‘The dead man joined the coach in Melbourne. Witnesses says they thought he was drunk. He slept to Buneep and the coach stopped for the regular meal. The other passengers got out, but he said he felt unwell and stayed in the coach. Landlord brought him out a brandy and water. They resumed the journey, and all the passengers agree that when they left Buneep, he was snoring in a corner—very loudly, in fact. It was a relief when he went quiet. It was only when they stopped here at first light today that they realised he was … well—he was dead. Quite dead.’

Maidment glanced back at the hotel. ‘They’re all here?’

‘Yes, and none too happy about it.’

‘Who are they?’

‘There’s an Italian couple name of Benneti, a lawyer bloke from Sale, and an English cove. And the driver of course. Burrell’s also here with the Maiden’s Creek passengers who were going on to Melbourne and Sale. They’re none too happy either.’

Maidment gave the constable a curt nod. ‘Good job holding them. What about the deceased?’

‘I searched his pockets and here’s his valuables.’ Brown detached a small sugar sack from his belt. ‘Thought I’d better keep ’em safe. I’m guessing you all know him?’

‘If it’s Dr Bowen, then yes. Any indication of how he died?’ Russell asked.

The man shook his head. ‘None. Peaceful … looks like he’s still asleep. Gave the English bloke a right scare when he woke up to find a dead man leaning on his shoulder.’ Brown’s lips quirked as if he wanted to smile, leaving Caleb with the impression that the policeman didn’t think too much of the ‘English bloke’.

‘There’ll need to be a coronial inquiry,’ Russell said. ‘Maidment, you take written statements from all the witnesses, and Hunt, I’m sorry to have to ask you to do this, but we’re going to need an autopsy.’

Caleb drew in a breath. ‘Is there no other doctor who can do it?’

Everyone looked at Brown, who shook his head. ‘The Buneep doctor is out of town, tied up with the same trial as my sergeant. It would take days to get another doctor here.’ He glanced at the hot sun. ‘And this heat … well … to be honest, he’s already on the turn. Needs to be buried as soon as possible.’

Russell shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Hunt. I know he was your friend, but let’s find out what killed him and then we can give him a decent burial.’

A hard ball knotted in Caleb’s stomach. ‘Can I speak to the witnesses before I start?’ he asked.

‘Why?’ Maidment frowned. ‘You’ve got the facts.’

‘I want a firsthand description of how he appeared before his death. It may help to determine what killed him.’

‘They’re in the front parlour,’ Brown said.