large handwritten tables and charts and spread them out. One was a timeline, tracing Luce’s movements on the island according to witness statements, and another was a chart showing the names and connections of all of the people referred to in the police report. A third was a large map of the island locating all the places mentioned. I was impressed. She’d obviously approached it in a methodical, scientific manner, making my casual observations look pretty thin. I put it down to a lack of mental challenge at the Walter Murchison Memorial Nursing Home.
‘They arrived on the first of September,’ she said, pointing to the timeline, ‘moving into the same cottage belonging to the Kelso family that Marcus had rented in previous years. During the first two weeks they worked on the accessible small islands off the north end of Lord Howe. Then, when Damien arrived to make up two climbing pairs, they tackled the more difficult cliffs at the south end, below Mount Gower. Each day Marcus would go out with them in Bob Kelso’s boat, and return for them in the evening. They all kept work diaries, which Marcus would compile, day by day, into the research log. The weather was generally good, although there were a number of stormy days, especially towards the end, when they couldn’t go out.
‘On Wednesday the twenty-seventh, the ocean-going yachts on the Sydney to Lord Howe race arrived at the island, and on the following evening the Kelsos, who are an important family on the island, threw a party for the yachties, to which Marcus and his team were invited. On the Friday they returned to Mount Gower for what was originally scheduled to be their last day in the field. However, a bad storm blew in on the Saturday, disrupting flights to the island, and because of time lost earlier Marcus decided that they would stay on for a fewmore days to finish their work. The weather cleared on the Sunday, and on the Monday they lost Luce. The search and police interviews went on for another week.’
I had been following her finger as she traced this chain of events across the page. Seeing it laid out graphically like that made it easier to get a feel for the pattern. It struck me that there was a sort of congestion towards the end—the arrival of the yachts, the party, the bad weather, the delayed departure—disrupting the even repetition of the previous weeks.
When I mentioned this, Anna nodded and said, ‘Something else odd about those last few days …’ She pointed to the names written against each day, referring to witness sightings of Luce. ‘After that party on the Thursday night, the only people who mentioned seeing Luce again were the three other climbers, plus Marcus and Bob Kelso, whereas in the days before Thursday, lots of people saw her around—Sophie Kalajzich, Dr Passlow and his wife, the other Kelsos, the National Parks and Wildlife ranger, the people who ran the grocery store …’
‘What do you make of that?’
‘It’s like Luce withdrew, kept herself to herself, don’t you think? As if she wanted to be alone.’
I thought about it, then I said, ‘I just can’t get over the fact that she should never have been there at all on that Monday. They should all have been back in Sydney by then.’
‘Yes,’ Anna said.
‘And they should never have tackled that cliff without Damien. I mean, it’s just so bloody stupid. It shouldn’t have happened.’
‘So what are we going to do about it?’
‘I wonder if Mary isn’t right, Anna, about how we should be thinking more about the impact on Suzi and the other familiesif we go on with this. I mean, supposing we did discover something nasty?’
She frowned at me. ‘How do you mean?’
‘Did Luce ever tell you about something that happened that first time I went climbing with you all at the Watagans? Something about Curtis and Owen?’
She looked blank and shook her head, so I told her. A couple of days after that weekend, Owen had come to see me. He was in
‘They arrived on the first of September,’ she said, pointing to the timeline, ‘moving into the same cottage belonging to the Kelso family that Marcus had rented in previous years. During the first two weeks they worked on the accessible small islands off the north end of Lord Howe. Then, when Damien arrived to make up two climbing pairs, they tackled the more difficult cliffs at the south end, below Mount Gower. Each day Marcus would go out with them in Bob Kelso’s boat, and return for them in the evening. They all kept work diaries, which Marcus would compile, day by day, into the research log. The weather was generally good, although there were a number of stormy days, especially towards the end, when they couldn’t go out.
‘On Wednesday the twenty-seventh, the ocean-going yachts on the Sydney to Lord Howe race arrived at the island, and on the following evening the Kelsos, who are an important family on the island, threw a party for the yachties, to which Marcus and his team were invited. On the Friday they returned to Mount Gower for what was originally scheduled to be their last day in the field. However, a bad storm blew in on the Saturday, disrupting flights to the island, and because of time lost earlier Marcus decided that they would stay on for a fewmore days to finish their work. The weather cleared on the Sunday, and on the Monday they lost Luce. The search and police interviews went on for another week.’
I had been following her finger as she traced this chain of events across the page. Seeing it laid out graphically like that made it easier to get a feel for the pattern. It struck me that there was a sort of congestion towards the end—the arrival of the yachts, the party, the bad weather, the delayed departure—disrupting the even repetition of the previous weeks.
When I mentioned this, Anna nodded and said, ‘Something else odd about those last few days …’ She pointed to the names written against each day, referring to witness sightings of Luce. ‘After that party on the Thursday night, the only people who mentioned seeing Luce again were the three other climbers, plus Marcus and Bob Kelso, whereas in the days before Thursday, lots of people saw her around—Sophie Kalajzich, Dr Passlow and his wife, the other Kelsos, the National Parks and Wildlife ranger, the people who ran the grocery store …’
‘What do you make of that?’
‘It’s like Luce withdrew, kept herself to herself, don’t you think? As if she wanted to be alone.’
I thought about it, then I said, ‘I just can’t get over the fact that she should never have been there at all on that Monday. They should all have been back in Sydney by then.’
‘Yes,’ Anna said.
‘And they should never have tackled that cliff without Damien. I mean, it’s just so bloody stupid. It shouldn’t have happened.’
‘So what are we going to do about it?’
‘I wonder if Mary isn’t right, Anna, about how we should be thinking more about the impact on Suzi and the other familiesif we go on with this. I mean, supposing we did discover something nasty?’
She frowned at me. ‘How do you mean?’
‘Did Luce ever tell you about something that happened that first time I went climbing with you all at the Watagans? Something about Curtis and Owen?’
She looked blank and shook her head, so I told her. A couple of days after that weekend, Owen had come to see me. He was in
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