‘No, I’m sick,’ she says. ‘Listen, Pia, I’m about to send you episode two of the podcast. Can you get it through approvals? I want it published asap.’

‘Even though—’

‘Yes,’ Oli snaps. ‘Let’s just get it online today.’ She hangs up. Looks around. Spots a taxi rank outside the supermarket and jogs toward it. ‘Melbourne uni, please, Parkville campus.’

As they pull into the morning traffic, her mind is trawling the possibilities. Did Cooper arrange to meet McCrae at the university, on a Sunday? Did they have a confrontation? Maybe McCrae followed him. Oli’s knuckles are white as they bypass the city. She exits the cab and rushes onto the campus, realising she has no idea where to look for the professor. Students amble past, sunglasses on, earbuds in. She spies a map and hurries over to it, tugging her notebook out of her bag. McCrae’s lecture should be starting in twenty-five minutes. She turns to look up at the buildings, shielding her eyes from the morning sun.

Someone grabs her shoulders, hard. She spins around.

‘Oli, what are you doing here?’

It’s Dean.

A basketball bounces past. Around them students talk, laugh, and drink takeaway coffees.

‘What am I doing here? What are you doing here?’ Oli’s chest heaves as if she’s been running. ‘Why aren’t you in Lakes Entrance with the girls?’

Dean’s eyes dart around. ‘I’m not supposed to be here. There’s an issue. I can’t discuss it, but it’s going to cause us problems. It hasn’t been made public yet, so we’re trying to keep a lid on it.’ He looks at her pointedly. ‘I drove down this morning. I tried to call you,’ he adds, reaching his hand out. ‘Twice.’

‘No.’ She shuffles away.

‘What do you mean, no?’ He laughs nervously. ‘Oli, are you alright?’

‘No, I’m not.’

He drops his hand, his handsome face uncertain. ‘What, because I’m here? Come on, Oli. Check your phone. I left you a message telling you what happened. I was worried about you because you said you were sick, and I figured you might be sleeping in because I knew you worked late.’

Oli tries to push the panic back inside of her, but it’s like trying to catch smoke. ‘Where were you last night? Were you here in Melbourne?’

He steps forward. ‘No, I told you, I drove back early this morning.’ He points to the cafeteria. ‘Should we grab a coffee? I have a few minutes before I need to meet with Nath again.’

Oli’s skin buzzes. Is he lying? Maybe he was in Melbourne yesterday. Last night. ‘I don’t want a coffee. I want to know what the fuck is going on.’