I kept up a steady pace. The path was deserted. Too cold for locals who had grown so accustomed to coastal beauty they could ignore it. When the trees that lined the path ended and opened into the clearing, I stopped, caught my breath, then found a suitable stick to throw for Waffles to fetch. I flung it wide in an arc and Waffles started to chase it, then skidded to a halt. He turned back towards me, excited, alert. He barked. Someone was coming.

Soon, we could both hear the pounding of a runner on the path, the steady huff of breath. The runner burst into the clearing from the path along the cliff. A shock of recognition. I noticed the panda eyes first. Jack Barratt.

He nodded in a friendly way, until he realised it was me and slowed to a halt, jogging on the spot. Finally, he laughed and headed over. Waffles returned to my side and sat next to my leg, leaning on me a little as if to reassure me he was there. I rested a hand on his head, wondering how this would play out.

‘Well, if it isn’t our friendly neighbourhood detective!’ Jack stopped about a metre away from me. He rubbed his hands on his white singlet adorned with the red-and-black Bintang beer logo then interlocked his fingers, cracking his knuckles. Classic fight preparation moves.

Wanker.

‘Nice shiners,’ I said, looking at his black eyes.

‘You should see the other guy,’ Jack said, his voice light, his eyes mean.

I crossed my arms. Said nothing.

Jack was clearly a man who never met a silence he didn’t want to fill. The type of offender cops loved the most.

‘So you’re going ahead with your bullshit charge?’ The note of a threat rose in his voice.

I shrugged. ‘Sure. Why not?’

He took a step forward, hands clenching into fists. Hadn’t taken any notice of Waffles until the growl that started deep inside my dog then worked its way to the surface and ended with a warning bark.

‘You think I’m afraid of that?’ Jack leaned forward and started barking at Waffles like a man possessed. Then he darted at me, grabbing me by the throat.

Big mistake.

Before I had time to respond with an eye gouge, Waffles lunged up and bit Jack on the arm, digging his teeth into flesh and shaking his head. Jack let go of me and screamed like a banshee.

‘Stop!’ I commanded, and Waffles let go immediately.

Jack bolted and Waffles chased him. He sprinted for the path and hurled himself over the barrier onto a metre-wide strip of ground between the rail and the cliff drop of the Devil’s Corner. Waffles jumped up and rested his front paws on the barrier. He barked his continuous bark, designed to show off all his most ferocious teeth. I ran over to him.