The lamp on the table next to the sofa isn’t new. We’ve had it for as long as I can remember. It’s a long cylinder, solid ceramic, and heavy. But not too heavy. I could lift it, and swing it, and bash it right into his head. Maybe the lamp wouldn’t even break. It’s quite sturdy. Mom would appreciate that. She must like that lamp, considering how long she’s had it.
She would not appreciate the mess, though. Blood would spurt out of his mouth and splatter across the walls. Maybe on the sofa too, and it does not look like the kind of sofa that’s easy to get blood out of.
Not that I know which sofas are easy to get blood out of.
Maybe it would be less messy if I hit him in the back of the head. That would also be convenient, because now he’s turned away from me. He wouldn’t even see it coming.
Not in the moment, anyway. I don’t think anyone—least of all my father—would be surprised by my murdering someone.
“You okay?”
Dad’s words startle me, because he’s turned back around while I was killing him, and now he’s staring at me.
“You have a weird expression,” he says. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m just tired from the flight.”
I start to push the murder thoughts away, but every therapist I’ve been to （and I’ve been to several） has wanted me to deal with the violent fantasies instead of just trying to make them stop.
I recently admitted to my latest therapist that trying to avoid murdering people in my head has just resulted in me murdering even more people in my head. She was very supportive of my idea to just let the thoughts fly and see what happens.
So, I imagine Dad’s brains splattering across the couch again and head upstairs to see Mom.
Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens
EPISODE ONE—“THE SWEETEST GIRL YOU EVER MET”
Savannah’s body was discovered early in the morning, only a few hours after her death. Gil Bradford was out for a run when he came across the body.
Gil:????????????????Yeah, it was a Sunday, which is when I used to do my long runs. I was really into running back then, but my knees are pretty wrecked these days. Anyway, I used to jog on this trail near the Byrd Estate, which is where they have all these fancy weddings and stuff. Savannah had been at a wedding there the night before.
So, I was out on that trail when I saw this flash of pink out there in the trees. Her dress—Savannah’s dress—was a pretty bright color, so I just saw her right away.
Ben:???????????????You saw her body right away? Or just the dress?
Gil:????????????????I saw her body maybe half a second after noticing the dress. She wasn’t hidden at all. This was real early—like the sun had just barely started coming up, but I could still see her there, plain as day. So I ran over, and I think I was yellin’， asking if she needed help.
But when I got close, I could tell she was already dead. Her eyes were open, and she was pale and soaking wet. Huge gash on her head, like someone had hit her with something. It rained real hard that night, I’m sure you heard. It had only just let up when I left for my run.
But I seen all those cops shows, so I moved away, didn’t touch her at all, and called the police. Of course, it didn’t matter, turned out that the rain had washed away all the evidence anyway.
（Just a note here, for those of you who are wondering—I tried reaching out to the Plumpton PD many times to see if anyone would talk to me about the case. They were … less than friendly, to put it nicely. The unsolved murder of Savannah Harper is a sore spot with the police department here, and it was made very clear to me that they would not be cooperating with the podcast in any way. We are on our own here.）
Ben:???????????????Had you ever met Savannah before that day?
Gil:?????????????????Nah, I live out on the edge of town, and I mostly keep to myself. I knew the Chases, of course, but no, I’d never met Savannah. I had no idea who she was when I called 911.
Ben:???????????????What happened when the police came?
Gil:?????????????????They sealed off the area, asked me some questions. Found her car on the side of the road—no one had been down the road that morning yet, because it got washed out in the rain. The cops had to come down the trail like me. It was hours before they could get to the car.
Ben:???????????????How did the other wedding guests get home?
Gil:?????????????????There are two roads out of the Byrd Estate. A little country road, and the main road. Savannah and Lucy left the wedding before it started raining, from what I heard later. So, they went down that little country road. But when the other guests left an hour or so later, it was already pouring, and that road was flooded. The people at the Byrd Estate roped it off. Everyone had to take the main road.