Listen for the Lie(45)

I huffed out a laugh. “Damn, Savvy, I knew you were ride or die, but that’s next-level.”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder with a grin. “I’m the best friend in the world, you can say it. And as the best friend in the world, I would be delighted to help you off your dickhead husband.”

I stared at her, still convinced she must have been kidding.

She cocked an eyebrow. “What do you say? Are we going to kill a dude or what?”





Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens EPISODE FIVE—“A MYSTERY WOMAN”

Today, for the first time, you’re going to hear from Lucy’s ex-husband, Matt Gardner. Matt has declined to speak with the press since Savannah’s death, and only agreed to talk to me now because Lucy asked him to.

He comes to my hotel room in Plumpton first thing in the morning. He looks older than the photos I’ve seen of him, and tired. I ask him if he agreed to this interview because of Lucy.

Matt:??????????????Yeah, she mentioned that I should talk to you.

Ben:???????????????Why?

Matt:??????????????I don’t know, I guess she likes you. Or … she wants to know who killed Savvy.

Ben:???????????????Let’s talk about your relationship with Lucy. You two stayed in touch after divorcing?

Matt:??????????????No. I hadn’t spoken to her at all since she left town five years ago. But she came by the house a few days ago, and then we also had lunch recently.

Ben:???????????????She reached out to you, then?

Matt:??????????????Yeah. She just showed up one day.

Ben:???????????????How would you describe your relationship when you two were married?

Matt:??????????????Mmmhh … passionate. We were really in love, but we also fought a lot. We probably got married too young. But I was crazy about her. From the moment I met her, I was smitten.

Ben:???????????????What did you fight about?

Matt:??????????????Normal marriage stuff. Money, in-laws, work. We probably should have gone to therapy. I realize now that we just weren’t very good at communicating with each other. I take some responsibility for that. I wish we’d worked on it instead of giving up.

Ben:???????????????You wish you’d stayed married?

Matt:??????????????I guess I don’t mean that exactly … it’s hard to know what would have happened. But with the benefit of hindsight, I can see a world where we took a step back and tried to see the good in each other.

Ben:???????????????After Lucy was released from the hospital, she went to her parents’ almost right away instead of home. Several people I’ve talked to said that you asked her to leave. Is that true?

Matt:??????????????That’s true.

Ben:???????????????Why?

Matt:??????????????It was just a lot to handle at the time. Savvy—our friend, not just hers—was dead, and the police were already asking questions that … it was a lot.

Ben:???????????????The police were asking questions that made you suspect your wife had killed her friend?

Matt:??????????????Well … I don’t know. They were asking questions that made me uncomfortable. I shouldn’t have sent her away. I feel bad about it now.

Ben:???????????????Did you go see her while she was at her parents’ house?

Matt:??????????????Uh, once, yeah.

Ben:???????????????How was Lucy doing then?

Matt:??????????????I … think she was about the same. Sad. Confused.

Ben:???????????????What did you do while Lucy was at her parents’?

Matt:??????????????What do you mean?

Ben:???????????????Just, in general. It must have been strange, having your wife out of the house, right? What did you do?

Matt:??????????????The normal stuff. Went to work. I worked more, actually. The local media would sometimes pop up at my house so I stayed there a lot.

Ben:???????????????Did you stay with any friends?

Matt:??????????????I think I crashed on a buddy’s couch once or twice, yeah.

Ben:???????????????How about any women? Did you stay at the homes of any women? Or have them over?

Matt:??????????????I mean … it’s been five years. Like I said, I crashed on some couches. Maybe some were women.

Ben:???????????????I have two people who say they saw you regularly coming in and out of the house of a woman I’m choosing not to name here, for her sake.

Matt:??????????????Like I said, I stayed with some friends occasionally. Got away from the media.

Ben:???????????????They say the two of you had been sleeping together since before Savannah died.

Matt:??????????????I don’t know who these anonymous people are, and I don’t know why they think they know what I’m doing behind closed doors.

Ben:???????????????They also said that the woman started spending some nights at your house very soon after Lucy left.

Matt:??????????????Again, I don’t know why these people think they know my business.

Ben:???????????????So they’re wrong? Or they’re lying?

Matt:??????????????Yes, they’re wrong. And what does it even matter? How is it even relevant?

Ben:???????????????Good point. Let’s move on. How did you get home from the wedding?

Matt:??????????????I drove.

Ben:???????????????Even though you were, by your own account, pretty drunk?

Matt:??????????????Listen, it wasn’t a great decision. But yeah, I did. And I’d sobered up a bit by the time I left.