‘Look,’ she says, pressing her fingers into her temples at the lights, ‘I get you’re new to all this, so maybe you don’t understand how it works, but I’ve been doing it for a long time. If we’re going to work on this story and make this bloody podcast happen, we need to act like a team.’

Cooper turns to stare at her, his gaze burning into the side of her face. ‘No shit.’ He puts on his headphones and looks the other way.

Brent’s water bottle collapses noisily as he sucks liquid out of it, his eyes never leaving the TV screen on the wall of the newsroom. The bottle crackles as the plastic reverts to its former shape.

On screen, John O’Brien wears dark sunglasses and holds a newspaper like a shield. The disgraced premier weaves his way through a throng of people, escorted into a dark car outside his Albert Park home. ‘No comment,’ he says.

‘You bloody pervert!’ someone screams off camera.

O’Brien pauses. His suited handler also stops. ‘I reject all of the claims made against me and will be fighting them through our justice system, which I respect wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, this is a case of “He said, she said”, or in this instance “He said, he said”, and I have complete faith that the truth will win out. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to continue grieving for my wife.’

A wad of paper hits the screen amid a series of groans.

Oli hasn’t seen Cooper since they arrived back at the office. He got out of the car without a word and disappeared into the stairwell. ‘I’m still meeting with Bowman tomorrow,’ she called after him, her voice bouncing off the concrete walls. ‘By myself,’ she added unnecessarily, annoyed that he was bringing out her pettiness.

No doubt he’s in the studio finishing off the podcast. In spite of everything, Oli feels a rush of excitement. Her distinctive voice has always made her wary of doing any kind of radio—she even hates leaving voicemail messages—but she enjoyed the recording a lot more than she expected and has a feeling it will sound pretty compelling. Hopefully Cooper’s irritation won’t affect the finished product.