Sarah was still smiling when she left the lift and headed towards the aftercare office. Jenny and Mel were in conversation with some other members of the team, but were obviously waiting for Sarah to return.  She made a concerted effort to look serious.

“Hi, sorry I’m late. I had to talk to the police about Marta.  She’s still on the loose I’m afraid.”

Jenny looked down at her notes and frowned.

“Just confirm for me Sarah, we saw Marta through to the airside staff at the airport, didn’t we?”

“Yes, and she returned to Holland as arranged.  After speaking to someone from here, she obtained my address, and came back because she is convinced that I can help her get the money and recognition that she feels she is owed.”

“Do we know where that information came from?” asked Mel, knowing that everyone knew the answer.

Sarah looked over at Daryl. He took a deep breath.

“It was Natasha.  She was the only one in the office, and she admitted that she’d given Marta the information in order to get her own back on Sarah.  I don’t think that Natasha realised how much trouble it was going to cause for everyone.  She’s told me that she’s sorry, and that she wants to apologise to Sarah.”

“Tough!” said Jenny.  “She has blown any chance of getting back into the building or any of the other offices.  Oliver spoke to the legal department this morning, and basically Natasha has broken nearly every clause in her contract.  She will never get a job in media again. Neither will Natasha’s Mummy. We just have to make sure that you are safe, Sarah.  Any ideas?”

“I’ll be staying with a friend for the time being.  Although Millie’s flat is fairly secure, we know that Marta is adept at conning her way into places.  Security here is first class so I’m safe whilst I’m on site. I have no doubt that I will be safe at my friend’s house too.”

“We don’t want to put anyone else at risk, especially if there are children involved.” said Jenny.

“It’s not my friend Jude.  I’ll give you the address shortly, but the police have said that I need to keep the location secret for now – I trust you all, but Marta is very good at getting information out of people, and I don’t want anyone else on the team put at risk.”

“Thank you, Sarah.  There is one other thing that I need to warn you all about – especially in terms of reporters ringing up, or asking you questions away from the office.  There’s been a suicide; a person who was on the show and apparently failed the lie detector test.  We all know that the test is not fool proof, but usually the truth comes out eventually.  The inquest is being held next week; it may reflect badly on all of us but particularly on Oliver.  The aftercare team could have done more to support this man, but Millie was away, Sarah hadn’t started with us, and it looks as if the hand of Natasha was responsible for cancelling the counselling sessions that he was offered.  Off you all go now but, please, keep this to yourselves, and not a word to Natasha!”

The rest of the team filed out and headed for the canteen and some much-needed caffeine.  Jenny picked up her pen to write down Sarah’s temporary address.

“No need.” said Sarah. “I’m staying at Al’s tonight. In the spare bedroom.”

Jenny did her best not to react to the news.

“With Al? Okay, is there anything else you want to tell me – off the record?”

“Off the record.  Al has been a great friend to me from the very first moment I arrived here.  Our friendship has progressed, but I don’t want Al to feel awkward if the young runners start making coarse comments.  I trust that I can rely on your discretion Jenny, and that I’m not breaking any company rules?”

“No.  Of course not.  Al is a great bloke, and we all respect him…”

“As do I.  In the short time that we have known each other, I’ve discovered that there is so much more to Al than most of you see.  I spent ten years trapped with a man who did his utmost to control me, and disapproved on principle of everything that I liked.  Al makes me laugh; we enjoy the same things, and I knew for certain that I wanted to get to know him better from the instant I stepped into his living room and saw most of my favourite books on his shelves.  You can rely on us both being discreet at work of course.  The most important thing is finding Marta, and keeping her from harming anyone.”

“Of course, Sarah.  Is it okay if we brief the other security staff about Marta and the possible risk – and that Al is taking personal responsibility for your safety?”

Sarah winked.

“I rather like the sound of that, Jenny.”

Not known for her sense of humour, on this occasion, Jenny smiled and winked back as she left the room.  Sarah took out her mobile and sent Al a text advising that Jenny knew about her staying at his house, and that she had ensured that discretion would be maintained. As an afterthought Sarah added “So no more snogging in the lift. S xxxx”

Al’s reply was short but very sweet; a smiley face followed by four kisses.  Sarah felt like she was twenty-one again and going off to the Graduation Ball. Then she remembered what happened to poor Amy Loomis, and sent up a silent prayer of thanks that she was older and wiser – to some extent anyway.

Mondays and Tuesdays, when there was no filming taking place, were often slow and taken up with the follow-ups from previous shows, and preparing for the next group of people to put in an appearance on Wednesday. Jenny asked Sarah to have a look through the file on the man who had killed himself, hoping that she might spot something that had been missed.

