Page 45 of The Lucky Winners

The heat is more oppressive, the laughter louder. Everyone seems relaxed and unguarded as the last of the wine disappears into their glasses.

I watch Dev out of the corner of my eye as he tops up Tilda’s drink, the bottle wobbling slightly in his hand.

He’s drinking far more than I hoped he would tonight and I feel a flare of irritation.

When we’d discussed our plan to find ways of letting our guests wander through the house without us, to catch them in the act of taking a photo, we’d agreed we’d alternate with non-alcoholic drinks to be on alert for the right moment, but Dev hasn’t even glanced at the stash of Lucky Saint in the fridge.

I take a sip from my glass, the fizz of the Nozeco tickling my lips.

It’s my third ‘top-up’ tonight, and no one has noticed that my buzz is entirely manufactured.

When there’s a natural lull, I steer the conversation, nudging it gently towards us winning the house.

‘You seem to be settling in now,’ Jack says lightly.

‘Yes, although I still can’t believe it,’ I say, letting out a soft, dreamy laugh. ‘It feels so surreal. Right, Dev?’

He looks up from his drink, his smile wide but a touch unfocused. ‘Surreal is the right word. A house like this … it’s something else.’

‘You can say that again,’ Jack murmurs, taking another slug of his beer. ‘I’m guessing the corporation behind it knows the house has to be surreal to raise millions in prize-draw entries.’

‘DreamKey do give a percentage of each ticket price to charity,’ I add, sensing Jack’s cynicism.

He shakes his head. ‘I don’t know. Seems like, these days, folks can’t just donate for the sake of it. They expect something back or they’re not interested.’

I smart at this, glancing at Dev. He says, ‘I bought Merri one ticket for our wedding anniversary, mate. I wasn’t thinking about it that deeply.’

Jack nods. ‘Yeah, I know you guys are cool, but DreamKey? They’re another ball game altogether.

When they built this place, they didn’t give a stuff about the area or the people who live here.

Loads of people my age are still forced to live with their parents.

Me and Sarah have to rent out of town because of the lack of affordable homes around here. ’

I hide behind my wine glass. The last thing we want is for the evening to get political.

‘I didn’t realize you felt so strongly about it, Jack,’ Dev says. ‘But I know you’ve grown up here, so I guess –’

‘My grandparents lived here for forty years. My granddad died and then Grandma had to go into a home. We were forced to sell her house to pay her care fees. A builder bought the house intending to renovate it but it stood empty for a bit waiting for him to raise the funds to start work.’

‘He never renovated it?’ Dev asks.

‘No. The next thing we heard, the DreamKey juggernaut had scooped it up for peanuts.’

I can’t hear any bitterness and resentment simmering under Jack’s words. How must it feel to be sitting here partying, remembering his dear grandparents and the years of joy they had on this very land?

‘I feel terrible you had to go through that, Jack,’ I say, genuinely meaning it. At the same time I realize it’s one hell of a motive if someone wanted to get their own back. ‘I’m so sorry our good fortune came at a personal cost to you and your family.’

‘Yeah, sorry about that, mate,’ Dev says lightly. ‘You never think about how a company like DreamKey gets its hands on a piece of land like this, do you? It’s eye-opening, it really is.’

Jack smiles and waves away our comments. ‘Hey, you’re good people. It’s no reflection on you guys at all. Hope you know that.’ He holds up his beer. ‘Cheers to my grandparents and to us partying here in their memory.’

I put down my glass and paste a wide smile on my face. ‘And on that note, I just remembered that not everyone’s had a proper look around the place. Who’d like a little impromptu tour?’

The response is immediate, enthusiastic. Sarah claps her hands, her face lighting up. ‘Oh, I’d love that! I’ve been dying to see it all but I didn’t like to ask!’

‘Sounds like a great idea.’ Tilda beams.

Jack laughs, appearing to have made a full recovery from his sad memories. ‘Absolutely. We’d love to see how the other half lives.’

Simon calls, ‘I’ll be with you in two minutes.’

Dev meets my gaze. This is it. Time to put our plan into play.

‘Tilda and I will wait for Simon,’ he says. ‘We’ll catch you up.’

There’s a ripple of laughter and nods of agreement as Sarah and Jack stand. I smile, pushing down my nervousness. The plan is working. Stick to the plan.

