'What happened to our son?' It came from Zanni.

'He was…' Andreas swallowed hard. 'He was murdered.' A priest or a social worker might have put it differently, but Andreas was a cop. And cops want reactions. They're more telling than words.

'Murdered? Murdered!' It was Ginny. She dropped her arms from around her husband and turned away from all three men. Her right hand was over her mouth and her eyes fixed on the floor.

'Who did it… how did it happen?' Zanni did the asking. Ginny didn't move from her spot.

'We don't know yet, sir. It occurred a few hours after midnight. Your son's body was discovered at dawn and the coroner hasn't completed his examination.' Neither parent responded. Andreas' instinct was to say more. 'But we think it was directed at your family.'

Zanni's expression did not change. His face had turned to stone since Andreas first said his son was dead. Ginny was frozen in place, her breathing increasing rapidly, as if about to hyperventilate.

They were in shock, a normal and expected reaction.

'Thank you, Chief, for your concern.' Zanni sounded as if tipping a waiter.

Andreas thought perhaps he hadn't made his last comment clear enough or they may have missed it in their grief. 'Mr Kostopoulos, did your son or your family receive any threats? Or can you think of anyone who might have done such a horrible thing as a message to your family?'

Zanni stared straight ahead. 'No, sir.'

Andreas pressed him harder but got no better an answer than an interviewer trying to force genuine beliefs from a politician. Nor was there a hint of Zanni's legendary temper; no matter how hard Andreas pushed him it was always the same: 'No, sir.'

Zanni eyes stayed focused somewhere in the middle-distance while Ginny stood with hers fixed on the floor, clutching her arms across her chest and swaying from side to side. She said not a word and was no longer crying.