She did.

It was another of those cases where Oliver had taken a dislike to the man, and quite openly goaded him so that the audience, fickle as ever, made the whole situation worse by booing and jeering.  The aftercare that should have been set up was cancelled – by Natasha who felt that Oliver had seen through the man’s lies, and that he didn’t ‘deserve’ having more resources wasted on him.  Sarah had no doubt that such a decision should never have been left to an immature and inexperienced runner.  She looked for signs that Millie had been aware of the situation, but it was clear that other people who were less experienced in aftercare had rushed through the process while she was off for a few rare days with Tom.  Other members of the team were aware of Oliver’s dislike of the man and probably kept quiet in the hope that there would be no repercussions.  To be fair, that would usually be the case, but on this occasion the combination of Oliver’s annoyance, Natasha’s arrogance, and the blind eye turned by other team members could all have contributed to what was a very sad situation.  Ultimately, Oliver would have to take the blame.  The outrageous behaviour that made him a cult hero to many might also be his downfall.

Sarah typed up her notes and emailed them to Jenny. She went looking for Daryl, who she had a feeling might be able to shed light on what had gone on.  He was in the canteen, locked into his mobile, and didn’t hear her approach.

“I need to ask you some questions Daryl; it would be better if you told me the truth right from the start.”

“What? What have I done?”

“There are going to be questions asked about this poor man who has committed suicide.  According to the records, you, as a trained polygraph operator, supervised Natasha when she carried out the lie test on him.  Did you?”

Daryl looked down at the table top and muttered, “No.”

“Why not?  You know the rules.  Natasha hadn’t even done the training.  She should never have carried out the test, even with supervision.”

“We were busy.  I told her she would have to wait until I could supervise her, but she said that her mother had told her she needed the experience. I was called away, and by the time I came back she had done the test, and was dancing around the office waving the result.  She said that it didn’t matter because Oliver didn’t like the bloke anyway.”

“Did you tell Millie?”

“No, by the time she came back from Cambridge the programme had been recorded.  Natasha knew that Millie would be cross, so she swore us all to secrecy.  She said that if we told on her, she’d tell her mother and we’d lose our jobs.”

“We are going to have to talk to Jenny about this.”

“Will I lose my job?”

“Depends on what happens.  If the Coroner considers Oliver to be an interested person, this might be the end of the show, of all our jobs, and of Oliver’s career.  Based on Natasha’s flawed polygraph test, this man was branded a serial liar and took his own life.  Come on. Time to get this sorted out.”

Sarah followed Daryl up to Jenny’s office.  She was waiting, together with Oliver, Mel and a serious-looking woman from the legal department.  Jenny had printed off Sarah’s notes and circulated them. Sarah and Daryl took their seats at the end of the conference table. Oliver did not look happy.

“In addition to the notes I sent you, Daryl has some further information.  It doesn’t reflect well on anyone, but some of the blame has to lie with Natasha, and particularly with her mother’s threats of getting people sacked if they refused to help her daughter.”

Oliver exploded! “That bloody woman and her imbecile of a daughter!  Whatever happens Jenny, we are never employing anyone based on family or friend’s recommendations!”

“That’s me out then!” said Sarah

Oliver glared at her, and then realised what he had said.  Jenny put a hand on Sarah’s arm.

“Millie may have brought you to us Sarah, but believe me, you were employed on your own merit, experience and qualifications. You have also proved your worth to us on several occasions, including this one.  In addition, working on this show has put you into personal danger from one of the guests, also down to Natasha.  Please rest assured that whatever happens, neither you, nor Millie can be held responsible. We’re also very grateful that Al is in a position to keep you safe.”

“Al?” said Oliver. “Our Al?  Our security guard?  What has he got to do with this?”

Sarah smiled. “He’s saved my life from Marta once already. There is far more to Al than just being a security guard.   Do you need me for anything else Jenny?  I’ve got some profiles to look through for Wednesday.”

“Thank you, Sarah.  I’ll just see you out.”

Jenny walked Sarah out into the corridor.

“Go easy on Daryl, Jenny? Natasha obviously took advantage of Millie’s absence to get her own way.  We’ve all seen how domineering and arrogant she and her mother can be.”

“We’ll see.  You do realise that referring to Al in there will have set off Oliver’s nose for a secret?”

Sarah shrugged.

“I am not in any way embarrassed by my relationship with Al.  Don’t tell Oliver, but Al is the best kisser I’ve met since I went to Uni.  Definitely better looking, and infinitely better company than my ex-partner. Catch you later!”

It took Jenny a few minutes to stop laughing, and compose herself before she could return to the conference room and Daryl’s fate.