"It died from shame," John murmured in a quiet voice as if afraid he'd be overheard. "You get the idea."

Constantine doubted this adult kid had any real idea what he was talking about, but that didn't stop him when he was on a roll. There would be hell to pay for this later, but that was for later. By then, he'd be well fortified in his room.

"If I did want to know, who should I ask? The walls keep telling me the same thing, and I'm not sure the chair down by the fire wants to talk about it. Bit of a traumatic experience, I think."

Kind smile and laughing eyes were sometimes his best guise when fishing for information.