Oli doesn’t quite know what to make of the presser. Clearly a fair dose of pride in the original investigation is tangled up in all this for Bowman, and perhaps he even feels a responsibility to honour Isabelle’s memory. But to just dismiss Nicole Horrowitz as a suspect doesn’t really make sense—unless he knows something that hasn’t been made public yet.

As the crowd disbands, Oli keeps track of Rusty’s head bobbing along the side of the room. His auburn hair is unruly; he’s forgotten to put wax in it.

She shoots him a text. Time for a quick chat? I want to talk to you about the fire.

He retrieves his phone from his pocket, looks at it, then sweeps his gaze across the sea of people until he sees her and shakes his head. He pockets his phone and takes off down the hall.

Irritated, Oli waves goodbye to Zach, who gives her another thumbs-up. She nods hello to a few journos as she makes her way to one of the stiff lounges near the security checkpoint. She loosens her shoe and rubs at her ankle, looking around the large space. The station is only a few years old, a step up from the premises on St Kilda Road where the Homicide Squad used to be based. Isabelle only worked here for two months before she was killed.

Oli remembers the panic that followed her murder, the fear that settled over the entire force. It seemed someone was targeting cops, literally running them down on the street. But then, three weeks later, the arrest came, bringing with it a collective sigh of relief. Theo Bouris was on parole after serving six years in gaol for manslaughter, a charge he denied. Isabelle’s statement had put him away; she was first on the scene and pulled him off the dying victim. He held a grudge—more than that, he hated Isabelle. He had already reoffended on parole, robbing a retailer at knifepoint while claiming he had no money to support his family. He knew his freedom was limited, so he made the most of his last few weeks, hiring a car and hunting Isabelle down like an animal, destroying her life like he believed she had destroyed his.

Shaking off these dark thoughts, Oli messages Pia to ask that her piece be updated with key quotes from Bowman’s presser. For a few minutes she watches the TV reporters set up outside the building, patient cameramen waiting while lipstick is reapplied. Melissa Warren has scored the prime position under the glowing Victoria Police sign and looks solemn as she’s filmed, her dark bob immune to the wind’s havoc. Once their grabs are in the can, the toothy smiles are replaced by scowls as they cross their arms and curse the weather. They totter off to do their edits and wrap for the day.