The two men entered the room diffidently, Russell’s nose twitching at the smell of blood and bile. Caleb had covered the corpse but he wanted the two men to see what he had found. Using a scalpel he indicated the damage.

‘He died from a severe brain injury. A brain injury can mimic the symptoms of inebriation,’ Caleb said. ‘When he boarded the coach in Melbourne, he was not drunk, he was already dying.’

Maidment nodded. ‘Anything else?’

‘Significant bruising to his torso, several cracked ribs. Badly bruised kidneys.’ He held his tongue about the condition of Bowen’s liver. Years of alcohol abuse had left the man with a liver that would have killed him within a few short years, if that, anyway.

‘What are you saying?’ the policeman asked.

‘It is my medical opinion that shortly before he boarded the coach, Dr Bowen was attacked and beaten. During the attack, his head was struck by a hard object, causing massive internal bleeding to the brain, or he fell and hit his head.’

‘Murder.’ Maidment pronounced the word with heavy emphasis. ‘Or manslaughter, at the very least. Thank you, doctor. That’s helpful. I will need a statement from you.’

‘What do we do now?’ Russell asked.

Maidment glanced at the shrouded body. ‘We need to get him buried. I’ve asked the station carpenter to knock together a coffin and we’ll inter him here.’

‘We’re not going to take him back to Maiden’s Creek?’ Caleb asked.

Maidment shook his head. ‘Expensive and difficult and in this heat, he needs to be buried as soon as possible. This isn’t the first death at Shady Creek and there’s a cemetery of sorts on the property. Brown?’

‘Sir?’

‘We need to find a priest to officiate. Hunt, do you know his religion?’

Alcohol, Caleb thought. ‘Not something we ever discussed but from a few things he let slip, I’m guessing Catholic.’

‘Is there a priest in Buneep?’ Russell asked.

Brown nodded.

Maidment scratched his stubbled chin. ‘I’m going on to Melbourne to lodge a report and get the investigation going. I’ll take Brown with me and stop in Buneep and speak to the local priest. Mr Russell, I suggest you and Hunt stay here the night and see Bowen interred.’

Russell nodded. ‘It’s too late to leave now. Our hosts have beds for us.’

‘I’ll get going,’ Maidment said. ‘I can send a telegram to Melbourne from Buneep so they’ll be expecting me tomorrow.’ He shook his head. ‘Sad business. I’ll bid you good day and get on my way.’

Caleb stood in the doorway and watched both men walk back to the hotel. He turned back to the table and restored whatever dignity he could to Bowen’s mortal remains.