The airport was busy. A crowd waited by the tiny cafe, most of them ordering beers. There were a lot of blokes, some in hi-vis, others in shorts and thongs. The few women looked like they were from the local farms, broad-shouldered and dressed in expensive worn jeans and boots. Shaun wasn’t looking for any of them, of course. He was only looking for Megan.

His mum was too. Peter Grant might be the one chaperoning her. The thought made Shaun’s palms sweat. But there was no sign of a teenage girl in the crowd, not even Sarah at the car hire desk. An older woman was perched in front of the screen.

They checked their bags in at the counter. It was hard to resist getting excited, even with everything else going on. Shaun hadn’t been on a plane in a year. They were going to a posh private school for a debate, and investigating a murder on the side. Glory might still be possible.

Standing in the crowd, he imagined himself slamming the other team and winning the debate. Megan would leap into his arms and forgive him. And Simms would crumble under interrogation and admit everything. He would arrive back in town victorious. His mum would meet him at the airport with tears in her eyes.

‘We could get chips!’ Will said, scanning the cafe menu.

‘Your mother supplied you with a whole container of treats, Will. I don’t think she’d be pleased if I bought you chips,’ said Shaun’s mum.

‘I can buy them!’ he said. Then he hit Shaun on the arm and pointed across the crowd.

Megan had just walked in. And there, beside her, was Millie.

‘That’s Millie, isn’t it?’ Shaun’s mum said, tensing. ‘Is that okay?’

Shaun nodded. ‘Yeah, actually. She’s nice. I think she thinks Peter’s a bit of an idiot, though.’

Megan looked over at them and waved. Her face as still as a painting.

Shaun’s heart leapt. The three of them waved back.

Maybe this meant she didn’t completely hate him.

Shaun tried hard not to stare as Megan and Millie went through the check-in counter. But when he glanced up again they were waiting at the other side of the airport.

Either Megan didn’t want to talk to them, or she’d received strict instructions from her dad not to.

‘Come on, guys,’ said Shaun’s mum, leading them away from the cafe to the security check line.

‘It’s so awkward,’ said Will. ‘Do we just not talk to her?’

‘If she decides she wants to talk to you, she will. I can’t believe she’s here at all, frankly. The funeral was only yesterday.’

Shaun almost spoke, but decided against it. The day after his dad’s funeral, he remembered his mum packing his lunch for school and sending him out the door. They didn’t even talk about what had happened. At the time they were both so hungry for any sense of normalcy.

It was almost time to board. Shaun’s mum put an arm around him and pulled him close. ‘If you run into trouble, call me, okay?’

Shaun rolled his eyes. ‘Why would we do that? It’s not like you could do anything from here.’

Her tone was flat. ‘Just call me if there’s a problem. And even if there isn’t. And if I text you, you text me back.’ She turned to Will. ‘Same goes for you, all right? I know your mum’ll be worried.’

There was no point in protesting, so Shaun looked at his mum and patted her arm. ‘Yes, Mum. Absolutely.’

Millie and Megan were a long way back on the plane, so Shaun had to twist around to see them. He gave up and spent the flight playing games on his phone and talking with Will. Tenner was a row behind them. Before they took off, Shaun could already hear his loud guttural snoring.

Will pestered Shaun with questions about Simms every five minutes. What kind of house would he live in? Would his kids be there? Should they take it in turns to sleep in case Simms came in with a carving knife and tried to kill them both?

‘I’ve been thinking about that Guinness can too,’ Will said quietly. ‘I should’ve picked it up.’

‘Yeah, but what would we have done? It’s not like we could have dusted for prints.’

In truth, he’d been thinking about the can, too. He couldn’t imagine anything worse than having to tell Megan that not only was her older brother gone, but that her dad had something to do with his death. Even if he solved the mystery, Megan would never be the same after that kind of news.

By the time the plane was about to land, Shaun felt sick. He looked out the window as they approached.

From this height, Brisbane didn’t look so big. There was one cluster of sparkling silver towers, surrounded by the twisting river and miles of suburban sprawl. In the late afternoon light, the colours of the city were deep and vibrant. Pockets of green. The rippling brown snake of river.

He had always assumed that he would end up living here. Most of the seniors left town and went to uni in Brisbane. He couldn’t imagine loving any school subject so much that he’d want to study it for years, although when he was a kid he’d wanted to be a vet. Then a video game designer.

As the plane banked, the sun moved through the cabin, bathing everyone in bright light. The city spun gently below them.

Maybe he could be a detective. Or he could study justice or crime or something. The Tyson case could stay open for years. A decade even. He would go back to his home town as a grown-up, make a dramatic entrance and solve the case.

The ground came up quickly, interrupting his thoughts, and the wheels skidded on the tarmac. The plane was small, so they felt the landing like an assault. Tenner let out a vulnerable, sudden snort as he woke up. The two boys suppressed a laugh.

As they got up to exit, Shaun tried to catch Megan’s eye, but it was no good.

He switched his phone off flight mode and immediately received a message from his mum. Text me as soon as you land. Yeah, right.

‘Mum’s going to harass me this entire trip,’ he said to Will.

‘Well, given that we’re staying with a potential killer, I don’t blame her.’ He clapped a hand on Shaun’s shoulder. ‘It’s been nice knowing you, mate.’

‘Drama queen,’ Shaun said.

Will laughed. ‘Just saying. Also, if something happens, I think you should know I won’t be protecting you. I’ll be throwing you at the danger as a distraction and then running in the opposite direction.’

Shaun couldn’t help but grin. ‘Thanks. That’s really reassuring.’

But the smiles disappeared fast. They didn’t have to look for Simms. He was there waiting for them, right in front of the gate. His eye was still purple, his lip slightly swollen. It made his welcoming smile look like a mistake. Tenner went over and hugged him.

‘Boys,’ Simms said, looking straight at Will and Shaun, ‘so pleased to welcome you to Brisbane.’