But ever cautious, presumably on account of his dreaming habit, he decided to leave anyway.

‘We’ll talk again,’ said Shamanic Bob to me, although it was unlikely. My train was due out soon. But despite what little I knew of HiberTech, I was intrigued by what he’d said about Morphenox being a fluke.

‘Liars and schemers all,’ said Hooke. ‘Did you lend him any money?’

‘No,’ I said, ‘but you should probably know they’re scoring D-Reem from somebody in HiberTech.’

‘It troubles us not one jot,’ said Hooke. ‘One less sleep-shy is one less mouth to feed.’

‘I’m really sorry you weren’t able to talk to Moody,’ said Aurora, trying to move the conversation on and nodding towards where the security agents outside were using a heat gun to free Moody from the ice. They weren’t very good at it; I could smell the singed hair from within the café. ‘Mr Hooke was employed for his ruthless adherence to HiberTech’s well-being, so subtlety isn’t really his strong suit. Do you accept my apology?’

‘Yes, I guess.’

‘Good. I have a few questions for you. Is that okay?’

‘Sure.’

She pulled a photograph out of her breast pocket and laid it on the counter. The picture depicted a man in his forties, fairly nondescript, thinning hair, holding an iguana.

‘Know this person?’ she asked.

‘Never seen him.’

‘This is Hugo Foulnap. The only Hugo Foulnap. An accountant, he nightwalked twelve years ago and was parted out the same Winter. The Hugo Foulnap in the hotel room wasn’t Hugo Foulnap at all.’

‘Ah,’ I said, unsure where she was going with this or what she wanted me to do. ‘Why is he holding an iguana?’

‘I don’t think it’s relevant. What do you think they were going to do with Mrs Tiffen?’

‘She was going to be farmed.’

‘Foulnap actually said that?’

‘Not specifically, but it was fairly obvious.’

‘Did he mention Kiki?’

‘No.’

‘Did Foulnap say anything that suggested he was with the Campaign for Real Sleep?’

‘Nothing I can think of,’ I said, but then added without really thinking, ‘If you suspected he was with the Campaign, why didn’t you arrest him?’

I knew it was impertinent the moment I’d said it, but it wasn’t Aurora who reacted, it was Hooke.

‘You’ve got some lip on you. Any more of that and I’ll rearrange your face – although from the look of you, someone has already tried.’

He smirked at a joke that he thought was both funny and original, something in which he was entirely wrong on both counts.