Douglas glanced at his own watch, as if this idea was just coming to him. ‘Ten minutes earlier or later?’

‘Well, yes.’

‘Fifteen…’

‘No,’ Jack said. ‘It was a confusing day, but I’m not that vague about time.’

‘Not even in those conditions?’

‘Especially not in those conditions.’

‘Okay. Thank you, Mr Laskin. Nevertheless, there’s a ten-minute period either side of the time you mentioned when you might have seen…’

‘Yes. I suppose so.’

‘A twenty-minute window. Ten, and ten.’

‘Perhaps.’

Douglas smiled. This was going well. Jack didn’t look biased towards Caleb. He was admitting certain doubts. But twenty minutes was not long enough for Caleb to have ridden to the fossicker’s hut, lit a fire, and cycled back to Penelope.

‘When you reached the turn-off from Anzac Avenue, how much smoke was visible?’

‘A thick plume. The fire was nearly at the road. I called for more units.’

‘I see. An urgent phone call. That will help us with our records of the time, Mr Laskin. And you came upon Brian Nally at that point? I’d like to establish what you heard, and when.’

Brian, famous for Sunday morning sermons about the Second Coming outside the Brunton Hotel, had evidence about the time, evidence that would matter, Caleb knew, even though Brian had always hated Caleb.

‘Brian was in a group of teenagers.’ Jack gripped the stand. ‘They stood in the tray of an old ute, like fire would respect town boundaries. They were yelling about God. I once saw him call Caleb a weirdo goth faggot.’

‘Objection,’ Charles Scott said. ‘That’s not what we’re discussing.’

Nina Haynes nodded. ‘Captain Laskin, please stick to answering the questions.’

‘I asked Nally what he was doing. He gave me a pamphlet and yelled that he wanted to be in heaven later that night.’

‘And what time was this?’

‘I can’t be sure. I ordered them to go to the town oval. I told them they’d have a bigger audience there. Thank God the kids went.’

‘Attending the fire, you helped people evacuate to the relief centre. And saw Mr Wharton. You’ve described him as acting strangely.’

Mum glared at him.

‘Caleb had a head injury,’ Jack said. ‘Strange behaviour is consistent with concussion. I perform first aid. I’ve seen concussion. In Iraq.’

‘Objection!’ Charles Scott said. ‘Thank you for your service, Captain Laskin. But this doesn’t make you a medical expert.’

‘Will a doctor give evidence about concussion, Mr Anderson?’ Nina Haynes asked.

Douglas nodded. ‘We’ll show how Caleb sustained that concussion and where he was that day.’

‘It’s time to adjourn for the day. Is there any other court business?’

‘Yes,’ Douglas said. ‘The defence requests media be banned from showing CCTV images of Caleb. They’re implying his dark clothing means he was weird and violent. This could bias future jury members and jeopardise a fair trial.’