Page 89 of The Lucky Winners

Tilda ushers Dev into the farmhouse, saying little as she leads him down the narrow, flagstoned hallway and into the kitchen. He glances at her, noting the faint flush on her cheeks, the way her usually flawless make-up is missing.

Not surprising, after the terrible way last night had ended.

‘I can’t believe it,’ she says quietly. ‘I can’t believe Sarah is gone.’

Dev nods and hangs his head. ‘Your text sounded urgent … Is everything OK?’

Oddly, she says, ‘I’m glad you came. It’s time we talked.’

‘Did the police call in here, too?’ he says, looking around the kitchen. The surfaces are cluttered and it seems in disarray compared to when they’d been here for dinner.

‘Yes, but not until ten o’clock this morning. They said they’d already asked you some questions, though.’

‘Yeah, they knocked us up at three a.m.’

‘What?’ Tilda exclaims.

‘Apparently Jack had told them about our disastrous drinks party, so you can understand why they needed to speak to us.’

‘Coffee?’

‘Thanks. Where’s Simon?’

‘He’s … gone out somewhere, I think. Probably away from me.’ She clatters around the kitchen, dropping a spoon, spilling milk.

It occurs to Dev that he’s made a mistake in coming down here. Tilda seems distracted, which is understandable after what’s happened, and she’s acting strangely.

Dev pulls out a stool and sits at the marble-topped breakfast bar. ‘What did the police ask you?’

‘They knew about the drinks party and the photograph mix-up between Sarah and Merri, all that stuff. We didn’t have anything new to tell them.’ The coffee machine begins to steam and splutter.

‘I wondered if that’s why you’d summoned me here this morning, to tell me something about last night.’

‘It is … sort of,’ Tilda says cryptically. ‘As in there’s something I think you should know. Something I didn’t share with the police.’

He frowns and laces his fingers on the counter.Something I didn’t share with the police.

‘I’m listening,’ he says.

Infuriatingly, she continues to fiddle around with the machine for another thirty seconds before bringing over two Americanos. She sits on the stool next to him, pins her gaze to his. He catches her subtle, faded fragrance and finds himself shifting, leaning away slightly.

‘Dev, I think you should know,’ she says confidentially, ‘that Merri is keeping a terrible secret from you.’

He’s taken aback. But he detects smugness on her face. He doesn’t like the look of it at all. Merri considers Tilda to be a new friend and would be mortified if she knew what she’s doing here. It gives him the strength to keep a stoic expression on his face. ‘How do you know this?’

‘That’s not important. But it’s serious enough that you need to know. You’ve been kept in the dark for a long time, Dev.’

His heart thrashes behind his ribcage. Is this it? The revelation he’s always sensed is waiting in the wings? The thing he’sbeen able to sense Merri stamping down from the early days and that he’d hoped she’d trust him enough to share with him?

But how could Tilda possibly know it before him?

Dev looks down at his untouched coffee. He desperately wants to know. Heneedsto know so he can support Merri.

But not like this.

Dev stands up. ‘I don’t want to talk about it, Tilda.’

Her slightly manic expression contorts into one of disbelief. ‘What? Believe me, you really should beveryinterested, Dev.’