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matter. We’ll round her up eventually. And all the others.’ He pushed open the door of the bar and went in.
    â€˜I suppose you think he’s mostly harmless, too,’ she said as the door slammed shut.
    â€˜Janey? Yeah, sweet guy.’
    She had let her half-smile go. Her face had turned to stone, cold hard stone. Her Cheshire-cat mouth was just a crack in the granite.
    â€˜Has he scared you off?’ she asked.
    â€˜From what?’
    â€˜From helping me.’
    â€˜Did I say I was helping you?’
    â€˜No. But I think you will.’
    I checked on the moon. It was still there. Had even moved up in the world. I thought about Janeway, and the kinds of men who would be out hunting tonight. I thought about what might happen if they found two women on their own in the middle of nowhere.
    â€˜You can’t bring her here,’ I said. ‘And there’s police a couple of clicks down the road.’
    â€˜But you’ll help?’
    â€˜If you’ll stop badgering me.’
    She flared again. ‘I’m not badgering! But if we don’t get moving soon she’s going to be caught. If you’re going to help you need to do it soon.’
    I was suddenly sick of her bossiness. ‘And you need to shut up.’
    She made as if she was going to speak again but then brought her lips back together. I spent a minute thinking while she watched me impatiently. ‘Sneak her past Spuds and cross over the Woomera Road,’ I said. ‘Can you do that?’
    â€˜Yes, I can do that.’
    â€˜There’s a railway maintenance road that runs parallel to the highway. Walk south – do you know which way is south?’
    â€˜Yes, of course I know which way is south.’
    â€˜Keep walking. You’ll bypass the police roadblock on the highway. Make sure they don’t see you. There’s a gravel borrow pit about four clicks down the road. Find a rock and sit on it until I get there. Or under it, for all I care.’
    She took a mouthful of her beer, finishing it. ‘Anything we should be careful about?’
    â€˜Yeah, be careful crossing the road and don’t talk to strangers.’
    â€˜What about snakes?’
    â€˜Don’t talk to any snakes either. I’ll give you an hour to get there – that should be long enough. Do you have a torch?’
    â€˜Yes.’ She stood up. She looked very thin in the moonlight, almost delicate. Yet she talked like a rugby forward.
    â€˜You can leave your bag.’
    â€˜No, I’ll keep it. See you in an hour.’
    â€˜Sure.’
    She walked off and faded into the darkness. I drained my beer and thought about going inside for another. But I no longer felt like talking to anyone, so I just sat there some more.

4
    A ROAD TRAIN WITH TWO TRAILERS turned into the car park, its brakes and suspension hissing and wheezing. Its headlights dimmed but the motor and sidelights stayed on. I couldn’t tell what cargo it was carrying, but I recognised the prime mover. It gleamed like a skull in the moonlight and it had extravagant flames painted on the side. A large figure climbed down from the cab, whistling to itself and pulling on a jacket. I didn’t recognise the tune; it wasn’t much of one.
    â€˜Having a drink with all your friends, eh, Westie?’ he called, walking towards me.
    â€˜Just my best friend.’
    â€˜Aw, get your hand off it then.’ He guffawed as he climbed the step into the beer garden. Then he stood and looked at me with his hands on his hips and his legs splayed to support his medium-size beer gut. Under his jacket he wore a blue singlet and below that he sported short shorts, short beige socks and elastic-sided boots. His head was completely shaved except for a ludicrously extravagant goatee on his chin.
    â€˜G’day, Col,’ I said. ‘Having a good run?’
    â€˜Yeah, not bad. The hint of a tail wind and just me, the sunset and Luciano