Nathan frowned. ‘Did Cam do something?’
‘No,’ Liz snapped, and Ilse’s jaw tightened.
‘Apparently about two months ago someone rang the cop shop asking about Cameron,’ Harry said, and looked at Liz. ‘You tell him. It was you Glenn spoke to.’
Liz shook her head, a tight jerk of the neck, and glanced at Ilse, who waved her hand impatiently. ‘Christ, you just tell him, Harry.’
Harry sighed. ‘Someone called the police station, but it wasn’t Glenn who took the call. It was when he was on medical leave for that week or so, you remember?’
‘Vaguely,’ Nathan said. ‘Matt covered.’ The usual stand-in sergeant from St Helens. He was an okay bloke.
‘Right. Well, Glenn noticed a minor entry on the log and asked Matt about it. Matt reckons he got a call at the station from a woman saying she used to know Cameron and asking if he still worked on this property.’
Ilse was now looking out into the night with a thousand-yard stare.
‘So Matt says yes,’ Harry went on. ‘Offers to pass on her details, but she says something like: “No, it’s fine. As long as Cameron’s still there, I’ll get in touch myself.”’
Nathan felt a seed of disquiet unfurl and grow. ‘Okay.’
‘Matt doesn’t think too much of it, but he mentions this woman to Cameron when he sees him in town a few days later. Thinking it’s an old girlfriend or whatever.’
Ilse folded her arms firmly across her chest.
‘But apparently, Cam wasn’t too happy to hear this,’ Harry said. ‘Told Matt he wasn’t interested in hearing from her. Not to pass on his number or email. Get rid of her if she calls again. So Matt thinks fair enough. Old girlfriend.’ Harry glanced at Ilse. ‘New girlfriend maybe. None of his business. And that’s that. Quick note in the log, nothing more to see.’
The creases in Harry’s face deepened.
‘Until all this, obviously,’ he said. ‘Glenn saw the log this arvo, got the story from Matt, and thought he’d better call us and see if this woman’s name rang any bells.’
‘Well, don’t bloody keep me in suspense, mate,’ Nathan said. Liz was examining the floorboards and Ilse was still staring out into the night.
‘It was Jenna Moore.’
Nathan breathed out. ‘Shit.’ He hadn’t heard the name in more than twenty years and he had to dig deep to fully unearth the memory. Dusty and buried, it rose up through the years and clicked into place, and by then it wasn’t a bell ringing in Nathan’s head, it was an alarm.
Chapter 14
They set off for Lehmann’s Hill just after dawn. Nathan drove, with Bub next to him and Xander in the back.
He adjusted his mirrors as the sun’s reflection rose, blinding red behind them. They were heading west, towards the desert, and the sky loomed huge above the perfect flat horizon. By the time they hit the edge and turned north, they would be able to see the dunes: huge sandy peaks running north to south for hundreds of kilometres.
Xander had helped Nathan collect the mast repair instructions and tools from Cameron’s car before they set off. The equipment was all there. If Cameron had never intended to go to the mast, Nathan thought, he’d made an effort to hide the fact.
The house had barely disappeared from view behind them before Xander leaned forward from the back seat. ‘So what’s the story with this woman that everyone’s whispering about?’
He’d clearly been itching to ask and Nathan couldn’t blame him. Dinner the night before had been swiftly abandoned as Nathan had stood out on the verandah with Ilse, Harry and Liz, whispering and talking themselves in circles. It wasn’t long before Lo and Sophie had poked their small heads around the screen door to see what was happening, followed by Xander.
Ilse had hastily bundled the girls back inside, ostensibly to put them to bed, and hadn’t come back. Nathan had shaken his head at Xander –Not now, mate– and the boy had reluctantly retreated. Liz, stiff-limbed and red-eyed, had eventually gone inside without another word. The sound of soft crying had floated out on the night air. Nathan wasn’t sure who it was. He and Harry had talked until it was time to turn the generator off, then Nathan had lain awake on the couch for hours. His eyes felt gritty in the morning light, and he rubbed them now with his knuckles. It made them worse.
‘Jenna Moore,’ Bub said from the passenger seat. ‘That’s who they’re all worried about.’
‘Did you hear much about that back then?’ Nathan said. It had all been before Bub’s time. He would have been – Nathan worked it out – only about seven when it happened.
Bub shrugged. ‘This and that.’
Nathan realised both Bub and Xander were looking at him expectantly. Out in front, a cow stepped onto the track and wandered across. He slowed to let it pass, but it stopped dead, turning its head to look at them. Nathan came to a halt and waited, then sounded the horn. The cow didn’t move, just blinked slowly.
‘Christ. Back in a sec.’
