‘Oh? Who was there?’

‘The people from her work.’

‘How did Violet get along with her colleagues?’

Izzy swallowed. ‘Same as Violet always does. Being the centre of attention. That guy Daniel was mooning over her.’

That was interesting. Daniel had told us that Gary was the one doing the mooning.

‘What did Violet think of Daniel?’

‘Not much. I’m not sure she even noticed him. He’s like really old.’

‘Did Violet talk about anyone else she’d met?’ I asked.

Izzy shook her head.

‘Did she mention anyone she’d fallen out with?’

Another shake. ‘No. But … I think she’s in trouble. She’s …’

‘What, Izzy?’

Izzy swallowed. ‘She’s my friend, so … I like her despite this, but she does get on the wrong side of people. I mean, she deliberately winds people up, and the threats were getting worse and worse. I think she might have pushed it too far and those awful Animal Vigilantes in the meat suits have hurt her.’

Jai had gone to investigate Violet’s parentage while I mulled over progress so far. Violet’s parents were still on their way home from the other side of the planet. At least we could rule them out. The obvious candidates for hurting Violet were the Animal Vigilantes, but then again all her colleagues were a bit dodgy, and we’d want to take a close look at the biological father if we could find him. Plus I couldn’t let go of my hunch that there was a relationship in the background. Relationships were always interesting, especially ones that people wanted to hide.

I browsed the comments posted on Violet’s videos, getting a strong gag-reaction from reading both the enthusiasts (‘We want to spit-roast you, Violet’) and the haters (‘You deserve to spend your life locked up in a cage and then get your throat cut’). I highlighted anything particularly virulent from both sides.

I looked up to see Jai approaching with two cups of coffee. He placed one on my desk. ‘We’ve got her adoption papers. As Izzy said, the mother is Rebecca Smith. No father listed, but we’re investigating. You look stressed.’

‘Thanks.’ I gulped the coffee down. ‘Doesn’t get any better, does it? I keep hoping one day I’ll come in and a rich benefactor will have bought us an espresso machine.’

‘Vivid imagination you have.’

‘Not as vivid as the people commenting on Violet’s videos,’ I said. ‘Have you seen this stuff?’

‘I had a quick look. Pretty dispiriting.’ Jai perched on my desk and flipped a knee up so his calf was across his thigh.

I recoiled. ‘Christ, Jai. Is that some kind of primitive display ritual? Imagine if I did that on your desk.’

‘It’s a flimsy desk, Meg – British workmanship. I wouldn’t risk it.’