Dead Giveaway by Brett Simon

Author:Brett, Simon [Brett, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective
ISBN: 9780595003570
Google: o4eh_krFbN4C
Publisher: iUniverse
Published: 2000-01-01T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

SYDNEE RANG CHARLES the next morning. ‘You were right,’ she said.

‘About what in particular?’

‘Tim Dyer trying to fix the wheel. I spoke to Sylvian this morning.’

‘Who?’

‘Sylvian de Beaune, the designer. I mentioned what we thought might have happened, and he went to check. The set’s in store, you see, waiting for the definite go-ahead on the second pilot. Anyway, there it was – small polythene bag filled with sand, stuck on the back of the wheel with sticky tape, just opposite the crown. As you said.’

‘Quite a feat of improvisation, to sort that out in the studio.’

‘I think Mr Dyer went prepared.’

‘Took the sandbag with him, you mean?’

‘Wouldn’t surprise me. As we know, he’s a very dedicated competitor. He knew the format of the show. He knew about the wheel. I think he planned it in advance.’

‘Bloody nerve. Where’s the traditional British spirit of fair play?’

‘That was invented before game shows.’

‘Yes. I suppose no one could have predicted the day when ritual humiliation would become a participant sport.’ Charles chuckled. ‘God, Tim would have been furious if he’d doctored the wheel and then someone else had got to the final.’

‘He was pretty confident it was going to be him. As he kept saying, there’s a knack to these things. He knew what he was doing.’

‘Hmm. Presumably, if the show had run its course, he would have won his Austin Metro with no questions asked.’

‘Yes. Until you found out about his cheating, there was a possibility that he would have got it, anyway.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes. All that guff I quoted from our Legal Department was sheer improvisation. I did consult them, but they were going to look for precedents and come back to me. So, you see, Charles, your quick thinking has saved W.E.T. a few thousand quid.’

‘Good. Not that I think W.E.T. needs the money, but I would really resent the idea of that little wimp Dyer getting it.’

‘I agree. Sylvian, incidentally, was furious.’

‘About what?’

‘The idea of someone tampering with his set. It was his first big one, you see. He’d been assistant on a good few, but this was the first on which he was going to get a sole credit.’

‘I thought he looked rather nervous all day.’

‘He certainly did. Kept fiddling about and rearranging things. Anyway, he really blew his top when he saw what Tim had done. Said it ruined the game. He’s got a strangely puritanical streak, Sylvian. He was particularly annoyed, because he’d already resisted one attempt to fix the result.’

‘What – another of the contestants tried it on?’

‘No, no. It was John Mantle. He asked Sylvian to arrange that the wheel didn’t end up with the crown on top.’

‘Good Lord.’

‘Well, it’s an Executive Producer’s job to keep his costs down. And it was only a pilot. Anyway, as I say, Sylvian refused to do it.’

Charles was not given time to reflect on the perfidy of television producers as Sydnee went on, ‘So, where do we go next?’

‘Which suspect, you mean?’

‘Yes. We’ve still got Trish Osborne and Bob Garston – that is, assuming we’ve found out the full extent of Tim Dyer’s evil-doing.

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