Listen for the Lie(46)
Ben:???????????????When was that?
Matt:??????????????Not long after Lucy and Savvy left.
Ben:???????????????But you didn’t see them?
Matt:??????????????No, they took the back road. I took the main road, like they told us to.
Ben:???????????????And you went straight home?
Matt:??????????????Yeah.
Ben:???????????????And you were alone the rest of the night? No one came and picked you up, later that evening?
Matt:??????????????You know what, I actually think I’m going to leave. This was a bad idea.
Ben:???????????????A neighbor confirmed to police that they saw you come home.
Matt:??????????????[muffled noises] I’m done.
Ben:???????????????That neighbor has since reached out to express regret about lying. They saw you, but another car showed up shortly after. They said it was a woman, and you two had an argument in your driveway.
Matt:?????????????[muffled noises, banging]
Ben:???????????????They didn’t know who the mystery woman was, but apparently you were shouting at her, and then she left. And then you got back into your car and drove away. So, you told the police you were home all night, but you were actually out during the time Savvy was murdered.
And that’s the end of the interview, folks. Matt left then, and I haven’t been able to get in contact with him again since.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
LUCY
I agree to go out to the woods with Ben, to the spot where Savvy was found. It’s not what I expected for our first interview, but I don’t have a good reason to say no.
And I really tried to think of a good reason to say no.
So now I am marching to the door of Ben’s hotel room, about to drive with this smug, lying podcaster to the scene of the crime.
“Hello.” Ben greets me at the door of his hotel room with a smile.
“Hello, asshole.”
Behind Ben, Paige lets out a cackle. She sits on the couch, bare feet casually propped up on the coffee table. I wonder whether the two of them are sleeping together.
I hope not, and then I hate myself for it.
Ben’s smile widens, like he relishes being called an asshole. “It’s so nice to see you too, Lucy.”
“When were you going to tell me that Matt left with some mystery person the night that Savvy died?”
I called and texted Matt several times since listening to the episode last night. Shockingly, he seems to be avoiding me.
“Let’s kill him before he kills you,” Savvy says in my ear. “Didn’t I tell you how good I am at that? I can make a man wish he never laid eyes on me, much less hands.”
It wasn’t the plan, to kill him the night of the wedding. We were still just talking about it.
Did the plan change? Did we run into Matt that night?
I think of him standing near the front door, genuine fear in his eyes. The man who once sneered at me, “You call that a punch? Hit me again. HIT ME AGAIN!”
“You found out eventually, didn’t you?” Ben says, pulling me back to the present.
“I thought we were working together here. I don’t get a heads-up?”
“No,” Ben says.
“No,” Paige echoes behind him.
“Not really feeling the trust here, Ben.”
He laughs. “Do you trust me?”
Not even a little bit. “Fair point.”
He grabs his bag and steps out of the hotel room, pulling the door closed behind him. “I’m going to turn the mic on once we’re in the car, okay?”
“Okay.” I turn away, in case my face betrays my nerves.
I follow Ben to his car. “Are there more interview bombshells coming?”
“Of course.” He opens the door and smiles at me over the hood. “Ready?”
* * *
“Have you been out here since it happened?” Fifteen minutes later, Ben is worried. He frowns as he says the words, taking his eyes off the road for so long that I actually point out the windshield to remind him that he’s driving. He faces forward.
We’re on the narrow road that leads to the Byrd Estate. There are two roads that go to the venue—a main one, nicely paved and less dangerous, and this one, narrow and bumpy, with thick trees on either side. The latter is a much faster way to get to the highway, and it’s the one where they found Savvy’s car parked, abandoned.
“Yes.” I slump down in my seat. My heart is thumping too fast, and I try to pretend that it’s just a sugar rush from the cookies I ate before leaving the house. The cold air blasting out of the vents is finally starting to cool the car down, and I focus on the feeling of it against my face.
I haven’t seen Savvy again, but her voice is in my head constantly now. Just an endless stream of “Let’s kill your husband!”
“When?” He glances at me again, but only for a moment this time.
“My mom brought me out here after the police opened the area back up. We walked around, hoping it would spark a memory.” I speak a little slowly, considering my words before I say them. I’m Podcast Lucy now.
I am not “I was planning to kill my husband with my friend” Lucy. She needs to stay buried deep inside.
“It didn’t.” It’s not a question.