Wombat rang Cavalier a week later when told about the oil-well blow at the Shittim number one well.

‘Shittim?’ Cavalier echoed.

‘That’s Haut’s name for it. Shittim was the last camp for the Israelis before they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land.’

‘Very pleased you explained that,’ Cavalier said.

‘It would be good if you could interview Haut soon,’ Wombat said, and told him more about the big discovery.

‘Is he at Bruny Island?’

‘No. He’s at another mining area—Hunterstone Dome—on the main island, where he has also found oil,’ Wombat said. ‘I suggest you go and see Anthony Jones in a few days’ time when he’s found a few presents for you …’ Five days later, Cavalier drove to the Melbourne suburb of Murrumbeena and entered a car mechanic’s garage, thick with the smell of fuel and patrolled by twenty grease monkeys. He walked to the back, past cars on hoists, and pressed an intercom button. It was answered by Tony Jones, a corpulent man of seventy, his shirt half out of his trousers, and a cigarette behind an ear.

‘Victor!’ he said, shaking hands, ‘so good to see you. I hear your escapade on the Bangkok Express was a success!’

‘I’m still here.’ Cavalier grinned as he opened his arms.

That elicited a belly laugh from Jones.

‘Are you back in Melbourne for good?’

‘I was in Chiang Mai for a while but was advised to take a break until the heat went out of certain investigations. What happened to your grandson, Anthony?’

‘He’s on leave. I fill in for him.’

‘Wombat has some presents for me?’ Cavalier asked.

‘Yes, indeed.’ He showed Cavalier to a desk with two small boxes and a manila envelope.

‘Christmas is early this year,’ Jones said with another guffaw. ‘It’s a long way from the first equipment I gave you.’

‘That was a brick-like analogue phone. Dumped it after a month.’

‘Yes, but it was long before anyone else had one!’

Cavalier opened the first box. He unwrapped a new phone device.

‘It’s about a year ahead of the market and has too many apps to bother you with here. Its name says it all: “Genius 1”.’

Cavalier skimmed through a small instruction manual and raised an eyebrow, registering he was impressed.

‘I like playing Santa Claus!’ Jones said with a laugh and then a prolonged cough. ‘The other present is from Wombat.’

Cavalier opened the second box and removed a handgun.

‘It’s a Glock 19 Plus,’ Jones said with reverence. ‘I recall you’ve used a Glock from time to time. This one is undetectable, even with an airport scanner. It has a polymer frame as usual but includes an additive that avoids scanner detection.’

Cavalier juggled the gun.

‘Lightest gun I’ve ever touched; useful for concealment,’ he noted. ‘Smaller too.’

‘Exactly. You can draw it from a holster anywhere on your body.’