Constable Ben Stone, got out of the police car as Chastity Stoller made her way through the pub door. He gave her a nod. "Hi, Chas."

"Hey, Ben. How are you?"

"Yeah good. Your uncle in?"

"When is he never in?" Chastity laughed. "We've just finished doing the floors and toilets for opening. It's a shit job but it pays." She turned to walk away but stopped and faced him. "Have you found Fin yet?"

"No, not yet. Have you heard anything going around town?"

"Uh... uh." Chas shook her head. "I hope she's alright though," she said as she put her finger to the corner of her mouth, fiddled with her lip, and ran her gaze from Ben's face to his feet and up again.

"Me too." Ben grinned and cocked his eyebrows, what was that look all about? "I better get on. Need to talk to your uncle."

"Sure, Ben. See you." Chastity flounced around and headed for her car.

Ben watched her go. He wouldn't mind a piece of that, he thought, as he headed inside to talk to Snake.

Findlay was working on the pump near the dam when the police four-wheel drive drove across the muddy paddock. He'd been going to put the car back together and go into town later to find out if they had any news of Fin. For them to come to him meant they had. His heart raced thinking the worst. He washed his hands in the water and waited for the vehicle to pull up.

"Findlay." Sergeant Hadley stepped forward and shook his hand. "Looks like you're hard at it. Good to see."

Findlay yanked his chin in acknowledgement.

Hadley waited for Ben Stone to come around to their side of the car and then said, "It's about Fin."

Clutching the spanner to his chest, Findlay took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, it's not good news," Hadley said.

The spanner dropped out of Findlay's hands and landed with a thump at his feet. He gasped in a breath.

"Shit." Hadley saw the colour drain from the man's face and panic spread across his features. He grabbed Findlay's arm. "It's not bad either. Just disappointing because we haven't made much headway."

The ghost tone disappeared from Findlay's skin; he sighed in relief.

Hadley said, "We've spoken to Snake, Sagus and the Gallos. Compton also did some work for Shane Peterson. We've talked to them and have put the word around town. Turns out Compton rents old Mac's place. We're trying to find the new owner to get information on Compton. According to Snake and the Petersons, Compton said he pays direct deposit to a real estate in Cairns."

Hadley paused and scratched his head. "Since we don't know much about him yet it's taking us some time to trace."

"We're waiting to hear from the rest of the real estate agencies in Cairns who deal with rentals in Cooktown," Ben added. "Those who have replied haven't heard of Compton or the property. Greentree Real Estate, here in town, sold the place to a businessman who lives and works in Japan."

Ben looked at his notes and said, "A Solicitor in Brisbane dealt with all the legal paperwork. We'll find out more when they get back to us and have a contact. The phone number Greentree has is a mobile which is now disconnected." He took a breath and lifted his shoulders. "Probably because he lives in Japan."

We can't seem to track this, Cody Compton." Roy Hadley shrugged and said, "That's all we've got for you, Findlay. It appears he did beat the Gallos. They're crying innocent but we all know what they're about. Karl, Snake and Shane Peterson have dealt with Compton and say he didn't appear to be of bad character. They say he showed concern for Fin. So that's a good thing. If he's got her, we hope he's treating her right."

"What you're saying is he's suspicious?" Findlay looked from one officer to the other. "If you can't track him then the chances are he's using a false name. Right?"

"Not necessarily, Findlay," Ben said. "He just might not be in the system. Some people have never put their names on an electoral roll or paid tax. Maybe he's changed his name, so he pays taxes and votes under one name and has a different name on bank accounts. There are lots of ways a person can wrangle the system and get lost in it. Chances are they've done it illegally of course, or just not notified anyone of the changes. It catches up with them in the end."

Hadley patted Findlay on the back. "Look. Try not to worry too much. We can't get out to question this Compton. The Annan has flooded the crossings on Mount Amos Road. There's a low in the gulf so more rain on the way. If it turns into a cyclone, well... You've lived here all your life, Findlay. You know what that means. We'll make our way out there as soon as we're able. I promise. Okay?"

Findlay is still trying hard to get his life together. I hope he sticks with it.