She grabs her things and heads outside. As she walks around the building to Breakers cafe, she tries two of the Crystalbrook medical clinics, doing her best Sarah Finlayson doctor impersonation. Unsurprisingly, neither will confirm whether they have a patient named Evie Maslan on their books, though Oli can tell they both check their records. She thinks it’s likely that Nicole avoided taking the little girl to the GP, but it’s worth a shot. She wonders if Nicole’s been calling herself Natalie Maslan the whole time and what kind of identification she has. Of course, it’s always possible for paperwork to be faked and for loopholes to be found. Last year Oli worked on a story about stolen identities; it happens more often than people think.

She kicks through a pile of leaves. Maybe Evie isn’t Nicole’s daughter—she could be a niece or a cousin or something. But then why was she living with Nicole? Oli sighs. No matter who the little girl belongs to, it’s not a good sign that she hasn’t turned up yet.

Oli enters Breakers, nabs her favourite table and nods hello to Col, who starts making her a coffee. She begins to make a mental list of people to contact for her feature. Miles Wu. Evelyn’s father Mitchell Stanley. The couple, Tanya and Roy. Evelyn’s friend Amber.

Col brings her coffee over. ‘It’s like Christmas for you lot this week, isn’t it?’ He gestures to the front page of the newspaper on the table next to Oli.

‘Something like that,’ she replies.

‘I’ve always hated that O’Brien prick.’ Col throws a tea towel over his shoulder. ‘He’s a creep no matter what the court says. But I can’t believe that girl turned up after all those years.’ He shakes his head. ‘The mystery solved after all that time, huh?’

If only that were the case, thinks Oli, looking at her old notebook. The story seems more convoluted than ever. She wonders where Cooper is, although she’s happy to have some peace and quiet. For a few minutes she focuses on her notes.

The door swings open, and a large group file in. A few minutes later there’s still no sign of Cooper, but she’ll be damned if she’s going to call him. She thinks of more people to contact: Nicole’s family, McCrae, Ren and Matt from the house next door to the housemate murder property, Bowman.

One of the wait staff drops cutlery in the kitchen, and the crash halts all conversation. Slowly chatter builds again and blends with the whir of the coffee grinder, the pleasant buzz of the milk frothing. Normally Oli loves working in noisy environments—something about it forces her mind to focus—but not today. Every sound stabs at her brain.

More people enter the cafe. Still no Cooper. It’s been almost thirty minutes.