(ENGINE RUMBLES)
(ENGINE DIES)
(CATTLE LOW)
(IGNITION SWITCH CLICKS, KEYS RATTLE)
MAN: Reckon he's been gone at least three days.
Marley Thompson.
Works on the, uh, property.
They sent him out to do the bore run Saturday morning.
Check the tanks and the water pumps...
Yeah, I know what a bore runner does.
Right.
No-one even noticed he was missing until he didn't turn up
for his mum's birthday dinner in town on Saturday night.
You found the ute? Nah, a couple of station hands.
Backpackers.
Did they open the doors?
Said it was just like that.
I had a bit of a look around.
(VEHICLE APPROACHES)
But the boss told me not to touch anything, so...
I turned the engine over, checked the fuel.
It's empty.
So he walked for help? Oh, no. He wouldn't have done that.
No, he's a local kid. Aboriginal boy.
He knows to stay with the vehicle.
Besides, there's a two-way radio in there, so you'd just use that.
You're that bloke from down south, aren't you?
The one who did away with those bikies a while ago.
Senior Sergeant Emma James. Hey, boss.
This is the detective they sent us. Jay Swan.
EMMA: Detective.
I was waiting for you at the station.
I left a message. I said I was coming straight here.
I didn't want to waste any time.
You wasted mine.
Hey, boss, um...
..given him the long and short of everything so he's up to speed.
Thank you, Senior Constable Muller. We'll meet you back at Tony's.
Tony? Tony Ballantyne.
He owns this cattle station.
We based the search out of here.
(CAR DOOR CLOSES)
(ENGINE STARTS)
(CAR DRIVES AWAY)
And you don't think he walked?
If he did, why not walk back to the nearest trough?
There's a webcam on every pump. Could've signalled he needed help.
No sign of a fight.
Doesn't mean he wasn't taken.
I mean, look. There's tracks everywhere.
Anything could've happened out here. We wouldn't know.
Kid just walked, right? I don't believe that.
We've had every vehicle on this property searching for two days.
Nothing.
I called in a detective
'cause I think something has gone badly wrong here.
I don't think he just walked.
Hi. Hey.
This is Tony Ballantyne. Detective Jay Swan.
Detective.
So, this is the search area
we've covered from the air and the ground.
20-kay radius from the ute.
That's the furthest Marley could've walked in the time.
How big is this station?
Quarter-million acres.
The two backpackers that found the ute -
a bloke called Eric, a girl called Genevieve -
are on their way right now.
So, they found the ute on Sunday? Yeah.
24 hours after you sent Marley out.
It's a big operation, you know.
I can't know where everyone is every minute of the day.
Slow on that! Slow!
(ENGINE IDLES)
I'm Detective Swan.
I want to ask you a few questions about the abandoned ute.
(DUTCH ACCENT) We just found it there.
We don't know anything else.
Was there anything odd about the vehicle?
Yeah, everything was odd, eh?
The doors open like that.
Both doors.
Did you touch anything? No. Nothing.
Because he wasn't there, so we drove around a bit.
No sign, so we left.
Have you seen this before?
GENEVIEVE: (SCOTTISH ACCENT) Yeah, you have.
It's Marley's. He wears it all the time.
One of the workers wanted to buy it off him.
He said he'd never sell it.
Why is that? What does it mean to him?
Never said.
WOMAN: (OVER RADIO) Linda to Tony. Good to go.
All sorted. Right.
Linda's got the footage up.
OK. We're going up to the house.
Right. So, take a look at this.
This is Marley arriving at the first pump.
See, he's supposed to be cleaning that pump out,
not just checking it's working.
All these kids want to do is party.
Bugger getting any work out of them -
Brits being the worst.
This is the next trough.
Here we go.
Oh, yeah. More good work.
Who's he talking to? Can you go back, please?
And just pause.
Someone's with him.
There's no-one else missing.
Would you know?
Generally.
Yep.
Go to the next one, Linda. Mm-hm.
So who the hell is that?
Bloody Reese Dale. I thought he'd cleared out.
I sacked him last Thursday. What for?
That sort of stuff. Look. Mucking around, not working.
Who is he? Oh, he's an Aussie kid.
Dubbo, I think. He's Marley's roommate.
I'll need his employment details and a copy of all these videos.
Mm-hm. There'll be hours of it.
Where's their room?
Hmm.
Teenage boys.
Hard to tell if it's a crime scene or just a poor attitude to washing.
You got kids?
Nuh.
(MAN PANTS)
Marley!
