Page 36 of A Game of Lies

Zee frowns. Zee has a bit of a thing for Henry, the best-looking bloke in the line-up (Lucas isn’t bad, but you’re not allowed to fancy vicars, are you?). Now that Jason has gone, Aliyah has clearly decided to turn her attention to Henry.

The contestants are scrutinising Aliyah’s polygraph reading.

‘Have you ever broken the law?’ Ceri says.

Aliyah hesitates. ‘Yes.’ All eyes snap to the reading.

‘No change,’ Lucas says. ‘She’s telling the truth.’

‘Have you been unfaithful to a partner?’ Pam says, after prompting from Roxy.

‘No.’

Henry asks the next question. ‘Lied on a CV?’

‘No.’

‘Liar!’ Ceri says triumphantly, as the polygraph reading shoots off the scale. Keyed up by their success, the contestants fling questions thick and fast at Aliyah, until she is reeling. She rips off the heart monitor and Zee wonders if she’s going to freak out, but the footage cuts to Henry, already strapped to the machine. Aliyah has been forgotten – the dogs have been thrown fresh bait.

Earlier, Henry announced he would take over Jason’s morning firewood chore, which Zee knows means he’s likely to come close to the perimeter fence in search of logs. If she spends the morning walking around the camp, she’s bound to spot him through the trees, and maybe he’ll come close enough for a decent picture. She might even deploy her flirting skills again and see if she can score an interview. Imagine – the first ever interview actually fromwithinthe camp! It’ll go viral for sure. Zee has tried to get Ceri to talk – the postal worker walks a loop around lunchtime each day – but hasn’t got anywhere. She’ll have more luck with a man, she’s sure.

‘My name’s Henry, I have brown hair and blue eyes.’ As Henry gives his ‘control’ truths, the others scrutinise the reading.

‘It’s ever so high already,’ Pam says, concern in her voice. ‘I hope you don’t have an underlying heart condition – a lie will send it sky-high.’

‘I don’t plan on lying,’ Henry says simply. ‘I don’t know whatExposurethink they’ve got on me, but I have nothing to hide.’

‘Ever broken the law?’

‘No.’

‘Cheated in a test?’

‘No.’

‘Crashed a car?’

Henry answers every question in the same calm manner, the polygraph reading following the same steady line as his control questions. Zee’s crush intensifies. Hotandhonest. There aren’t many blokes like that around, in Zee’s experience. If she doesn’t manage to interview Henry tomorrow, she’s definitely going to track him down once he leaves. He’s an accountant, so he should be easy to find on Google, and, since Zee is expecting a flood of advertising offers now her profile’s on the rise, it would be perfectly normal to make an appointment with an accountant …

Back onExposure, it’s time for the live segment. This is Zee’s favourite bit. She gets such a thrill from knowing she’s only a short distance from something she’s watching on televisionright now. She pinches off the end from her joint, then pushes her feet into her trainers in case there’s an eviction and she might be able to bag her second contestant interview.

‘It’ll kill me,’ Aliyah is saying, as the group waits for Roxy to start. ‘All those spiders, in that tiny space.’ Her bottom lip wobbles.

Pam puts a comforting arm around her. ‘I’m sure it won’t come to that, sweetheart.’

Alone in her tent, a slow smile spreads across Zee’s face. She’d pay good money to see Aliyah in a room full of spiders, and she’s suddenly worked out how she can put her there.

‘We’ve had no accusations from contestants today,’ Roxy says, and there’s audible relief from the huddled group hanging on her words. She flashes a wicked smile to the camera. ‘But the public have spoken!’

‘Oh!’ Aliyah clasps a hand to her mouth. Lucas pales, and even Henry – who says he doesn’t have a secret – looks rattled. Ceri’s eyes are tightly shut, and Pam’s are fixed on Roxy.

‘The contestant who has received the least support from the public,’ Roxy says, ‘who will now face the confession pod, is …’

The pause is unbearable.

‘Pam!’

Zee scrambles her kit together. She takes the iPad with her as she hastens to the camp entrance, because if Pam gets evicted – as she surely will – Zee wants to livestream her exit. She walks with one eye on the path and the other on the TV screen, where Pam is stepping down into the confession pod. Her eyes take a moment to adjust to the dim lighting, flicking into the dark corners of the tiny space. She lowers herself gingerly into the throne-like chair and looks squarely at the camera.

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