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‘Yes, please. I want to be able to work out what all those buttons are for.’

‘Good idea, Stone.’ Finn nodded. ‘Constable—grab the DNA records from Lenora. Find out their ID process. Then help Romy get detailed shots of the control room. You’ll know what to look for.’

‘Yes, sir.’ Amara nodded at Romy, full of encouragement.

‘Gloves on.’ Finn held out some gloves.

‘I have my own, thank you.’ Bastion slid on his leather gloves.

It was enough for Finn to narrow those dark eyes at the tech.

‘What? The roof gets so hot it’ll seriously melt those plastic gloves of yours.’

‘Good point.’ Finn dragged out his gloves, while Stone was stuck with the plastic ones.

Bastion led them up the ladder, Finn followed closely with Stone at the rear. The plan was they’d visit here for answers and search for clues, so said Finn.

Next, they’d hit the other two crocodile farms. The Duchess would handle fingerprints, Romy would film, and Finn would run interrogations.

All while, Stone babysat the juveniles, using the police van’s cage as a holding pen, with his helicopter’s transport crates to contain the babies for the short trip to Dustfire.

By then, Craig would’ve worked through Stone’s shopping list, getting the quarantine station prepped for their new guests and the identification process.

But first, they had to find answers to the questions raised in this morning’s meeting about Saltscale.

The ladder was warm under Stone’s plastic-gloved grip. Overhead the lanky Bastion pushed open a simple square manhole, where it folded over to land on the roof with a thud.

From his view, high on the ladder, they were right above the tech office’s control tower, giving them a grander view of the hatchery’s floor plan.

While hanging off the ladder, Stone took a stack of photos with his phone, remembering a trick Romy taught him about using the video for that panoramic view. Oh yeah, he’d be a pro in no time.

‘Don’t let the constable see you doing that. Or you’ll cop the lecture on this thing called health and safety.’ Above, Finn gave a rare smile.

‘I’m used to hanging off a sling from a helicopter, Bossman. This ladder climb is a walk in the crocodile grass.’ Stone continued to the roof, where the harsh sunlight was blinding enough to have him dragging his sunglasses off his hat brim.

Finn slid on his own sunglasses to scrutinise the area. ‘Bastion. Do you open those other hatches?’

‘I do.’

‘Show me.’

‘Seriously…’ Bastion muttered to himself as his lanky, bird-like stride carried him across the roof, and never made a sound.

With his thick gloves, and lab coat flapping, he lifted another heavy hatch.

‘This is why I wear gloves. I’ve burnt my hands opening these, not to mention the scratches from the lousy finish on these hatches.

Seriously, rough as guts those pen-keepers are. ’

‘You don’t lock the hatches?’ Finn ran his thumb over the edges, inspecting the simple hatch panels that were cut out of the roof.

‘No.’

‘Why do you have them?’

‘Isn’t it obvious.’ Bastion waved at the vent where the heat rose in shimmering waves, like standing in front of an oven door.

‘I need you to explain it to me.’

‘Fine…’ Bastion huffed, dabbing at the sweat breaking out across his brow.

‘We do it to let the humidity out. We used to have those metal whirlybirds, but they weren’t effective enough to pop the cork on the heat, especially in the build-up season.

So, Lenora had one of the pen-keepers put these in. ’

‘When? Because these hatches weren’t on the architectural plans.’

‘About six months ago, I guess. Even if they look rough, they work a treat. You see, in the middle of the day, the humidity gets way too high for the little ones, so I pop these open and in five minutes you can feel the change. Although, I have asked for a leather handle to make it easier and not need these clunky gloves.’ Bastion pressed his gloved hands together like he was praying.

‘Do you close them?’

‘Absolutely.’ Bastion clutched his throat as if appalled by the question.

‘If I left even one of these hatches open overnight, the poor things would freeze. Not to mention the risk of a bird flying inside and contaminating the place with its bird poop. That’s why I set an alarm on my phone to make sure I never forget, see.

’ Bastion held up his mobile phone. ‘Plus, the sensors would trigger an alarm if they’re open too long, because it would interfere with the atmosphere inside the hatchery. It’s seriously that sensitive.’

‘So the thieves could have opened one of these hatches and you wouldn’t know about it, as long as they closed it again?’

‘They don’t have an alarm on them. But if they’d kept one open, the temperature sensors will trigger an alarm that’d alert everyone.’

‘I see…’ Finn took another long look of the roof. Walking to the edge he crouched down to the gutter’s drainpipe.

Stone stood alongside. ‘Do you want me drag out the fingerprint kit, or something, Bossman?’

‘Yeah. Not that I’m confident of getting anything off that drainpipe—48 hours in the open with dust, heat, and wind would’ve wiped any prints clean… Still, Bastion wears gloves, so maybe the other staff do the same. Just be sure to do the hatches, too. It’ll be a good practise for you.’

Well, hell, didn’t that all make sense. It was also another reminder that Stone had a lot to learn about this job, and loved every minute of it.

Thanks mostly to Finn, who not only took the time to explain things in the briefest possible way, but he never belittled anyone in their team for not knowing.

Finn was acutely aware of the unique skills each member had, and knew how to use them to his advantage, while also helping them expand on their skill sets.

It showed a rare level of dexterity in a man of so few words.

As a team leader, it was a trait Stone truly respected.

‘Anything else?’ Bastion waited near the open hatch to the ladder ‘I’m getting sunburnt up here. And it’s too early to leave these hatches open for long.’

‘Sure, lead the way.’ Stone watched Bastion close the second hatch with his thick gloves. He may have been clumsy at it, but he was quiet, too, before returning to the first hatch and climbing down the ladder and into the cool air-conditioned office.

‘You don’t stay up there long?’ Stone asked.

‘Not if I can help it.’ Bastion tugged free a tissue from the box, then dabbed at the sweat glistening across his brow. ‘I can handle the humidity in this place, but not the sun. I just burn, never tan.’ Which explained his pasty-pale complexion.

Finn closed the roof hatch with a thud, his boots clambering down the ladder before closing the door to the control room quietly.

‘Seriously, you could have climbed down that ladder a bit more quietly. We have babies sleeping.’ Bastion flopped into his seat and slurped on his chunky water bottle.

‘Will you look at that. We let out too much air. Seriously, it’ll take me an hour to get those sensors right again.

’ Bastion huffed, as he flicked switches and shifted dials.

‘I have confidence that you’ll do it in no time.’ Lenora patted Bastion’s shoulder, then faced Finn. ‘Anything else we can help you with?’

‘Once Stone finishes taking prints of the roof, I want to talk to your head of security and the pen-keeper who made those hatches. They can meet us at that relay box along the firebreak.’

Amara handed the fingerprint kit to Stone, and a big bottle of water. ‘If you need any help, just ask.’

Even if he teased her like a little sister, moments like these Stone had big respect for Amara.

‘What relay box?’ Lenora asked.

‘It’s on the firebreak, tell them to drive round and find us.’ Finn then whispered to Amara, ‘Constable, be sure to do a background check on all staff.’

‘How far back, sir?’

Finn looked up at the hatches. ‘Six months.’

Maybe this was an inside job after all.