Page 42 of A Game of Lies

Angharad thinks. ‘I had a blanket go missing off the line.’

Leo gets out his notebook. ‘When was this?’

‘Just yesterday. I thought I’d not pegged it properly – the wind was fierce.’ She opens her mouth as though to continue, but stays silent.

Ffion notices too. ‘Be?’

‘It’s nothing. Just …’ Angharad sighs. ‘I never lock the back door at night – don’t give me that look, Ffion Morgan; tell me one person round here who does – and this morning I noticed there was some food missing.’

Leo and Ffion exchange glances.

‘Not much. The end of a loaf of bread, a piece of cheese. A packet of biscuits.’

‘Listen to me,’ Ffion says. ‘You need to lock your door. Not just if you go out, but when you’re home. Especially at night.’

‘But if he needs food—’

‘He’s not well,’ Leo says. He hesitates. They don’t know for certain that Ryan Francis is having a breakdown, but they do know his wife considers his mental health to be fragile. They know that his frustration has resulted in acts of violence on at least one occasion, and they know thatExposurehas pushed Ryan to his limits. ‘He may not be acting rationally.’

‘It sounds as though he needs help.’

‘He does,’ Ffion says.

‘Then—’

‘From a doctor.’ Ffion moves to stand by Angharad, touching her arm. ‘I know you think you’re tough as old boots—’

‘Less of the old,diolch yn fawr…’

‘—but if Ryan comes to the house, you call on the nines,iawn?’

Angharad sighs. ‘Iawn.’

‘Would you like us to check the house?’ Leo says.

‘Diolch, but I’m fine.’ Angharad smiles. ‘The advantage of living in a house as small as this one is that you know exactly who’s in it.’

‘Lock the door,’ Ffion says, as they leave.

‘I will.’

‘Promise me.’

‘I promise.’

They wait until they hear the clunk of the lock.

Leo scans the surrounding woodland. Is Ryan out there, watching them? Hiding out in the trees until darkness falls, and he can return to Angharad’s cottage in search of food? For Angharad’s sake, Leo hopes he’s moved on. The longer Ryan goes without food and shelter – without seeing Jessica and his daughter – the greater the stress he’ll be under. He’ll be frightened, and fear makes people unpredictable.

Leo’s worried about Ryan.

But he’s just as worried about where Ryan might go next.

FIFTEEN

FRIDAY | ANGHARAD EVANS | EPISODE FIVE

Angharad Evans doesn’t own a television. Her work as a literary translator – work she has no intention of stopping, despite having reached retirement age some time ago – requires long hours at her desk, and the last thing Angharad feels like doing in the evening is staring at another screen. She prefers to listen to the radio, or to linguistics podcasts, or she simply revels in the sounds of the forest, and tends to the animals she treats like her children.

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