Page 70 of The Lucky Winners

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 upmy 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.

‘Askher,’ 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.