Stung, she stands there for a few moments before calling Pia and asking her to track down McCrae’s home phone number. ‘I’m guessing he won’t be listed, so perhaps try his wife,’ Oli suggests.

Ignoring the pointed stare of a barista, she sneaks into the bathroom in the cafe next to the police station. She uses the toilet then washes and dries her hands, runs a brush through her hair, reapplies her make-up. In the stuffy police foyer, she joins the growing line to go through security. As she pushes her way through the media pack, she scores an elbow to the ear and one to the ribs. Someone hisses her name, and she looks around but fails to locate the source. She finds a spot about ten metres from the media wall behind the TV journos and their cloud of hairspray. A Melbourne Today photographer is up the back: Zach with the neck tattoos. Oli waves, and he gives her a thumbs-up.

Rusty is up the front, facing the crowd. Oli tries to get his attention, but he is deep in conversation with another cop.

A few people gather on stage. A greyhound-thin woman in a sleek pantsuit clutches at a clipboard and stabs her phone with a manicured finger, glancing repeatedly at the audience. A sound guy checks the microphone, and a woman with hearing aids and a long braid stands in front of the Victoria Police pull-up banner.

Bowman appears and walks straight to the raised platform. He looks annoyed, as if he’s been dragged away from the last ten minutes of a sports match. He taps the microphone and nods at the PR woman, who responds with a frantic series of head bobs.

‘Okay, ladies and gentlemen,’ Bowman booms. ‘Let’s get this show on the road.’

The woman with the braid starts signing in Auslan, and the room settles into the modern white noise of whirring devices and clicking cameras.

‘By now I’m sure you are all aware that the deceased woman discovered on a property in Crystalbrook yesterday was Alexandra Riboni,’ Bowman says. ‘We released this information earlier today. I can now confirm that, based on the autopsy findings, her death is not suspicious.’

A reaction ripples through the audience, and a woman from the ABC calls out something about Nicole Horrowitz.

‘We believe Ms Riboni was suffering from a mental illness,’ Bowman continues, ‘and we are currently investigating her final movements and the circumstances around the fire that occurred at the property after her body was found. We believe it was deliberate and possibly intended to cause harm to emergency services personnel following Ms Riboni’s death.’

He pauses as a Mexican wave of chatter passes through the room.