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‘I hope she’s all right.’

‘So do I.’ Graysen unscrewed the lens and replaced it with the one Sandra had held for him. His brown eyes held hers calmly, but he shook his head. ‘As much as I hate to say it, if the worst comes to the worst, and she’s fallen, I have photos of him holding her over the edge.’

‘Maybe she was mucking around and he was trying to hold her back?’

‘I don’t know. He looked pretty angry, and he seemed to be shaking her, but you’re right, I shouldn’t make assumptions. At this distance it’s too hard to see.’

Graysen repacked his bag and turned back to Sandra. ‘Are you up to a faster pace?’

‘I am. We’d better get there and check she’s okay.’

By the time they reached the fork in the trail where Andrew had the fire going and the billy hanging above it from a tripod, Sandra’s calf muscles were burning and her breath was ragged. From the fork there was no clear view to the outcrop where Graysen had witnessed the altercation, if it had been one.

Sandra slipped her pack off and sank to the ground as Graysen hurried over to Andrew. She focused on getting her breath back while they had an intense conversation.

After a moment Andrew ran across to her. ‘Sandy, you look knackered. I’d prefer you didn’t come with us, in case there has been an “accident”. Are you happy to wait here for Clive and Jenny and keep an eye on the fire? There’s no wind in this gorge, but if one does come up, there’s a bucket of sand beside the fire pit to douse the flames.’

She nodded, still unable to speak, her chest was hurting each time she dragged a breath in.

‘Wait until you get your breath back and then sip your water slowly.’

She nodded again and watched as Andrew pulled the satellite phone out of his pack and then he and Graysen disappeared down the track. Even though Cecily was a difficult person, she couldn’t imagine her husband hurting her. Then again, she’d never imagined anyone hurting Peter either. From tragic personal experience, Sandra knew some people were inherently evil.

Finally able to breathe, she uncapped her water bottle and sipped it slowly as Andrew had advised.

It didn’t take long before she began to feel better, and Sandra walked over to the fire and waited for the others to catch up to them.

***

Graysen and Andrew reached the top of the outcrop together.

‘Here, I’m pretty sure this is where they were.’ Graysen had taken note of the shape of the knoll where he’d seen them.

Andrew looked at the ground and frowned. ‘There’s a lot of scuff marks in the red dust. And solid footprints.’ He walked to the edge and peered over as Graysen took out his camera.

‘I’ll take some shots. Just in case.’

‘Bloody hell,’ Andrew said. ‘I’ve never had anything like this before on my tours. I’ve been working for Larapinta Luxury for four years. I’ve had a few drunk young blokes, but they were harmless and slept it off after a verbal altercation. And I had a couple from Europe who decided they were going to get divorced halfway along—not far from here actually— and she refused to stay on the trail. He wanted her out too, so he paid for a helicopter to pick her up, and he kept walking. And not long ago, everyone lost their wallets and phones, but we never found out who took them. The company reimbursed the customers if they signed a non-disclosure agreement. They didn’t want it all over social media. Jodie and I, and the other guides, keep a pretty good watch now. One bad experience, and you learn not to trust.’

‘Takes all kinds, Andrew. I learned that a long time ago,’ Graysen said. He walked to the edge of the precipice. ‘Any sign of anyone down there?’

‘No, thank God. But there is an overhang halfway down that would block our view if there was. Come on, we’ll go down to the pool. Shit, Graysen, if something has happened this will be the end of my contract.’

‘They can’t blame you.’

‘They can and they will.’ Andrew nodded. ‘Duty of care.’

As they scrambled down the steep track to the pool at Bond Gap, voices floated up on the air and they looked at each other. Just as they reached the bottom a high-pitched scream greeted them. Andrew met Graysen’s eyes and took off, with Graysen not far behind. As they ran along the last small section, the scree slipped beneath Graysen’s hiking boots and his cameras bounced on his chest. He reached up and held them steady as he and Andrew ran to the end of the track where it reached the waterhole.

‘No, Paul, no!’ Cecily’s scream echoed around the gully.

What the hell was he doing?

The last fifty metres of the track down to the swimming hole were steep, but gave a view of the sheer red rock walls that dropped into the deep pool. The easiest way to enter the water was from a narrow rocky beach at the far end. Paul was chasing Cecily across the beach.

‘No,’ she screamed again.

Graysen slithered down the last bit of the slope close behind Andrew as another scream rent the air.