‘But –’ Ludlow opened his notebook again. ‘Cameron knew you and your son were out doing a fence check?’
‘Yeah, I always do this time of year. But we weren’t around here.’
‘Did Cameron know that for certain?’
There was a long silence. ‘No.’
Ludlow ran a hand along the top wire then opened his palm and looked at the dust. ‘Can you think of a reason why your brother might have needed to come to this spot?’
‘I don’t know why he would have needed to,’ Nathan said finally. ‘But he knew it well.’
‘Was he out here often?’
‘I don’t think so anymore.’ Nathan glanced at Bub, who shrugged. ‘But he used to.’
‘This is also the only bit of shade for miles,’ Steve said. ‘It might have been instinct to seek it out.’
Sergeant Ludlow contemplated that as he looked at the shape on the ground. Even beneath the tarp, it was unmistakably human.
‘How was your brother’s state of mind these past few weeks?’
The question was delivered gently, and it took Nathan a moment to realise it was aimed at him.
‘I don’t know. I hadn’t seen him in a few months.’
‘How many?’
‘Four, maybe? When were we all doing that track work, Bub?’ It had been the last time Nathan had seen either of his brothers, he realised now. Bub looked blank.
‘Four months,’ Ludlow said. ‘So August, September time?’
‘Probably a bit earlier.’ Nathan tried to think. ‘Actually, wait. It was around the first State of Origin match. Because we talked about that.’
‘June,’ Ludlow and Bub said in unison.
‘Yeah, I suppose.’
‘So six months,’ Ludlow said.
‘Yeah, must be then. We spoke on the radio sometimes.’
‘Often?’
‘Often enough.’
‘Was there a reason you hadn’t seen each other?’
‘No. No reason. I live nearly three hours away door to door. We’re all busy.’ He turned to Bub for help, and was rewarded with nothing. ‘You see him every day at home, what did you think?’
Nathan expected a shrug, but instead, Bub seemed to be thinking. Finally he took a breath. ‘Cam was a bit wound up lately.’
Nathan stared at him in astonishment. How bad had things been if even Bub had noticed?
‘Wound up in what way?’ Ludlow asked.
Bub did shrug this time. He looked a little edgy. ‘Dunno. The usual way.’
They all waited, but he apparently had nothing further to add on the subject.
