounds them now, layer upon layer of green.

Cooper adjusts the cuffs on both legs of his skinny jeans. ‘So, who do you think did it?’

‘You mean, who killed Evelyn Stanley?’

‘You must have a theory.’ He spreads in his fingers in a dramatic flourish and stares at her expectantly.

‘I always thought Alex did it. I thought there was a good chance she killed Nicole too, but I guess I was wrong.’

‘Really?’ He looks disappointed.

‘Yes. I wasn’t sure whether it was premeditated, self-defence or something in between, but that’s what all the evidence pointed to.’

‘But why?’

‘Jealousy and betrayal, probably. The usual Shakespearean stuff.’

He makes a face. ‘Do you really think she would kill her friend because she was jealous?’

Oli laughs. ‘Yes, especially if she was off her face on drugs and booze.’

‘There were heaps of other people at the house that night,’ he says defensively.

‘Sure, but only Alex’s DNA and bloody fingerprints were on the knife and Evelyn’s body.’

He frowns. ‘I guess. It just seems way too obvious.’

Oli hides a smile. Cooper’s interactions with Alex have clearly got in the way of his objectivity. She remembers feeling like that—getting defensive of someone just because they agreed to an interview or gave her a lead.

‘Well, mate, we are an example of why this story captured the hearts and minds of the nation. Let’s just pray we finally get some answers today. Hopefully Nicole left a suicide note.’

‘I hadn’t thought about that,’ he says, his eyes shining. ‘That would be kind of amazing … for the story, I mean.’

‘Yes, it would.’

‘Still, no matter what, I think the older guy being at the house that night is suss.’

‘Julian McCrae, the professor?’

‘Yeah. I mean, our uni teachers wouldn’t have gone to one of our parties. Way too risky.’

‘Things have changed a lot in ten years,’ Oli points out. ‘I’m not sure people would have been as attuned to that kind of thing back then. But, yes, the timing was unfortunate for McCrae. He was cleared pretty quickly, though—of the murder, anyway. His wife gave a statement confirming he came home early that night. All of the other party guests had alibis too. The couple Tanya and Roy, another girl Amber. They all went home well before Evelyn was murdered.’