Oli looks at him, eyebrow arched. ‘When you’ve been doing this as long as I have, you tend to assume the worst.’

He shrugs like he thinks this is a bad strategy. ‘Nicole might have had a partner, so maybe Evie is with them.’

‘Sure,’ Oli says sarcastically, ‘in which case I’d really like to, first, know who he is and, second, see what he has to say about the whole situation.’

Cooper looks confused. ‘She might have had a female partner.’

Oli forces herself to stay calm. ‘Sure, whatever. Male or female, the point is that partners are problematic. They’re the most likely to kill you, and your kids.’

‘You saw her,’ Cooper whispers. ‘Did it look like she’d been murdered to you?’

‘No,’ says Oli, scratching at her chin, her nose, ‘but we don’t know what happened yet. Maybe he did something to Evie, and it drove Nicole to take her own life. Statistically, if you’re murdered it’s most likely at the hand of your partner, ex-partner, kid or parents. In that order.’

‘I know the stats.’ Cooper turns his head to look out the window. ‘I’m not an idiot.’

Oli sails through the roundabout, easing them back into the main street of Crystalbrook. ‘Had you ever seen a dead body before?’

‘Not in real life,’ he mumbles.

‘Well, if you’re going to be a crime journalist you need to get used to it. It’s not as bad as being a paramedic or a cop, but it’s still pretty bleak sometimes.’ She meets her own gaze in the rear-view mirror, hating how naive her round blue eyes make her look. ‘Though I have to say, that scene today was pretty bad.’

Cooper nods, looking stricken.

She hopes he isn’t about to fall in a heap. ‘Anyway, that’s enough Journalism 101 from me for today. I need to get some copy to Dawn.’ Oli indicates the cafe on the other side of the road adorned with old-fashioned lampposts and cast-iron trimmings. ‘You can start making some calls.’ She holds up her hand as he opens his mouth to speak. ‘We need to start lining up other interviews—with family members, Miles Wu, everyone at the party that night who will talk to us.’

‘Okay, sure.’ Cooper wipes his palms on his jeans. ‘I can do that.’

‘And I want to go through your questions for Alex. God, I hope she gets in touch soon.’

Without warning, the road shudders beneath them. A fire engine screams past at breakneck speed, heading in the direction of Laker Drive. Less than thirty seconds later, another does the same. Cooper’s mouth pulls into an O.

‘Shit,’ Oli says.

He looks at her. ‘You said nothing else was going to happen at the—’

‘Shut up, Cooper.’ Oli puts her foot to the floor.

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER NINE