Fraus helped Juno murder one of the lovers of her husband, Jupiter, with an enchanted girdle. She was often depicted with the body of a snake and the sting of a scorpion.

The graffiti had been erased by the afternoon but I returned home to an increasingly familiar sight. A police car lurked at the top of my drive.

Caleb… the four-wheel drive… Sean…

My mind was out of control, making incompatible links. The familiar crew of reporters was there too. Sadie Riley pushed herself to the front as I pulled in. ‘Phoebe!’ Her high heels were unsuitable for ashes and soot. She held out her arms, as though we were friends. My front door was closed but not locked. Caleb was in there.

‘Hello?’ I called, walking in. The police were inside too.

In the living room, PC Milla Jackson standing at his side, Caleb clutched his face. The near-black of the police uniforms was incongruous against Claire’s pink floral decorating scheme. Detective Feng saw me and stepped quickly in my direction.

‘What’s happening?’ I demanded.

‘Mr Wharton is being questioned.’ Milla looked sympathetic. ‘You can observe if you’re quiet.’

‘It’s my house!’

Detective Feng showed me his open palms, proving honesty. ‘We can take him to the station.’

He meant an interrogation room. I’d seen those on a school excursion, and on TV. ‘No! Here will do.’

I kept my distance. Detective Feng sat next to Caleb. Milla stepped closer to me, as though she was unsure how I’d behave. ‘The CFA taught you a lot about fire? You know how it spreads? You know the creek bed was dangerously low ground?’

‘Lots of people know this.’

‘Describe how you felt about the fossicker’s hut being destroyed.’

Caleb finally looked at me. ‘It hasn’t really been a hut for years.’

Detective Feng was officious, thumb threaded into the side of his belt. ‘We’re giving you one more opportunity to explain where you were that day.’

‘I was… down at the mumble.’ Caleb stared at the floor.

‘Down at the what?’ Detective Feng rubbed his moustache.

‘Caleb, don’t speak,’ I said, remembering my mother’s warnings. ‘Not without a lawyer.’

Milla looked sad. Hong Feng stood.

‘Caleb Wharton, you are being arrested on suspicion of arson causing death,’ he said. ‘You do not have to say or do anything but anything you say or do may be given in evidence. Do you understand?’

Caleb held my eye for a long, scared moment. ‘Yes.’

‘You may communicate with a friend or a relative to inform that person of your whereabouts. You may communicate with a legal practitioner.’

‘What happens now?’ I demanded.

‘He’ll be taken to the police station,’ Milla replied.

‘I’ll come too,’ I said stupidly. ‘Can’t I drive him there? In my car?’

‘Not this time, Ms Wharton. No.’

‘Can I call his lawyer?’