I gesture for Sarah and Jack to follow me. ‘This way,’ I say, keeping my voice upbeat. ‘We’ll make a start.’

Our first stop is the smallest of the reception rooms, which DreamKey have turned into a kind of chill-out relaxation space. The shelves stretch from floor to ceiling, dark wood glinting in the soft light.

Jack instantly gravitates to the boxes of old records on display. He flips through some of the album covers with what looks to be genuine appreciation.

‘Have you played any of these?’ His eyes search for a record player.

‘No. Dev said most of them are scratched and unplayable, and some of the sleeves are empty.’

Jack’s smile fades. ‘So they’re just for show, then?’

I nod. ‘Looks that way. DreamKey do a lot just for the staging value.’ For the photos , I almost add, but stop myself.

‘Merri?’ I hear Dev call from the hallway. ‘Your phone is constantly ringing in here. Looks like Paige is trying to get hold of you.’

My heart blips. Paige! Maybe she’s got more news about the fake Facebook page.

I glance at Sarah and Jack, both closely inspecting an old violin, one of several small instruments hanging on the wall.

‘I’ll be two minutes,’ I say, heading out of the door. ‘There’s just a call I have to take.’

Jack waves a hand. ‘You go on, we’ll be fine here.’

Dev and the others aren’t in the living area when I get there. I take my phone out of my bag. There are four missed calls from Paige, no voicemails, and she hasn’t texted a message.

I call her straight back but it goes to voicemail. I try again with the same result and fire off a text.

Sorry I missed you. Everything OK?

I hesitate, then step out into the hallway. It’s silent. There’s no sign of Dev or the others. A prickle of unease creeps up my spine, and I turn back towards the room where I left Sarah and Jack.

The moment I push open the door, my breath catches. Sarah is standing by the far shelf, her phone in her hand, the screen lit up. She doesn’t even hear me at first: she’s so focused on the picture she’s just taken.

‘What are you doing?’ The words are out before I can stop them, sharp and cutting.

Sarah whirls around, her face a mask of guilt. ‘Oh, I just –’

‘You’re taking pictures of the house?’

‘Sorry. I should’ve asked if it was OK. It’s just so lovely in here, I wanted to …’ Her voice fades, her cheeks flushing deep red.

‘Are you planning to post that online?’

Sarah frowns. ‘What?’

‘Hey, Merri …’ Jack intervenes. ‘Sarah didn’t mean any harm. She loves the music room, that’s all.’

‘Oh, really?’ My voice is rising now, trembling with anger. I turn my back on Jack. ‘Are you selling us out, Sarah?’

Jack’s voice pipes up again. ‘Now just hang on a minute, Merri …’

‘No!’ she shouts back, her voice shaking. ‘I wouldn’t – I’d never do that.’

‘ Stop. Lying! ’ The words explode out of me, and for a moment, the air around us seems to vibrate with them.

Footsteps thunder down the hallway, and Dev appears in the doorway. Tilda and Simon burst in right behind him. His eyes move quickly from me to Sarah, to the phone that’s still clutched in her hand. ‘What’s going on?’ he demands, his voice sharp, clear as a bell despite the drink.

‘Ask her ,’ I say, pointing at Sarah. ‘I just caught her taking sneaky photos and we know why.’

‘For God’s sake, Merri,’ Sarah snaps, her voice cracking. ‘I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was just admiring the decor! I wanted a picture, that’s all. It’s a beautiful room.’

Simon steps forward, his expression tense. ‘All right, everyone, calm down. Let’s just take a minute.’

Jack glares at me. ‘Whatever you’ve got in your head, Merri, you’re mistaken. Sarah wasn’t doing anything sinister.’

She turns to me, her eyes glistening. ‘I swear I wasn’t … I don’t know what you mean about posting stuff online.’

Then Tilda speaks. ‘Your Little Miss Innocent act isn’t going to work this time, Sarah.’

The room falls silent, everyone holding their breath to see what I’m going to say next. Everyone hoping to defuse the situation while we still can.

But then I look at Jack and I see the doubt in his face. Just as clearly as I feel the harsh burn of betrayal in my chest.

This was supposed to be a simple evening to figure out exactly whom we could trust.

Now everything is falling apart.