The evening was normal enough for May. A slight chill in the air; crisp stars set low enough to be sighted between the few tall buildings that Brisbane boasted back in the seventies, and in the background the old river trolled along, barely noticed. The first exodus of city workers had slowed to be replaced by the night shift while scattered groups of movie-goers and window shoppers were arriving on schedule. Outbound traffic headed steadily for the sanctuary of suburbia, cold-shouldering pedestrians mooching along the dimly-lit streets; no need for them to hurry in staid (some said shabby) Brisbane, where…