Page 54 of A Game of Lies

‘I’ve got a phone call with the chair of the Board of Governors this morning.’

‘Good luck.’

‘I’ll need it.’ Pam gives a rueful smile, before turning back to Aliyah with something akin to maternal pride. Ffion can see why parents want a place for their daughters in Pam’s school.

Roxy’s in the kitchen. Her face is pale and blotchy, as though she’s been crying. ‘I was just about to go for a walk,’ she says, when Ffion comes in. Ffion wants to say that’s a bad idea, given the venom directed at her online, and the doxxing of the farmhouse location, but she thinks of Pam, empowering Aliyah toown the narrative. Isn’t it bad enough that Miles wanted his contestants cowering in fear, without the crew feeling the same?

‘Be careful,’ Ffion settles for. ‘Don’t go too far.’

‘I tried to quit.’ Tears brim over Roxy’s dark lashes. ‘But Miles said he’ll sue me for breach of contract. Said he’ll make sure I never work in television again.’

‘He can’t do that, surely?’

‘I hate him,’ Roxy says bitterly. She lets the door slam behind her.

‘Join the club,’ Ffion says to the empty room. ‘There’s quite the membership list.’ She checks in the drawing room for Caleb, before remembering that Miles fired him. There are two voicemails from Seren on Ffion’s phone, which will no doubt be pleas for Ffion to argue Caleb’s case with Miles. Ffion hasn’t played them. Miles isn’t going to listen to Ffion.

She’s rolling a cigarette when Jessica bursts into the kitchen.

‘Ryan just called me!’ His wife fumbles with her phone, showing Ffion the number on her screen. ‘He didn’t say anything, but I know it was him. He was—’ She breaks off. ‘He was crying.’ Jessica’s face crumbles and she grabs at the table as though it’s the only thing that will hold her up.

Ffion checks the digits against the ones written in her notebook, making sure it’s Angharad’s number. She brings up Leo’s number on her phone and dials.

‘Ryan’s clever,’ Jessica says. ‘He’s a good boss – runs a team of people at work. He’s funny, sociable …’ She looks through the window, towards Miles’s studio. ‘That bastard’s broken him.’

Leo answers. ‘What’s up?’

‘Ryan’s used Angharad’s phone.’

‘What Miles has done is criminal,’ Jessica is saying. ‘But it’s not just him.’

Leo doesn’t hesitate. ‘I’ll get authorisation for a trace.’

‘All those people,’ Jessica says. ‘Glued to reality TV shows, desperate for the gossip.’

‘Sit down,’ Ffion says. ‘I’ll get you some water—’

‘Have you watched it?’

‘I beg your pardon?’

‘Have you watchedExposure?’ Jessica demands.

Ffion hesitates. ‘Yes, but—’

‘Then you’re just as guilty!’ Jessica points an accusatory finger at Ffion. ‘You and everyone else watching. Gossiping about people you don’t know, waiting for the next victim to be torn apart.’

‘I only watched …’For work, Ffion was going to say, but that isn’t true, is it? She thinks about the first episode ofExposure, cosy on Mam’s sofa with Dave and a plate of pie. She recalls how they dissected the contestants, how they treated them like exhibits in a zoo, not real-life people. She thinks about last night, how she switched off the telly only after she’d seen Aliyah’s confession.

‘If people like you didn’t watch reality TV, then people likehim –’ Jessica turns her finger towards Miles’s studio ‘ – wouldn’t make it. You’re all part of it. You’ve all got blood on your hands!’ She storms out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind her.

Ffion sinks into a chair, horrified to discover she’s shaking.

TWENTY

SUNDAY | LEO

Leo is well aware of the limitations surrounding cell site analysis – particularly in an area like Cwm Coed, where there are fewer mobile phone masts than in cities – but nevertheless he’s disappointed by the limited information the analyst can provide about Ryan’s likely movements.

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