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Graysen slowly lifted his head and looked over the rock. About a hundred metres along the gorge to the north-west, a small light bobbed along, moving at a pace that indicated somebody was walking in the gorge.

‘It can’t be them. They wouldn’t be looking down here in a gully unless they’re looking for Andrew’s body.’

It wasn’t far from the place where Andrew would have gone over the edge of the track, Graysen thought to himself as the first ripple of fear ran through him.

He tensed as Andrew let out a loud yell. ‘No!’

Graysen pulled Sandra back down behind the rock. ‘Quickly, move along to the next big rock and get behind it Take your pack. If they come down here and find Andrew, they won’t know we’re there.’

Sandra dropped to a crawl and reached for her pack, but as she stood, her hands were shaking and she dropped it. The metal of her water bottle clanged against the rock.

Graysen and Sandra froze and waited. Andrew was quiet again. Maybe if he didn’t yell out again whoever it was wouldn’t come over here. From a distance the rock they were behind looked like part of the base of the cliff. Time crawled and all was quiet and still. Then footsteps crackled on the dry undergrowth and there were voices.

There was more than one person.

‘Keep perfectly still,’ he whispered quietly.

Andrew let out another loud groan and Sandra slid to the ground.

‘I can’t do this,’ she said as he reached for her hands.

Chapter 24

Night flight

Ellie clung to Kane as he bent to pick up his overnight bag. ‘You be careful, Kane. Check that bird before you fly and you bring our mum home.’

‘Don’t worry, sweetie. With any luck, we’ll be home tomorrow. With the information Greg’s messaged to Connor, we know what we’re looking for, and exactly where to look.’

‘Yes, we do.’ Connor had been in and out of the study taking messages from Greg for the past hour.

‘How will Greg stay in touch with you once you leave your computer?’ Ellie asked as she let go of Kane.

‘I’ve got a satellite phone. It’s on the Iridium network, so, as long as we can get a couple of high points there and maybe even in the helicopter, we’ll be able to stay in touch. He’s not going to be able to send me detailed maps or information, but I’ve told him where we are and he’ll keep an eye on the Interpol and Federal police chat, so I’ll know what’s happening at that end of things.’

Connor turned to Dru and hugged his wife as Ellie held her hand out to James. ‘Come and give Daddy a hug. He’s going on a little trip.’

‘Bring me a present, Daddy?’

‘Our son is getting way too materialistic, Kane,’ Ellie said.

‘I’m going to bring you and Mummy a very special present back,’ Kane said as he lifted James high. ‘Now promise me you’ll be a good boy and do as Mummy and Aunty Dru tell you.’

‘I promise.’

Dru’s voice was low as Connor held her close, but she made Ellie smile. Connor and Dru were not a demonstrative couple in public; Dru had even baulked at a kiss at their wedding ceremony. Now her hands were on either side of Connor’s face and Ellie turned away to give them a private moment.

‘You be careful too. Don’t go in all macho. Just because you’ve been in the field before, don’t think you can go in boots and all. Just get Mum, get out of there, and bring her home.’

‘That goes without saying, love,’ Connor replied after Dru lifted her face away from his. ‘Hopefully we’ll have her back here tomorrow night. I’ll stay in touch with you every couple of hours. If Greg needs to send me anything, I’ll get him to send it to the computer and you can have a look and read it out and tell me if it’s maps or anything like that or photos of who we’re looking for.’

‘Would it be easier if I took my laptop?’ Kane asked. ‘Ellie has it.’

‘Thanks, but no, my PC has got encrypted software and a special internet connection to keep us hidden from whoever might go looking.’

‘Fair enough,’ Kane said.

‘As Greg says, we’re going to have to keep a very low profile, because we don’t want anyone to know why we’re out there. No one can know that we are looking for them; as far as anyone’s concerned, we’re in the Jabiru Yellow Water helicopter. I’m taking two guests on a private charter down to Alice Springs Airport first and then we’ll map a flight path for first thing in the morning.’