Page 87 of A Game of Lies

‘Ceri must have gone straight back to camp after killing Miles,’ George says. ‘And you brought all the contestants out of camp four hours later, so she has to have removed the envelope in that time.’

Leo turns to Ffion. ‘Can you have a look at the footage? I guess she thought that, with Miles dead, no one would be watching the livestream, and she could open the box without being seen.’

Ffion nods mutely, glad to be dismissed. By the time she reaches the back door, Leo’s already on the phone to the DCI.A team effort, boss, she hears.That’s very kind of you … let’s see how it pans out …

In the courtyard, Ffion takes a lungful of cool air.

‘Are you having an asthma attack?’

She opens her eyes to find Seren leaning against the farmhouse wall. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Waiting for you. Did Ceri really kill Miles?’

‘You shouldn’t have been listening.’

‘It’s not my fault. Tell your boyfriend to keep his voice down.’

‘Don’t call him that.’

‘Don’t you fancy him any more? Does he give you the ick?’

‘No, but—’

‘Oh, do you givehimthe ick?’ Seren juts out her bottom lip in sympathy.

Ffion exhales slowly. ‘Why are you here, Ser?’

‘I want to talk to you about uni.’ Seren scuffs the toe of her shoe on the ground. ‘I might have changed my plans a bit.’

Fucking hell, she can’t deal with this right now … Ffion exhales sharply. ‘No. I know you think I’ll be softer on you than Mam, but no. You’re going to university and that’s final.’

‘Yes, but Caleb—’

‘—will have to wait.’ Ffion glares at her. ‘Bangor’s two hours away, Ser, and some days you won’t even have lectures. You’ll have plenty of time with him.’

‘You neverlistento me!’ Seren almost screams it, and Ffion walks away from the house, striding across the courtyard so the younger girl has to follow. ‘I’m trying to explain what—’

‘Look.’ Ffion stops dead, turning to Seren. ‘I know it feels like Caleb is the be-all and end-all right now – and maybe he always will be – but getting a degree is …’ She stops, thinking of Jessica running into Caleb on the mountain. Wondering again how long it would have taken for him to reach Miles’s studio if he’d been on the quad bike. She can see it now, parked by the gate at the back of the courtyard, and she tries to remember if it was there yesterday morning. ‘How is Caleb, anyway?’

Seren narrows her eyes. ‘He’s fine. Why?’

‘He was pretty pissed off with Miles.’

‘The guy promised him a TV credit. A credit’s a big deal, apparently.’ Seren shrugs. ‘I don’t get it, to be honest, but he’s gone mental over it.’

Ffion glances up at the bedrooms above them. ‘I wouldn’t let him hear you saying that.’

‘His room’s at the front of the house – he’d have to be a bat to hear me.’

‘When you say “mental”,’ Ffion says, ‘have you heard him, say, make any threats against Miles?’

‘Oh, my God.’ Seren takes a step back, shaking her head. ‘I don’t believe you.’

‘What?’

‘You think he killed Miles.’

‘I don’t. I’m just covering all bases.’

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