Douglas walked her through her experiences with Caleb. Not a loner, she insisted. Caleb had a girlfriend. Friends, such as Ethan Bennett. He was a good student, most of the time. Whereas Rosie was a bully, not to be trusted. They walked through a projected floor plan of their house. Douglas asked about the view from Caleb’s window, past the burned manna gum, to the creek bed, the fossicker’s hut. Then he finished. Caleb patted his stomach, satisfied. His instructions to Douglas (who was, after all, his lawyer) were that Mum was not to be allowed to take off like she did, scattering blame on any other person she could reach.

Then Charles Scott took the floor. ‘Mr Anderson identifies you as the wife of our learned colleague. But you separated while Caleb was in high school, that’s correct?’

Mum focussed her glare on the lawyer. ‘The timing wasn’t my idea.’

‘As a teacher, you’ve experienced children suffering from mood disorders?’

‘My oldest students are eleven.’ Mum spoke slowly, like she was explaining this to someone too dim to understand. ‘Caleb is eighteen.’

‘Mood disorders are linked to dysfunctional family life. Would you say Caleb was affected by your separation?’

Mum blinked. She had to make an admission she didn’t like. ‘He didn’t take it well.’

‘He was in his mid-teens. An only child. And you moved him to a strange place. Away from his friends?’

Mum shook her head. ‘Brunton’s hardly a strange place. Caleb’s grandmother lived there. Before moving, we’d visited often.’

‘You say he was a good student most of the time. Had this stopped being the case after your separation?’

Caleb clutched the edges of his seat. The separation wasn’t Mum’s fault anymore than it was his. But Mum had to face this. She held her eyes closed for too long. ‘Yes.’

‘Caleb became sullen, secretive. He wore black clothes. He dyed his hair black, obtained facial piercings. How did he explain all this to you?’

Mum ignored the question and instead listed her invented excuses. Caleb was growing up. He was finding his own identity. She thought she understood him, but she didn’t understand anyone. Maybe Caleb understood her. About her stash of stolen things, anyway. Mum wanted things that people valued. She got caught up in her love and desire to control people, maybe to own them. Like she thought she owned him. ‘It’s a phase,’ she said. ‘It’s not unusual. There are a number of goth teenagers around town.’

‘They aren’t all suspected of arson. Can you describe your relationship with Caleb?’

‘We’re close. In Brunton, it was just the two of us.’

‘Did Caleb’s behaviour seem unusual to you? He’s been described as secretive.’