‘I was there for the whole dream. He was sleepwalking. He thought he was in a formal garden, not a railway station. Roman says it’s hard to tell from the CCTV whether he was awake. He doesn’t seem to have spoken to anyone, but he went through the fare scanner fairly normally.’

‘And one gathers the police don’t have any evidence it was anything other than suicide or foolish error.’

‘No. But that’s not the point. I was there. I know. And the dream police now know I was present at both of these killings – Mel and now Bernard.’

‘You think someone is trying to frame you?’

I should tell her about Daphne. I should. But she looks so small and vulnerable in the hospital bed.

‘I don’t know what to think. But it’s been . . . unnerving.’

‘You’re sure you trust Shandy?’

‘I’ve known her since we were seven, O. There’s no way I don’t trust her.’

‘She does work for BigSky.’

‘Yeah, in the virtual interior decorating department – she designs nice habitats for people’s Floopies.’

‘What on earth is a Floopie?’

‘They’re like virtual pets, but they’re smart. By the way, O, why did you send Martin Elstree to represent me? I mean, of all people.’

‘I did no such thing.’

‘You didn’t?’

‘Of course not. I know how you feel about him – you made it perfectly clear after you worked with him.’

‘He said you sent him.’

O snorts. ‘I know that I have a lot of people running around after me lately, with Muz and Jez and now you. But I’m not exactly . . . Well, it’s not like I’m this powerful person who bosses everybody around. Edgar doesn’t even stay off my bed like I tell him to. I don’t know why Martin said that. He’s out of order. I shall speak with him.’

Frowning, she turns her attention back to the chessboard.

‘I wonder how he found out about the Bernard situation,’ she murmurs. ‘Maybe through Meera, or even BigSky themselves.’

I’m actually shaking. This is all too much.

‘Does Martin Elstree have connections to BigSky? That you know of?’

‘Of course! He knows everyone there. He’s a patent lawyer specializing in tech. Half of London has connections to BigSky. Speaking of which, where do things stand with your Dream Police?’

‘Never mind them. O, I’m really worried about what I’ve got you into. I don’t even know how I’ve done it or what it is I’ve done, but someone’s tried to take me out in my dream just like what happened to Mel. And Bernard is dead. I thought he was the Creeper, but if he wasn’t, then who is? And now you.’

‘What do you mean, “now me”? I just had a fall. It happens to us decrepit ones every day.’