Lillian stood inside the Department of Agriculture and Stock building and stared at the row of sheet-covered bodies. The constable spoke to one of the staff who walked briskly up the line and pointed to one.
She didn’t want to pull back the sheet and yet she did, too. Perhaps the constable was mistaken? The corpse beneath wouldn’t belong to her sister and she could return to the Hamiltons to resume her wait. Taking a deep breath, Lilian nodded and the worker pulled the sheet back. It took her a moment to be sure. The water had done appalling things to her sister. It had pulled at her black hair and torn out chunks of it, swollen her face and dragged the wretched clothes from her body. Lillian’s eyes travelled down the pale, scratched hands and there she stopped. Patricia’s wedding ring hu
