She’d already thought of phoning the police and sharing her suspicions about Metamuse, but what would she say? Corporate CEO to be targeted by an accident vaguely related to an immersive theatre show that was run by someone who may have gone to college with him? She’d end up sounding like a lunatic blogger, or The Sun. If anything, she should get in touch with Picton and warn him to be careful, but in the insipid light of dawn, speaking to him didn’t seem such an enticing prospect. Let Picton and Worthing look after themselves. She couldn’t help thinking that if anything bad happened to them, they deserved it.

She couldn’t concentrate on the drawing so took to staring at her phone. No signal that her mother was awake yet, nothing missed from the hospital this time. When she noticed Vincent was online, she called him.

‘Petra?’

A sterile background hum buffered his voice and she wondered where he was. She tried to picture him lying in bed just like her, to make herself feel less vulnerable, but she’d never seen his bedroom.

‘Hey,’ she said. ‘How are you?’

‘I’m okay, thanks. And you?’ His voice was grainy.

Petra checked the time display on the alarm clock. 6:07. Shit – his voice would be grainy, wouldn’t it? ‘Yeah. I just wanted to say thanks for the other night.’

‘Uh, sure.’

‘Anyway, I didn’t realise how early it was. I’m really sorry. I’ll call back later.’

‘No, no. It’s alright. I’m awake. I’m on a job, actually.’

‘Where? It sounds like you’re inside a fridge.’

‘Something like that.’

‘How’s the studio? Have you finished moving your things out? Is Picton treating you alright?’

‘Can’t complain.’

‘Listen, Vincent. I found out something about Worthing and Picton that I think you should know.’

‘Yeah?’

‘I found out that Worthing’s planned to keep the studio intact all along. As a gift for his son. So basically, they’ve been scamming you. Making you pay to store your equipment there. All along, they’ve planned to grind you down until you signed the equipment over for nothing.’

A long silence. Then, ‘Where did you hear this?’

‘Suki. My boss – her brother knows Worthing’s lawyer. Knows all about the family, and that Curtis has been wanting to lure his son back from Japan.’

‘You’ve been researching Worthing on my behalf?’

Petra couldn’t make out his tone in the flat static of the phone – was he angry? Grateful? It was hard to tell. The pause was filled by a slam and clatter on the road outside as someone dropped a handcart out of a delivery van.