‘There’s something I forgot to ask you when I was last here,’ Isla says.

‘I told you what you need to know.’ Steve stands, clutching his papers to his chest. ‘I’m not going over that again.’

‘Do the people you work with know about your past? The kids you removed?’

He looks past her. From the waiting room at the end of the corridor they hear Valerie singing, a little out of tune.

‘I’m doing a good job here, Isla,’ he says. ‘Trying to make up for all of that, as best I can.’

‘Do they know?’

‘One or two of ’em do, yes. It’s not something I’m proud of.’

‘Do they know about the baby you kept for yourself?’

‘The baby—?’ For a second there is agony in his face. He shakes his head. ‘What do you mean?’

‘You took a baby and kept him. A baby boy,’ Isla says, hiding her own surprise. She hadn’t quite believed it until now. Behind them, the singing stops.

‘You got your wires crossed, Isla,’ he says. ‘I don’t know anything about a baby.’

‘He was one of the kids you were meant to remove. An Aboriginal baby. You took him home instead.’

‘Where’d you get that idea?’

‘My dad told me. He remembers the baby. Hearing him crying.’

‘Your father’s a drunk, Isla.’

‘That’s true.’

He pauses, bemused. ‘And he’s a liar.’

‘He took everything from you,’ Isla says.

‘That’s right.’ His papers bend against his chest. ‘That’s right.’

A set of lights switch on at the far end of the corridor. Voices in the distance. Isla feels the balance of the moment roll back and forth.

‘He broke up your marriage.’ Isla glances at Louisa, who is shocked and silent at her side. ‘He told a lot of lies and got away with it. He kept his wife and family.’

Steve nods. ‘I’m glad you understand that.’

‘I think that’s why you wanted to blame him, for killing your wife.’

The lights switch on overhead. ‘I think you should get out of here,’ Steve says.

‘Did Mandy follow you down to Marlo?’

‘Did you hear me?’ He moves to push past them. ‘Get out of my way.’

Isla does not move. ‘Is that where you killed her?’

‘I said, get out of my way!’

He barrels past them, his head down, and Isla lands with her back against the wall. At the turn of the corridor, Valerie stands waiting. Her bleached hair is yellow under the lights.

‘Steve?’ Valerie takes a step towards him. ‘What’s all this?’

‘Sorry, Val.’ He laughs, catching his breath. ‘Got waylaid. We can start now.’

Valerie looks at the two women, then back at him. ‘I heard what they said.’

‘I can explain all that.’ He strums his papers with his thumb. ‘It’s not the way it sounds, Val. Why don’t we—?’

Valerie looks at Steve with a sadness that cuts him off. He shrinks a little, bowing his head.

‘We trusted you,’ she says.