I got Reese's details. Oh, thanks.
(ALL SPEAK INDISTINCTLY)
Hey, you had a chance to think about that other thing?
Not now.
It's a pretty good offer, Em. Yeah, that's not the problem.
Genevieve.
You know when you found the ute,
why didn't one of you just drive it back?
Because it was out of fuel.
Well, if you didn't touch anything, how do you know that?
No... I wasn't talking to you.
Genevieve? The keys.
It was still turned on.
Thank you.
What?
So, your senior constable told me that when he found the ute,
the ignition was turned of.
Yep.
But Genevieve just told me that when she found the ute...
..the ignition was turned on.
So the boys left the ute
with the engine running and the aircon on.
Which they've either done on purpose,
or they were taken, fast -
too fast to turn anything off.
So, you've wasted two days on a search
because your offsider wouldn't keep his fingers out of the crime scene.
Muller! Boss?
Did you turn the ignition off in the ute?
Uh, told you that, didn't I?
No.
My mistake.
Pack up the search.
You and me will talk about this later.
MAN: Watch your step, mate. MAN 2: Oh, yeah.
MAN: Senior Sergeant. Who is it?
It's good old Spud Jackson.
His wife said he didn't make it home from the pub.
Mm. Well, he won't be coming home now.
Shame. (SIGHS)
OK, I'm heading back to the station.
Thanks.
So, how's it going with the new boyfriend?
(CHUCKLES) Man of few words.
Right.
Hi, Kerry.
How you doing?
OK? Mm-hm.
No, it's just there's a detective who's come from...
(CONTINUES INAUDIBLY)
Detective?
This is Detective Jay Swan.
This is Kerry Thompson.
Hey, Kerry.
Beautiful chillies. Thank you.
Why have you called off the search?
What?
Have you?
That's Marley's.
This is Detective Jay Swan.
Keith Groves, chair of the local Aboriginal Corporation.
If there's anything you want, give me a call.
So, what's going on, Emma?
It's looking like Marley left the vehicle
with the engine still running.
What does that mean?
Kerry, he wasn't alone.
There was another boy with him - a backpacker, Reese Dale.
Do you know him?
No. I don't think so.
MAN: Yeah, he's that shithead white kid.
Sorry, Mum.
Marley's been hanging out with him.
He should be playing footy.
What's he doing out at that station?
I just want to know where he is.
Don't...
..touch me.
You don't care about our family. You never have.
He's good?
Top 10 draft pick.
So, why do you think he's working at that station?
No idea.
What do your parents think?
Uncle Keith? No, he's not our dad.
He's always been around ever since...
Since what?
Well, since Dad pissed off.
And our real uncle, well, he's in jail.
Been gone 10 years now.
What did he do?
Don't know.
So, where do you think your brother is, Cedric?
I don't know.
You see, when someone in a family goes missing,
usually someone in that family knows stuff everyone else doesn't.
They have a fair idea what happened.
I don't know.
So, when was the last time you saw him?
He was here... last week for dinner.
Are you going to help me find your brother, or what?
Friday night at the pub.
What?
What? I ran into him at the pub. No big deal.
What did you talk about? I don't remember.
Did you boys have a fight? Maybe a little one.
Ced... What?
I told him to get his shit together.
Be at your birthday.
Was he with Reese? He's always with Reese.
Wherever Marley is, it's Reese's fault.
What's her brother in jail for?
Persistent sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl.
When she threatened to tell, he bashed her and left her to die.
You locked him up?
How much longer has he got to go?
Gets out this week.
Nephew goes missing the week he's due home.
No, he's not coming home.
Prison transport is taking him into the city.
No-one wants him here. Not even his family.
10 years inside, not one of them ever saw him.
Are you sure about that?
I'll find out.
I'll show you the station. No, I'll see you later.
I'm going to talk to Marley's mates.
Oh, well, do you want me to...? No, I'll be right.
Is there a reward yet?
Sure, Vince. How much do you think they're worth?
(HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYS IN DISTANCE)
Are you Tipper?
Yeah.
Cedric said you're a mate of his brother.
You got any dogs? Nuh.
(DOGS BARK AND GROWL)
No dogs, huh?
They're not mine.
WOMAN: Get out of it! Piss off!
Get out of it, you mongrels!
You know Marley's missing?
Copper.
Have you seen Marley lately?
Nuh. (BABY CRIES)
He's too famous now.
(CHILDREN CHATTER)
How you going, boys?
BOY 1: Good. BOY 2: Good.
