Finally, he says, “How was work?”
“I was fired.”
He edges around me and reaches into the counter next to the fridge. “Cool. You want some wine? I’m going to have some wine.”
I wait for my words to sink in, but he just reaches for the bottle of wine, oblivious.
I stab the knife into the chicken, right between the breast and thigh. I may have used a bit more force than necessary.
Nathan jumps. I smile.
At this rate, he’s going to end up married to a murderer.
Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens EPISODE ONE—“THE SWEETEST GIRL YOU EVER MET”
Maya Harper: She got away with murder, and everyone knows it. Every single person in Plumpton knows that Lucy Chase killed my sister. It’s just that no one can prove it.
Maya Harper was eighteen years old when her older sister, Savannah, was murdered. She describes Savannah as fun and sweet, the kind of woman who could organize a party in less than an hour and make it look like she’d worked on it all month.
Maya:?????????????She was just so nice and welcoming to everyone. And she was the best sister. When she was in high school, she’d let me hang out with her and her friends sometimes. And we weren’t even close in age. She was six years older than me. I didn’t know anyone else who had a big sister who let a little ten-year-old tag along to football games.
Maya was happy to talk to me, but she was skeptical that I’d find anything new.
Maya:?????????????You know that my family has hired three different private investigators, right? Like, my parents did not give up. I don’t know if there’s anything left to find.
Ben:???????????????I’m aware, yeah.
Maya:?????????????I guess it couldn’t hurt, though. I mean, it’s been five years and it’s like no one even cares anymore that Savvy is dead. They’ve all given up.
A quick note here—you’ll often hear people who knew Savannah refer to her as “Savvy.” It was what most people called her.
Ben:???????????????So you haven’t heard any updates from the police or the DA or anyone?
Maya:?????????????Not in years. They all knew Lucy did it, they just couldn’t prove it, I guess.
Ben:???????????????There have never been any other suspects?
Maya:?????????????No. I mean, Lucy was covered in Savvy’s blood when they found her. She had Savvy’s skin underneath her fingernails, there were scratches on Savvy’s arm and bruises shaped like Lucy’s fingers. People saw them fighting at the wedding. Lucy killed her. She killed my sister and got away with it because the useless police department said there wasn’t enough evidence for an arrest.
Ben:???????????????Have you had any contact with Lucy recently?
Maya:?????????????No, not since she left Plumpton. She’s never come back, even though her parents still live here.
Ben:???????????????As far as you know, is she still claiming to have no memory of the night Savannah died?
Maya:?????????????Yeah, that was her story.
Ben:???????????????Do you believe her?
Maya:?????????????Of course I don’t believe her. No one believes her.
Is it true that no one believes Lucy Chase? Is she hiding something, or have the people of Plumpton accused an innocent woman of murder for five years?
Let’s find out.
I’m Ben Owens, and this is the Listen for the Lie podcast, where we uncover all the lies people tell, and find the truth.
CHAPTER THREE
LUCY
Nathan, as it turns out, has no balls.
We ate chicken. We drank wine. I played with the giant carving knife just to watch him sweat. He rambled on about work.
He did not ask whether I’m a murderer.
At this point, I’m curious how long this can go on for. He’s clearly wanted to break up for a while, and now he’s worried I’m going to murder him. Surely he will locate his balls and actually say the words “Please move out of my apartment and never contact me again” soon?
On the plus side, I have more time to look for a new place while I wait for the inevitable. Just this morning I found a very promising one-bedroom with no income requirements. It looks like a dump in the pictures, and the landlord asked to see a picture of my feet when I emailed, but, hey. It’s cheap.
Sometimes I think about the fact that the twenty-two-year-old version of me would be absolutely horrified by almost-thirty me. That shiny, smug newlywed with a four-bedroom house was so certain that she had life figured out and it was all going her way.
Guess what, asshole?
I also halfheartedly applied for a couple of new jobs over the weekend, and already got a rejection from one. I’m really killing it lately （pun intended）。