Had Farzan seen the video of Vidor’s very public breakdown? Probably everyone in the college had seen it by now. It was a terrible violation, and he cursed the person who’d posted it online. Privacy was becoming a thing of the past. What kind of world was it when you couldn’t fall apart without the whole of humanity watching?

‘He’s doing well,’ Gessen said, mindful of doctor–patient confidentiality.

‘Will he be returning to the college soon?’

Gessen poured a splash of milk in his tea. ‘Difficult to say, I’m afraid, but it’s important that Professor Kiraly not feel pressured to return to his normal duties until he’s ready.’

A thick-chested man, solid as a tank, in mirrored sunglasses and a beige windbreaker headed towards them. Farzan stiffened, like a concerned fox, ready to bolt.

Gessen studied him over the rim of his teacup. ‘Forgive me for prying,’ he said, ‘but are you feeling all right?’

‘Yes, I’m fine, it’s just that lately…’ He rubbed his palms on his jeans. ‘I’ve been feeling rather spooked.’ He turned to look behind him. ‘A bit paranoid, I know. But after what happened to Hisham…’ His voice trailed off.

The man in the beige jacket, who’d paused to peer in the teashop window, ambled down the street and turned the corner. Farzan, visibly relieved, picked up a half-eaten scone, only to set it down again. His elbow knocked a teaspoon off the table and the sound of it hitting the pavement was like a shot.

Gessen studied Farzan’s face over the rim of his cup. What was he afraid of? He patted his mouth with a napkin. ‘Who’s Hisham?’

‘Another graduate student in the department. A nice guy. About eight months ago, he disappeared.’ He absently tore a paper napkin into shreds. ‘We were friends, but since he worked in a competing lab, Professor Kiraly didn’t like us talking to each other. He was afraid Hisham would pump me for information.’

‘What kind of information?’

‘Details about our lab’s recent data. But we never talked about our work. I knew better than that. I didn’t even know the research project Hisham was busy with. In the past couple of years, the work we were doing in Professor Kiraly’s lab was garnering all kinds of praise, and after learning he’d won the Søgaard Prize, a prestigious award worth a million in cash, he got really paranoid that another lab would steal our data and publish it first.’

Gessen ears pricked up. ‘Does that happen often?’

‘Not often.’ Farzan poured more tea into his cup. ‘But you do have to be careful. There’s a lot of pressure for funding, and some of these top brain researchers are like rock stars, you know? At least in our field.’