Page 19 of A Game of Lies

Faced with a ticking clock, a shrinking budget and a contact list full of already booked-up firms, the location manager had thought laterally.Exposure’s wannabe contestants had all confirmed they could make themselves available for the show at short notice, and, out of the forty-five thousand people who applied, there had to be at least one security guard, surely?

There was, and, since Dario was currently sofa-surfing and jobless, he’d accepted right away. The location manager, whose responsibilities were growing daily, had ticked ‘security’ off his list.

And now Dario’s here, lying on a musty foldout bed in the old caravan provided as his ‘on-site accommodation’, watchingExposureon a portable television, and wondering for the hundredth time why Miles rejected his application. He knows from the casual chats he has since had with theExposureteam that Miles shortlisted the applicants himself, then hired a researcher to dig up the dirt. Dario can’t have made the shortlist, otherwise they’d have found out about that assault, or the time he shagged his boss’s wife. They might even have discovered that he once accidentally-on-purpose vacuumed up his brother’s hamster, to see what would happen. Dario has all manner of juicy anecdotes that would have made perfect telly, and he doesn’t give a shit who knows about them. It’s not the act itself that makes something secret, but the power it holds over you, and Dario has no shame.

As the opening titles finish, a woman’s voice cuts across the theme tune. ‘For personal reasons, Ryan has leftExposure. He has expressed his thanks to viewers for watching and sends his best wishes to the remaining contestants. There will be no exposure or eviction tonight.’

The announcement was Miles’s idea, of course.

‘Have you seen what that bloody girl’s done now?’ This afternoon, Miles had handed Dario his phone, on which Zee Hart was sharing conspiracy theories on the disappearance of Ryan Francis.I’m not saying any of the contestants are government agents, I’m just saying they know how to disappear without a trace. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

‘I’ve set up an alert for mentions ofExposure,’ Miles said. He frowned. ‘It’s not entirely accurate – to be perfectly frank, there are things in my inbox I’d rather I hadn’t seen – but it’s just thrown up this. So much for keeping it within the team.’ He glared at Dario as though he held the security guard responsible for this breach of confidentiality.

‘What do you want me to do, smash her tent up? Take her phone?’ Dario was joking – the presence of two detectives was already giving him a rash – but Miles had taken a moment to consider the option.

‘Better not. But keep her away from the camp, for God’s sake. She clearly can’t be trusted. I’ll have to put out an announcement – we’ve had press enquiries already. I’ll simply say Ryan’s gone home for personal reasons. Which he probably has, without giving a thought to the mess that leaves me in.’ He glared at Dario. ‘Has that hole Ryan dug been filled in?’

‘Yes, I did it as soon as you asked me to.’

‘Properly?’

‘Yes, boss,’ lied Dario, who had simply kicked the dirt back against the fence.

Now, Dario reaches for another chocolate chip cookie. On screen, there’s no talk of Ryan at all – it’s as though he’s been written out of the show entirely. The six contestants are sitting in a circle in the chill-out tent, having taken delivery of a box containing that day’s task.

‘It’s a game!’ Aliyah says.

Dario wishes his knackered TV had apausebutton. Aliyah Brown isperfect. There’s no other word for her. She has a waist Dario reckons he could circle with two hands, a proper arse, and two magnificent tits. Totally natural – Dario can always tell. They jiggle enthusiastically as she leans forward to pick up the instructions.

‘Exposurecontestants,’ she reads, ‘you will be playing a game of “truth or lie”. The objective of the game is to learn more about your fellow contestants’ body language when they tell a lie, thereby bringing you closer to uncovering their dark secrets – and protecting your own.’ Aliyah gives a nervous giggle.

God, she’s fit. Dario was on the gate when the seven contestants walked into camp, and Aliyah had given him one of those smiles that’s basically a massive come-on. He’s got no idea what her ‘dark secret’ is, but he totally forgives her for it.

Earlier today, on the pretext of looking for Ryan, Dario had walked around and around the perimeter fence. Now and then he’d got a glimpse of orange fleece as the contestants roamed among the trees, and heard them shout to each other.

Oi, Henners, have you got that wood yet?

Hey, Pam, what’s for tea?

Who finished the loo roll?

Dario was patient. He walked and watched, and walked and listened, and finally he caught sight of a long black plait.

‘Aliyah!’ His voice sounded too loud – Dario imagined it echoing down the mountain – but she didn’t hear him. He tried again – ‘Aliyah!’ – and this time she came over.

‘Alright?’ She wasn’t in the slightest bit curious about what he was doing there. It made him wonder what else he could get away with, just by wearing a security badge.

‘I’ve got something for you.’

‘What’s that, then?’ Aliyah looked up through long eyelashes. She was definitely flirting with him.

‘Come closer, and I’ll stick it through the fence.’

Her mouth dropped open (God, that tongue!) and Dario thought for one horrifying second she was going to scream, but then she saw what he was holding, and her gorgeous face split into a smile. ‘Chocolate! For me?’

‘For you.’

She tore open the bar and took a bite, closing her eyes and giving Dario several seconds of footage for his mental wank bank. ‘I’ve missed this so much.’

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