My name's Jay. I'm a policeman.
Oh. Where'd you get that car from?
I got that car from work.
Is that a real gun?
Yeah, it's a real gun.
Are you going to shoot us?
No, I'm not going to shoot you.
Can I ask you a couple of questions? BOTH: Yeah.
Yeah? Do you know who Marley is?
Yeah. The best football player.
He's the best football player, is he? BOTH: Yeah.
Does he have a girlfriend? BOTH: Yeah.
What's her name? Um, Jaz.
Her name is Jaz? Yeah.
Oh, yeah? Do you know where she hangs out?
How's Ava? Good.
She's in school now.
Oh! Time goes fast.
Listen, Shevorne, the backpackers out at Ballantyne Station,
do they come in here often?
Do you know a Reese Dale?
Aussie kid? Mm.
Know anything about him?
Not really. Why?
Looks like he's gone missing with Marley.
I heard Marley was alone.
So did we.
We also heard that Reese got fired on Thursday.
He shouldn't have been out there at all.
Well, I wouldn't know anything about that.
No.
Um, would you remember if Reese was in here Saturday night
drinking up his wages?
Hear any talk?
What about Friday?
Marley got into a fight with his brother, apparently.
I wasn't working Friday. I have Ava on Friday.
Ah.
Is there any reason you can think of
that Reese and Marley would go missing together?
No. OK. Thanks.
OK. See you later.
See ya. Bye.
You can't come behind the counter, mate.
I'm licensed. She's not underage.
I'm not after you.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Jaz, you Marley's girlfriend?
I better be.
You think Marley will like it?
What, Marley doesn't know?
Thought I'd surprise him. He'll be stoked.
When was the last time you saw Marley?
Two weeks ago. But we text all the time.
So, you didn't see him on Friday night
when he was down the pub?
He got into a fight with his brother, Cedric.
You didn't tell me Marley was at the pub.
I didn't know.
Hey.
If you hear from him, let me know.
I am his girlfriend, after all.
Yeah.
Get some chips. With sauce!
Hey, Lana.
Jaz is still in there. I want to talk to you.
Where do you think Marley is? I don't know.
Seems to be spending a lot of time with Reese.
You think Marley's gay?
No.
Does Jaz?
No, he can't be. They have sex all the time.
Not for some time, by the sound of it.
Come on, Lana. What's really going on?
She thinks there's another girl.
Here?
In the city?
Thanks.
Please take me off hold.
Lucky it's just two missing kids.
Not putting out an alert for a rampaging bloody serial killer.
(QUIETLY) Hey. Oi!
This new bloke - what do you reckon?
Well, he's not BLACK black, is he?
He's not like a real Aborigine.
Hold on, hold on. I'm not INDIAN Indian, right?
I don't even like curry.
Just saying, how did he get to detective so fast?
(SIGHS)
What, maybe he was fast-tracked
'cause he's darker than the rest of us.
Or smarter.
He's not smarter. Mm-hm?
Might be smarter than you. Oh, really?
I imagine so. Mm-hm.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Oh, can we help you, ma'am?
I'm looking for my dad.
Oh, yeah? Who's your dad?
Jay Swan. He's a detective.
Right. I'll leave you with Senior Constable Muller, then.
VOICEMAIL: You have two new voicemail...
(KNOCK AT DOOR)
VOICEMAIL: You have one saved...
She says she's your daughter.
But since you said you didn't have any kids...
I was going to come over anyway.
There's something I need to show you at the station.
Can you give me a minute?
Sure.
What are you doing here?
I went to crash at yours, but you'd gone.
How did you get here? Stole a car.
Just kidding. I hitched.
(SIGHS) Well, look, you can't stay here. I'm working.
Fine. I'll hitch back.
Just... Just wait. Sit down.
Does your mother know that you're here?
She won't care.
Well, look, I've got to go. Just call her, and I'll be back soon.
Well, I don't have any credit.
(SIGHS)
There's a service station on the corner.
Straight there and straight back, Crystal.
I don't want you going anywhere else, you hear?
Where else would I go? This town's shit.
No kids, huh?
I went through the webcam feeds
from all the troughs Marley and Reese worked on,
and I found this.
Where was this? The last trough they were at.
There. 10 kay from the ute.
Right.
Chris. Hey.
Find those boys yet? Not yet.
Tony thought they might have come in on Saturday.
I was off.
Luke would know.
OK. Thanks.
Hey, Luke.
Working late?
The boss drives me hard.
Bullshit!
Listen, Luke,
did those two boys from the station
come in here on Saturday?
