Page 66 of A Game of Lies

‘That much I know. And I’m aware you’ve arrested Ryan Francis, after an extensive missing person investigation failed to locate him prior to this incident.’ The implication, Leo knows, is that if they’d done their job properly, and found the MisPer, there wouldn’t be a murder to investigate. ‘Is he our man?’

‘We’re keeping an open mind,’ Leo says. ‘Francis is a strong suspect, but several others have motives, including the crew, and the evicted contestants who have had their secrets exposed.’

‘Do they have alibis?’

‘Roxy Wilde and Owen Havard were here in the house,’ Ffion says. ‘The production assistant, Caleb Northcote, was running an errand to camp, and security guard Dario Kimber was by the perimeter fence. Jason Shenton, Pam Butler and Aliyah Brown claim they were in their rooms.’

‘Can we rule out the three contestants still in play?’ Boccacci asks. ‘I understand one of them has a previous conviction for violence.’

‘Lucas Taylor,’ Ffion says. ‘We’ve requested full details. But he was on live camera at the time of the murder, as was Henry Moore. Lucas was by the fire, and Henry was in the confession pod.’ Ffion hesitates. ‘Out of the three contestants still in theExposurecamp, only Ceri Jones was off camera when Miles was killed.’

‘The MisPer’s wife, Jessica Francis, says she was out looking for her husband,’ Leo says. ‘We’ve yet to verify that. Miles also received a number of death threats on Twitter, which I understand your team is looking into.’

‘What about Automatic Number Plate Recognition?’ Boccacci suggests. ‘Cars not registered to the local area?’

‘I’ve considered that, ma’am, but the nearest route with ANPR feeds a large area, and as North Wales is such a popular tourist destination we’re talking a fair amount of traffic, with no way to narrow it down to vehicles coming all the way to Cwm Coed. It’s resource-intensive – I think we should park it until we’ve eliminated the more likely lines of enquiry. The evidence so far suggests prior knowledge of the victim’s routine, which points towards one of the individuals already identified.’

Boccacci looks impressed. ‘Agreed. Anything else?’

‘Scene parameters identified and secured, no CCTV, no house-to-house,’ Leo lists. ‘There’s a key missing which is believed to have been in the victim’s pocket, so CSI have been asked to look out for that.’

‘What’s the significance of the key?’

‘It opens the box containing the contestants’ secrets.’ Leo explains. ‘It’s the only key, and we’re told Miles was very protective of it. The secrets of three of the contestants are still unknown. The murderer may have gone to see Miles specifically to get the key, in order to stop one of those secrets being exposed.’

‘Interesting.’ Boccacci thinks for a moment. ‘Was the dog unit deployed?’

‘Within fifteen minutes, ma’am, but unfortunately he lost the trail.’ Jim’s update had come in as they were bringing Ryan down the mountain, the dog-handler’s frustration at the worsening weather evident even over the radio. The negative result has reinforced Leo’s decision to keep an open mind in relation to suspects. With Ryan hiding in plain sight just a short distance from the crime scene, Leo would have expected Foster to find him quickly. So perhaps the scent from Miles’s open window wasn’t Ryan’s.

‘Sounds like you’ve got everything under control,’ Boccacci says, with a small smile. ‘Anything you’d like to know from me?’

‘I’m aware Miles’s parents have been informed … I assume an FLO’s been appointed? And is there a press strategy?’

‘DC Jules Monroe, and we’ll be issuing a statement in the next hour.’ Boccacci doesn’t miss a beat.

‘We’re likely to have press turn up. We can easily prevent access at the front of the house, but the property’s exposed at the rear – can we have additional uniformed resources?’

‘I’ll see what I can do.’

‘I’d like urgent data analysis on the victim’s phone and smartwatch – are you happy to authorise that?’

‘Yes. Anything else?’

‘Not right now, ma’am.’ The briefing has helped to get things straight in Leo’s own mind too, and now he’s keen to get going, starting by breaking the news to the three contestants still in theExposurecamp, now that Jim and Foster have been stood down.

‘Remember our priorities,’ Boccacci says, including Ffion and George in her briefing. ‘Trace, interview, eliminate. Get those alibis checked out as a matter of urgency, and I want confirmation that the live cameras don’t have a time lag, before we definitively rule out Lucas Taylor and Henry Moore.’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ George says.

‘I’d like a DC with me in Bryndare to brief the wider team.’ Boccacci looks first at Ffion, then George. ‘Decide between you – I’m going to take a look at the crime scene.’ She pauses at the door, giving Leo an appraising look. ‘That was an excellent briefing, by the way.’

As soon as the DCI is out of earshot, Leo exhales noisily. ‘That felt like a job interview.’

‘It was.’ George produces a coin from her pocket. ‘Heads or tails?’ she asks Ffion. ‘Loser gets to be the DCI’s bag-carrier.’

‘Heads.’

‘What do you mean, itwasa job interview?’ Leo says.

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