Xander’s eyes fell again at the sketchbook in his lap. It was full of Lo’s paintings.
‘What’re you looking at?’ Nathan said.
Xander handed him the book, open to the page he’d been examining. Nathan flicked his eyes across the painting. It showed two girls, one smaller than the other and both with dirty-blonde hair. It was hard to tell how old they were, but the bigger one had her arm encased in a colourful sling.
The two girls stood in the foreground of the picture, with bright orange earth under their feet. Behind them, looming large, was a big dark shape that blocked the line of the horizon. It had been drawn by someone young but skilled, and was entirely recognisable.
‘The stockman’s grave, isn’t it?’ Nathan said. Beside the headstone, Lo had painted another shape. It was shadowy and unfinished, but had a strangely human quality. A woman, Nathan thought, for reasons he couldn’t quite qualify. While the girls were clearly identifiable, the woman’s features were formless and elusive. Nathan looked up from the picture. Cameron’s daughters were riding now over by the far fence.
‘I didn’t know they’d been out to the grave.’ Xander pointed at the sling on the painted girl’s arm. ‘Not recently, anyway.’
‘Me neither.’ Nathan raised his voice and called out, ‘Girls.’ His tone made them pull up their horses immediately. ‘Come here. I need to talk to you.’
‘Are we in trouble?’ Sophie said, as she cantered over and drew to a halt in front of him in a swirl of dust.
‘No. I wanted to ask about this picture, Lo.’
Lo leaned in, but as he held it up her face changed. She didn’t reach out to take it. Behind her, Sophie craned her neck to see. Her horse was disturbed, turning in tight circles. Nathan could see the reins wrapped tight around Sophie’s good hand, the leather biting into her knuckles.
‘What’s this painting of, Lo?’ Nathan prompted.
‘It’s obviously the stockman’s grave,’ Sophie snapped. The chatty girl from the previous evening was gone. Her expression was wary, and Nathan could see her good hand grip the reins even more tightly.
‘I didn’t know you’d been out there.’
‘Once. With Mummy.’
Nathan pointed at the shadowy woman. ‘That’s your mum there?’
‘Of course,’ Sophie cut in before Lo could answer. ‘Who else would it be?’
‘I don’t know,’ Nathan said, truthfully. ‘Maybe a friend of hers?’
‘Mummy doesn’t have any friends. What?’ Lo said as Sophie scowled at her. ‘None of us do.’
‘So you went out there with your mum?’ Xander said. ‘When?’
‘Ages ago,’ Lo said.
‘No, not ages ago. Just after I hurt my arm.’ Sophie’s horse twisted again and she was forced to whip her head around to look at Nathan.
‘What did you do there?’
The sisters glanced at each other, but Nathan had the sense they were not being deliberately evasive.
‘Nothing. We got there but then –’ Sophie frowned. ‘We just drove home again. Mum said it was supposed to be a picnic.’
‘But we didn’t have any food,’ Lo said.
‘We did. Later, remember? We had it by the stables instead.’
Lo frowned, her tiny face creasing.
‘We only stayed at the grave for a few minutes,’ Sophie said.
‘Yeah.’ Lo nodded. ‘I didn’t like it.’
‘And nothing else happened? At all?’ Nathan watched his nieces shake their heads. ‘All right. Thanks, girls.’
