I had no time for this. I stepped lightly to the side and aimed a roundhouse kick where it would hurt the most. Lachie went down with a high-pitched squeal and lay curled up on the floor clutching his man parts.

With my free hand, I radioed through to Wozza and Daniel. In seconds, they appeared in the doorway behind me. I lowered my weapon and entered the space. There were old couches and coffee tables with overflowing ashtrays and empty beer bottles scattered across every surface.

As soon as I took in the half-dozen men frozen in a strange tableaux, I realised it wasn’t just Lachie and Jimbo. It was much bigger than that.

‘Where is she?’ I demanded. A man I had never seen before nodded in the direction of another door, which seemed to be an office within the garage.

I moved quickly towards it while, behind me, Daniel and Wozza began to herd the men into a line. I hesitated only a second with my hand on the door. What would I find?

In the dim space in the centre of the room with a besser brick wall, by the light of a camp lantern, I saw her on the filthy mattress … or, rather, I saw someone on top of her, pants around his knees, rutting like a pig. In the shadow cast on the opposite wall, Mandy Buckley looked like she was being raped by a giant.

‘Police!’ I yelled. The usual follow-up of Don’t move! got stuck in my throat. I wanted him to move, to get off her. I covered the ground between the doorway and the mattress, gun held in both hands. ‘Get off her!’ And then, ‘Oh God!’ as lawyer Frank Forester pushed himself up and fumbled with his pants.

Mandy groaned softly, but didn’t wake up.

As Mandy Buckley was being wheeled out—unconscious or drugged, I wasn’t sure—there was activity everywhere. The uniforms had arrived and police cars filled the car park outside the garage. Red and blue strobes lit up the night. Distraught magistrate Charles Buckley pulled up with Wheels in the staff car and dashed to his daughter.

‘Oh, Mandy!’ cried Buckles, trying to hold her hand as the stretcher was pushed to the ambulance.

Even though he had been horrible in my dealings with him, seeing him this distressed and vulnerable was upsetting. A small part of my brain knew that experiencing this firsthand might mean he would forever take all assaults on women more seriously. Wheels hurried after him, offering to take him to the hospital. I could see Buckles nod. Mandy was loaded into the ambulance and we all watched it drive away.