Shandy kicks me under the table.

‘Don’t be such a weed,’ she says. ‘Of course you have to go. We can get a drink after if you want.’

I wipe away tears, looking anywhere but at either of them. ‘OK, then.’

Shandy turns to Roman. ‘Let’s just think about it,’ she begins, licking cappuccino foam off her fire-engine-red lips. ‘Mel said she attracted stalkers. Do you know if she ever had to get a restraining order? Do we know any of their identities? That would be the first place to look.’

‘I’m already on it.’ But Roman’s eyes move subtly as he makes notes to himself. ‘While we’re at it, what about you, Charlie? Is there anyone with a grudge against you? You used to do ASMR publicly. That kind of thing must attract a fair amount of unwanted attention from people who still think it’s porn.’

Annoyingly, my face heats up. ‘There are always negative comments, but I’m careful with my identity. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t show my face or give personal details.’

‘Fair enough.’ His fingers are tapping on the table, typing notes. I notice that even though he’s out of condition, he has thick, muscular hands that look like they’ve done physical work. Not all spidery like your typical uni student. ‘Still, if you have a record of anyone you remember as being a problem, send it to me. Worth chasing up.’

‘I don’t see why. This is about Mel, not about me.’

‘Maybe,’ Roman says. ‘But given that your shingle is out there with Dreamhacker on it and you and Antonio had a relationship, it’s not beyond imagining that someone was using Melodie to lure you in.’

He looks straight at me while he says that, his pale green eyes gleaming a warning. Hell, he’s serious now.

‘That’s sick. All of it is sick.’ I don’t want to deal with it. I yawn.

Shandy calls up my channel on Spacetime, and judging by Roman’s reaction she’s included him in the privacy lock. My subscribers are still climbing. Lots of comments, too.

Roman reads aloud, ‘ “Thought your tissue-paper sonata was great. The leaf-crunching one was maybe a little baroque. Too much binaural. I prefer the ones where it sounds totally natural. My favourite is Nana’s Kitchen, where it sounds like someone is bustling around cooking and cleaning. That one knocks me out every time. Would you do a woodworking video? Like, hand-carving? Maybe with some gentle sanding?” ’

Roman is shaking his head. ‘See what I mean about porn? Sorry, only kidding. So tell me, why is your channel called Mariana’s Trench Coat?’