‘Maybe they did see it,’ said Jess, ‘and they decided to ignore it.’

Wozza reached for his phone. ‘One way to find out,’ he said, scrolling through his contact list. He clicked on a number for Dean Lafford then clicked speaker.

‘Woz! Mate.’ Dean’s voice echoed around the table.

Wozza quickly explained why he was calling.

Dean remembered the case like it was yesterday. ‘Bloody tragic,’ he said. ‘I did a quick check for signs of life, then grabbed that kid and got the hell out of there.’

‘So you didn’t touch the back door?’ Wozza asked.

‘Nah, mate. Left the scene just the way I found it, except for taking the kid.’

Wozza thanked him and hung up.

I picked up the picture of Shayna. She was lying on top of the blankets, one arm draped over the side of the bed, the other flung out sideways across the bed. ‘Could she have been standing up and fallen back on top of the blankets?’

Wozza and Jess looked at the picture.

‘What if Shayna was having a lie down,’ said Jess, ‘and Brett was cooking toasties for dinner, then he’s shot from outside—’

Wozza picked up the theory. ‘And she’s woken by the shot and gets up to investigate—’

I brought it home. ‘Then the killer comes in the unlocked front door, shoots her and she falls back onto the bed.’

‘It would explain why she’s on top of the blankets.’ Wozza traced a finger over the picture. ‘And because the front door was unlocked, the killer could have left the gun out the back, closer to Brett and never realised that while the back door was open, the wire door was latched.’

‘That would work,’ said Jess. ‘People didn’t used to lock their doors much in Deception Bay.’

It made sense. ‘We really need to get a look at that wire door,’ I said.

Finishing a slice of pizza and wiping my hands on a serviette, I shuffled through the pile of papers and found Wheels’s statement. At Jess’s urging, I read it aloud:

My full name is William Harold WHEELER and I am a Detective Sergeant at the Deception Bay Police Station.

At approximately 7.35 am on the day in question, I received a call from Sally HENDERSON regarding her concern for the welfare of Brett and Shayna MILLARD and their daughter, Crystal MILLARD, aged 4, residing at their farm in Pine Tree Gully Road.

I dispatched Senior Constable LAFFORD to perform a Concern for Welfare check. At approximately 8.20 am, LAFFORD reported two deceased adults at the premises. The MILLARD child was unharmed.

I attended the scene and observed one deceased adult male on the floor in the kitchen and a deceased adult female in the main bedroom.

I observed four unpaid bills on the kitchen table stamped OVERDUE. The total amount due was several thousand dollars for farm equipment, car payments and a mortgage default notice.