They were supposed to replace a pump part.
Yep, came in right on opening. 7:00.
They buy anything else?
Steel fittings, pipes.
The sort of stuff to make repairs.
How did they seem?
Same as normal.
Fighting with each other? Arguing?
Nah. Nothing like that.
Well, you know Marley. He's always kidding around.
Mm.
They talk about anything?
Plans for the day? Anything other than work?
No.
OK, thanks.
You know, Reese used to work on a pearl farm up north.
Pearls, cattle.
Maybe he decided to move on to the next big thing.
Which pearl farm?
Don't think he ever said.
See you, Chris. Bye.
(DOG BARKS AND GROWLS)
(SIGHS)
(MUSIC PLAYS OVER HEADPHONES)
Excuse me, madam.
Excuse me!
Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you, but...
Can you please close the door?
Right.
(COUNTRY BLUES MUSIC PLAYS IN BACKGROUND)
Hey, Crystal, you play? Yeah, sure.
Great. Let's do it, yeah?
Crystal, drink? Uh, no.
Hello. Two rounds of beer...
Who's that one?
No idea.
I don't have any money. Hey...
I don't have any money. Don't worry.
It's on me. Proost.
(BOTH SPEAK INAUDIBLY)
I can't reach either of them.
I don't know.
(BOTH SPEAK INAUDIBLY)
(MUSIC CONTINUES IN DISTANCE)
Hey, bub?
No.
Hey, put out your hand.
(PHONE RINGS)
(POOL BALLS CLACK) Oh! Nice shot!
Alright. We're on.
(SONG ENDS)
(BALLS CLACK)
Your shot.
(SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS' 'I PUT A SPELL ON YOU' PLAYS)
♪ I put a spell on you
♪ Because you're mine
Ja! Crystal!
Hey!
Hey-hey! (SPEAKS DUTCH) (GENEVIEVE LAUGHS)
♪ Stop the things you do... ♪
OK, here we go.
Whoo!
(MUSIC CONTINUES IN DISTANCE)
Slut.
(LAUGHS)
Stay out of my way.
Ugh!
Agh! (PATRONS EXCLAIM)
Bitch!
(GLASS SHATTERS) (PATRONS LAUGH AND EXCLAIM)
(BOTH SHOUT INDISTINCTLY)
MAN: Hey! Hey, stop it! Get off me!
Break it up! Get off her! Fuck off! Let me go!
You fucking slut! (LAUGHS) What?!
Bitch!
JAY: Hey, she's with me.
That's my daughter. MAN: Who's this guy?
Yeah?
You can have her.
Knock it off.
Crystal!
I can't leave you alone for two seconds.
I didn't do anything.
I wasn't drinking. I can smell it on you.
OK, one. It's no big deal.
I've got a job to do,
and you're not even supposed to be here.
You don't want me anywhere.
It's your fault, anyway.
You didn't give me enough money, so Eric had to pay for my food.
Eric? Yeah.
The backpacker? I don't know where he's from.
Dad, just...
(SIGHS)
(ZIPPER UNZIPS)
I thought you'd stopped. I have.
Well, it doesn't look like it.
♪ Hunger, won't you let me sleep
♪ The pride is not enough to eat
♪ Weather told me get inside
♪ All my fears know where I hide
♪ Morning never let me sleep
♪ I don't want your summer breeze
♪ A concrete pillow, rocky floor
♪ Another casualty of war
♪ Vagrant, sinner, peasant
♪ Wise man, servant, holy, violent
♪ He'll let you throw his stone-ment
♪ Helmet, shame him
♪ And unknown poets sang it
♪ And told it, a prophet story. ♪
EMMA: You're being charged under section 10 of the Crimes Act,
with possess and supply of class 1 prohibited substance,
namely crystal methamphetamine.
Do you understand that?
I didn't sell it.
Doesn't matter.
Charge is the same, whether you receive money or not.
I didn't do anything. She's lying.
He said, she said.
Come on, Emma. It's less than two grams.
This is a waste of time. It'll be thrown out in court.
For the record, Detective Jay Swan has entered the room.
This is trafficable quantity of crystal meth.
It was found in your room, Eric.
You can't conduct a search unless you've got...
Oh, I've got a warrant. It's all been done by the book.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
That's not mine.
This is totally out of order.
Did you authorise this?
If the detective got a search warrant,
it means a magistrate authorised it.
We'll be opposing bail, and as a foreign national,
your embassy will have to be... No, seriously.
That's not mine.
