The Lost Man(12)

‘What about the radio?’ Ludlow pointed to the cradle on the dashboard.

Nathan showed him how to work through the frequencies. ‘Sounds okay to me. His EPIRB’s probably under the passenger seat as well.’

Ludlow reached down and pulled out the personal distress beacon. It was still in its box, and had not been activated.

‘You don’t use handheld radios?’ he said.

‘No. They’re all connected to the cars.’

‘So if you leave your vehicle, you’re without comms?’

‘Yeah.’

‘What’s the range?’

‘Depends. You can get twenty kilometres straight, further with the repeater masts, but there are black spots,’ Nathan said. ‘It’s line of sight, basically.’

The sergeant continued working his way through the car, running his gloved hands over the interior. He checked behind the visors, in the glove box, under the seats, then checked again.

‘I think his wallet’s missing.’ Ludlow raised his head. ‘It wasn’t in his pockets either.’

‘No. It’ll be at home.’

‘He wouldn’t carry it?’

Nathan, whose own wallet was on his kitchen table in his unlocked house a couple of hundred kilometres away, waved a hand at their surroundings. Why bother?

A hint of embarrassment flitted across Ludlow’s face. He opened a repair manual and flicked through the pages.

‘What are you looking for?’ Nathan asked eventually.

Ludlow hesitated. ‘Anything.’

He doesn’t know, Nathan thought. He has no idea what to make of any of this. He saw Xander frown. Probably thinking the same thing.

‘Are you going to dust for fingerprints or something?’ Xander said.

‘The Criminal Investigation Branch would need to fly out for that.’

‘And will they fly out?’

‘Only if there are signs of violence.’

They all turned their eyes to the car. The windows were not cracked, the seats had seen nothing worse than general grime and the mirrors were positioned at the correct angles.

Ludlow looked back at Xander. ‘I’m sorry.’

He worked on methodically, stopping short only when he opened the rear doors. He stood, as they had, staring at the water and food stacked neatly in front of him.

‘He left all this?’

Nathan didn’t have an answer. That’s supposed to be your job to work out, he thought.

Ludlow looked over. ‘Is there any practical explanation you can think of?’

‘I’ve heard of people –’ Nathan sounded desperate even to his own ears. ‘Sometimes people leave their vehicle for some reason – chase down a stray calf or something – and go further than they meant to. They start running and they don’t realise how far they’ve gone and suddenly they’re disoriented.’

Ludlow peeled off his gloves. ‘Do you think that’s what might have happened?’

‘No. I don’t know, I’m just saying. But I don’t think Cam would have got lost around here.’

‘Right,’ Ludlow said. ‘The car looks in good shape to me, but let’s say there was something wrong with it. The break-down advice is to stay with your vehicle, isn’t it? Golden rule, I was told.’

‘Yeah.’ The sergeant caught the note in Nathan’s voice and looked up. Definitely more switched-on than he’d seemed at first, Nathan thought.

‘Yeah but what?’ Ludlow said.

‘Nothing. Just, you use your common sense as well. And Cam knew that. I mean, there’s a bloody road right there. He had plenty of water. If the car wasn’t working and he had to walk anywhere, it would have been to the road, no question. And he would have taken water.’

‘So why –?’

‘I dunno why.’ Nathan could hear his voice rising. ‘I’m just saying. That’s what he would have done. But first choice by an absolute bloody mile, he would have stayed with the car and kept the air con running and got on the radio for help. And if he absolutely had to leave it, he would have walked to the road, not the middle of nowhere.’

‘That’s what Cameron would have done,’ Ludlow said.

‘Yeah.’

‘If he’d wanted to be found?’

Ludlow’s words hung in the air.

‘Yeah, obviously, mate.’ Nathan bristled. ‘Look, I hear what you’re getting at, you can come out and say it.’

To his credit, the cop just gave a small nod of assent. ‘I’m just thinking about what your other brother said. About Cameron perhaps feeling under pressure.’

‘He had access to guns.’

‘Cameron did?’

‘Yeah. Rifle cabinet at home, same as everyone.’

‘There’s no weapon in the car.’

‘No, well, he didn’t carry one around all the time. But at home, he wouldn’t have had any trouble, you know? If he’d wanted to put his hands on one.’

‘So, you think –’

‘I don’t think anything. I’m just saying. If that’s what you’re thinking, why wouldn’t he –’ Nathan stopped short. He didn’t say it.

‘It’s a good point,’ Ludlow nodded. ‘But you would have seen what the damage from a gunshot looks like?’