‘Sometimes we do it on the bus or in the park,’ says Roman.

‘In the park? That’s so—’

He laughs. ‘Pathetic? It’s also a way for us to avoid being tracked digitally. We’re aware that when we’re hunting criminals, they are also hunting us.’

Pretty deep for a man with a grease stain on his lapel.

‘So I could ring up Scotland Yard and they’d be like, oh, Roman and Donato, they’re always interrogating people in public places, pish! Is that what you’re saying?’

‘Well, they might not say “pish”. It’s not a term people actually use. Except you.’

He tries to restrain his smile, but it breaks over his whole face.

‘I will take you home, Charlie,’ Antonio says, giving me a smouldering look. ‘I call the cab.’

Donato doesn’t argue about it. It says a lot that Antonio the yoga instructor has the money to call a cab while the Dream Police got me here on a series of Big Green Buses. As the cab takes us to Finsbury Park from Stratford, we talk haltingly. I find out that Melodie’s parents are flying in from Canada, that the police are reviewing CCTV footage from the hotel and cross-referencing with everyone’s Spacetime footprints.

‘I was in the lift when she fell,’ Antonio whispers. ‘I was looking for her.’

I hold his hand.

‘At least you were looking,’ I say. ‘I was asleep. I was supposed to protect her but I couldn’t.’

The good thing about the kebab shop interview was that it stopped me dwelling on what had happened. I didn’t have time to think while they were asking their clueless questions. Now the weight of the dream comes crushing down. When I remember the Creeper, a jolt of electricity runs through me.

‘What did O say?’

‘Not very much. She is so cold. She didn’t care when I told her how I was interrogated. The police want to pin this on me, I can feel it.’

‘Yeah, it’s pretty fucked-up.’

‘Charlie, do you mind if I put up some mental scenery? I feel like I need something to lift my spirits. The gloominess, it’s too much right now.’

‘Sure, of course.’

‘You are on BigSky? OK, we share. I have the road to Hana on Maui, an imaginary ice planet with friendly penguins – you will like them, they are cute. Also a country road from South Yunnan Province. What have you got?’

‘Nothing but the beta version of an environment Shandy’s working on. It’s called Patios of the Rich and Famous, but that doesn’t sound as good as the penguins.’

‘Ice planet it is. Engaging sled drive.’