I found it, yesterday.
(CHUCKLES)
Where?
In Reese's room.
Reese and Marley, they're the dealers.
Well, I need to talk to my client.
And, uh, you take this all the way to court,
I'll want to question your witness.
Of course.
Who is she, anyway? The details will be in the brief.
She better be good on the stand.
She will be.
Who is that prick, anyway?
My ex-husband.
Speaking of pricks, that little stunt you pulled -
I hope you actually had a warrant.
Of course.
Didn't see it fit to give me the heads up?
Doesn't really matter, anyway. We ended up with the same result.
Really, yeah?
He gets to make up a story about Reese and Marley.
Well, maybe it's not a story.
Maybe that's the reason why they're missing.
I've called your mum. She's on her way to pick you up.
You stay here until she does.
There's two boys missing.
That's what you're here for - to find them?
One of them is Reese, right?
Yes.
But we don't know much about him.
Well, why don't you just ask his girlfriend?
Who?
Shevorne.
She works at the pub.
(HORSE RACING COMMENTARY OVER TV)
Reese has been gone for four days now, Shevorne.
Aren't you worried about him?
Is there anything you know?
You know Reese has been selling drugs?
No way. That's a lie.
I'm not interested in charging him, or you.
I just want to find him. Just want to make sure he's OK.
I don't know where Reese is, and I don't know why he's gone.
Ebony... WOMAN: Yeah?
..can you help me restock that fridge out the back, please?
Yeah, righto.
I've already talked to Shevorne.
She wasn't working Friday night,
so she doesn't know anything about the fight.
And she doesn't know Reese.
Really?
That's funny.
Since she's his girlfriend.
There's another thing.
Tony called. He's missing a mob of cattle.
He reckons they went missing
around about the same time as the boys.
Stolen?
Well, where are they supposed to be?
Well, that's where the ute is, right?
There is the nearest water trough.
Cattle won't go far from their water source,
so they should be somewhere around this area.
One mob is still there.
The other one has completely disappeared.
How many are we talking? About 100.
Has that's been happening, cattle rustling?
Mm, especially now when the cattle prices are up.
Maybe the boys stumbled across something they shouldn't have.
So, if we track where the cattle went,
what do you reckon?
That's worth a shot.
Can you ride a horse?
That hat's got to be good for something.
I reckon they head west. What do you think?
We'll get a good view from up there.
Ah.
I reckon that's them.
Down there.
So, not stolen.
No. There goes that theory.
Found, anyway.
What's the name of that waterhole down there?
Black Springs.
Beautiful, eh?
We used to swim in it when we were kids.
"We"?
Me and my brother...
..Tony.
Tony Ballantyne, the station owner? Uh-huh. Yep.
The two boys go missing on your family property...
..and you're investigating that?
Listen, it was either me or no-one.
I mean, an Aboriginal kid and a backpacker -
no-one's sending out a squad of their best and brightest.
No offence.
The boss knows.
Doesn't worry him.
What's that?
There's something down there on the side of the road.
Hmm.
Looks like some sort of collision.
Road trains go through here.
Someone got cleaned up.
Bike mirror.
Quad bike, trail bike.
Look at this.
(TRUCK APPROACHES)
We got a call back from Dubbo, finally.
Yeah. What - have they informed Reese's family?
(OVER RADIO) No. There is no family.
There are four Dale families in Dubbo,
and one even has a Reese,
but he's not a backpacker and he's not missing.
(SIGHS) Then who's our missing white boy?
I called Shevorne. She said she's only ever known him as Reese.
Muller, I want you to get this on the news tonight.
Get his face out there. Someone must know who he is.
NEWS PRESENTER: (ON TV) In other news,
two teenagers are missing from a cattle station
in the remote North-West.
One is the star footballer Marley Thompson.
Thompson had only recently returned home from his city club
for the end-of-season break.
The other is a travelling backpacker known as Reese Dale,
but the police are yet to confirm his identity.
The boys were last seen in the town of Patterson
around 7am last Saturday morning,
before their vehicle was found abandoned on a local station
the following day.
Police are treating the matter as suspicious.
We need to know Marley's blood type.
No!
You've got a lot of nerve turning up here, Larry.
After what you did to this town?
They talk for 45 minutes,
then a week later Marley disappears.
Them white cops - did they tell you you're one of the good ones?
Not really. I tend to piss people off.
The way you do your job gets people killed.
Well, I won't work with someone like that.
MAN: Fuck off! LARRY: Come here, you fuckin' dogs!
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation