9
Sam Rose and the two Papunya officers, Sparrow and Smart stood together in the tiny office of the Papunya Police Station. They studied a large wall-map displaying the vast region from Yuendumu, north of Papunya, to King’s Canyon, south of Haasts Bluff. Sparsely dotted with occasional geographical land features such as dry creek beds, a canyon or two, several large, mostly dry salt lakes, and a number of cattle stations battling to survive in the hot, arid climate, it was an immense area of inhospitable, unwelcoming land.
Russell Foley entered the office and joined the others.
“Any news?” Sam asked.
“John Singh and a couple of his Forensic team attended the scene of the bus fire with three of our Major Crime chaps. The bus was empty, nothing left but a burnt-out hulk with the charred
