Sandra gestured for them to enter the terminal building. The air conditioning was a relief even after mere minutes in the sun. ‘Somebody called and said they saw a plane going down near Uluru, so I sent Rosie Tapaya, one of my park rangers, to investigate – she lives in Mutitjulu, right by the rock. She radioed in to say she thought it was just campers, which is illegal but happens all the time. Except . . .’

‘She never came back?’ Nina offered.

Sandra gave her a grim nod. ‘Rosie’s an Aboriginal, she knows what she’s doing in the desert—’

‘An Aboriginal person,’ Macy corrected.

‘Yeah, that’s what I said,’ was the Australian’s airy response, before she continued. ‘And she’s a tough girl, your typical tourist wouldn’t mess with her. So when you called me, I was already a bit worried – then once the sun rose and there was still no sign of her, I knew there was something wrong.’

‘Did you call the police?’ Eddie asked.

‘I did, but this isn’t exactly Sydney. We only have a handful of cops to cover about a hundred kilometres in each direction. They’re looking for her, but I haven’t heard from them yet.’ The two customs officers gave her brusque farewells and headed away. Sandra waited for them to go, then lowered her voice conspiratorially. ‘So what’s going on, Professor Wilde? I know you by reputation – and your reputation is that whenever you get involved with an archaeological thing, it means some nut’s trying to take over the world! We’ve had UFO reports, then one of my rangers disappears . . . and now you turn up. After phoning me from a plane in the middle of the night and asking me to close the entire park, at that. What’s it all about?’

‘Have you closed the park?’ said Nina.

‘No. I only have the authority to do that if there’s an immediate danger to life, like flash floods or brush fires.’

‘What about a murder?’

Sandra twitched in surprise. ‘What about a murder?’

‘Your ranger’s dead. If she found the people we’re after, they’ll have killed her.’

‘Macy, let’s go over here for a minute,’ said Eddie, ushering his protesting daughter out of earshot.

‘What people?’ Sandra demanded.

‘It’s hard to explain – and to be honest, if I came straight out and told you, you’d think I was crazy. Let’s just say that they’re here, they’re dangerous – and there’s something they want at Uluru. Closing the park is the best way to make sure nobody else gets hurt.’

The ranger regarded Nina in silence for a long moment. Then: ‘You’re sure Rosie is dead?’

‘I’m afraid so, yes.’