Page 33 of A Game of Lies

‘Have you checked the fence for signs of entry?’

Dario’s silence speaks volumes.

Owen sighs loudly. ‘If you want a job done properly, do it yourself, I suppose. This way, DC Kent.’ As the two of them walk off towards the edge of the enclosure, Dario stares after them with a look of pure thunder.

There’s a movement in the trees behind Leo. He turns to see Ffion walking towards him. She’s dressed for the mountain, in lightweight trousers and walking boots. Her ID, hanging from a lanyard around her neck, is the only thing marking her out as a police officer. Leo feels overdressed in his suit.

Ffion takes in the smashed cameras and the marks around the box of secrets. ‘What do you reckon – was it Ryan?’

‘If he tried to take the box to protect his secret, it means he was on the mountain last night. It’ll give us a fresh trail for a tracker dog.’

‘Did the contestants see anything?’

‘They’re refusing to talk to us – Miles has muzzled them.’

‘He’s done what?’ Ffion immediately starts walking towards the tents.

‘He told them their contracts prohibit them from talking to anyone except the prearranged media outlets.’ Leo follows her inside the central bell tent, where the contestants are sitting on bean bags.

‘And then there were five …’ Ffion says cheerfully. ‘How are you all doing?’

The contestants look at the floor.

‘This is a serious investigation,’ Leo says. ‘Someone has caused thousands of pounds’ worth of damage to the production company’s cameras – if you know anything about it, we need to know now.’

Nobody speaks.

‘If it transpires that one of you is involved,’ Leo says, ‘or that you have information pertinent to the case, you could be in serious trouble for withholding it. No contract can stop you giving information to the police, whatever Miles has told you.’

Aliyah hugs her knees tighter.

‘Ryan didn’t go home,’ Ffion says.

Henry takes in the others. Slowly, they’re looking up, checking in with each other, seeing if anyone is going to crack.

‘He didn’t leave “for personal reasons”,’ Ffion says. ‘He’s missing.’

‘What?’ Pam says. Henry nudges her and she glares at him. ‘Since when?’

‘Since he left camp,’ Ffion says. ‘Miles lied to you.’

‘The bastard!’ Henry gets to his feet, and it’s as though it’s unlocked something in the others, who jump up too and all start talking at once.

‘I knew there was something going on.’

‘I saw the helicopter and I thought it was press.’

‘He threatened to withhold our participation fee if we spoke to anyone.’

‘Is it popular?’ Aliyah suddenly asks. ‘The TV show – are people watching it?’

Leo could tell her it seems as thougheveryoneis watching it; that radio shows are inviting listeners to confess their secrets; that #ExposureTVShow has been trending on social media since Monday night. He could tell her the show has the highest viewing figures of any UK reality TV show – a fact which astounds him.

He doesn’t tell her that. Not because of Miles’s warning about influencing the outcome (like Ffion, Leo couldn’t care less about Miles’s sponsorship deals), but because Aliyah’s question isn’t motivated by a desire for fame. It’s motivated by fear. She wants to know how big the audience will be for her public flogging. She stares at Leo, dark circles ringing anxious eyes, and Leo finds it hard to reconcile the broken girl he sees now with the smiling young woman on his TV set last night. He supposes Miles has twenty-four hours of footage from which to find the smiles. Leo remembers Roxy’s warning:Miles is the biggest liar of them all.

‘You know, you could all just leave.’ Ffion looks around the group. ‘You’re not prisoners.’

‘We may as well be,’ Pam says grimly. ‘This is TV’s version of Death Row, and we’re all waiting for our turn in the chair.’

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