Page 89 of A Game of Lies

‘Boccacci’s authorised Ceri’s arrest,’ Leo says. ‘Do you want to interview her with me? George and Alun are going to nick Dario for the criminal damage.’

‘You’ll be wanting these, then.’ Ffion drops a handful of charred paper on to the table. Just as she does, she remembers something Seren said, and she looks up at the ceiling, trying to place everyone.

‘What are they?’ Alun picks up a piece of paper between finger and thumb.

‘I found them by Dario’s caravan. They’re contracts, or disclaimers, or something – look, this one has Pam’s signature, and this one has the wordindemnifyon it.’ She looks at George. ‘Owen’s bedroom is at the front of the house, isn’t it? Next to the one Caleb’s been using?’

‘Um … yes.’ George is distracted, peering at the scraps of paper. ‘Dario must have taken paperwork from Miles’s studio that day we saw him. Nice one, Ffi.’

‘So if Owen’s room looks out towards the lake, how did he know what was going on in the courtyard when Miles was murdered?’ Ffion says.

There’s a beat while everyone thinks this through.

Leo stands. ‘I’ll go and get him, and let’s find out, shall we?’

‘Before you do …’ Ffion looks at him, and her stomach lurches. ‘Can I have a word?’

‘Sure.’

‘Not here.’

They walk up the mountain, away from Carreg Plas and in the opposite direction to theExposurecamp. Something’s nagging at Ffion – something about the footage she watched earlier – but her head’s too full to understand what it is, and whether it matters. All she knows is that she needs to come clean.

‘What’s going on?’ Leo says, as Ffion’s march slows and she stands still, her hands deep in her coat pockets. Below them, Llyn Drych is a slash of blue. Ffion can see Mam’s house, on the edge of Cwm Coed, and Steffan’s boatyard. Over on the English side of the lake, The Shore’s log cabins stretch from the water’s edge back into the forest.

Ffion takes Ceri’s envelope out of her pocket and hands it to Leo.

He looks at it, puzzled. ‘You found it?’

Ffion says nothing. She tries to hold his gaze, but she’s too ashamed and she has to break away, although not before she’s seen his face switch from confusion to understanding to disbelief. She looks back at the lake before it progresses to disgust. ‘It’s complicated,’ she says quietly.

Ffion hears the snap of latex gloves – only Leo would have a pair in his pocket, just in case – and the whisper of card sliding out of paper.

Leo reads it aloud.

Ceri stole thousands of pounds from her postal delivery round.

A crow hops from one stone to another, its head jerking from side to side. Ffion watches it peck at something on the ground.

‘She got caught,’ Ffion says, when it’s clear Leo isn’t going to say anything. ‘She promised to stop, and pleaded with her boss, Bronwen, not to tell the police. Eventually Bronwen took pity on her, but, whenExposurestarted, Bronwen realised she risked being dragged into Ceri’s lies.’

‘But …’ Leo is struggling to speak. ‘Why?’

‘Bronwen’s going out with Huw.’

‘So?’

‘He begged me.’ Ffion plucks a leaf off the tree next to them and shreds it into pieces. The sudden movement spooks the crow, which flies off down towards the lake. ‘I think he really likes her. I think she’s mending him, after I …’ She lets the sentence trail away.

‘Plenty of people leave their marriages, Ffion, and a whole bunch of them feel guilty about it.’ There’s an edge to Leo’s voice. She can feel his eyes on her as he speaks again. ‘Concealing evidence isn’t making amends, though, it’s crazy.’

‘I’m crazy, am I?’ Ffion snaps, finally looking at him.

‘Yes! Do you still love him, is that it?’

‘What? No! God.’

‘Have you any idea how stupid this is going to make me look?’ Leo says. ‘DCI Boccacci said she was impressed with me, that Cheshire was lucky to have me. She even asked if I’d consider transferring.’

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