Ben:???????????????I’m trying to understand how Lucy became a suspect in Savannah’s murder. Can you walk me through it?
Ivy:????????????????I can try.
Ben:???????????????Did you see Lucy after Savannah died?
Ivy:????????????????Oh yes, of course.
Ben:???????????????When?
Ivy:????????????????We were at the hospital within ten minutes of her arriving. We wanted to find out what had happened to Savvy. They didn’t let us in, though. Not that day. We had to wait until the next day.
Ben:???????????????What happened when you went to see her?
Ivy:????????????????I begged her to tell me what had happened, but she just kept saying she didn’t remember. She was crying and crying … I felt bad for her at the time, but I was also incredibly frustrated. This was the only person in the world who could tell me what happened to Savvy, and she was just blubbering.
Ben:???????????????I— Right. So. Did you ever see her again after that?
Ivy:????????????????Many times.
Ben:???????????????Many times?
Ivy:????????????????I thought that it was best for me to keep going over there, keep pushing and letting her see how upset I was.
Ben:???????????????You already thought she did it at this point?
Ivy:????????????????I had my suspicions. There were the scratches on Savvy’s arm and the bruising that Lucy couldn’t explain. Then people started coming forward saying they were fighting at the wedding. And every time I went over to talk to Lucy, she was just … weird.
Ben:???????????????Weird?
Ivy:????????????????Hysterical. Just crying and shaking. It was odd, given that she’s a pretty stoic girl most of the time.
Ben:???????????????Did you get the impression that she was having any problems from her head injury?
Ivy:????????????????What kinds of problems?
Ben:???????????????With traumatic brain injuries, people often have trouble creating memories in the same way. Especially short-term memories. It can last for a long time after the injury.
Ivy:????????????????I really don’t know.
Ben:???????????????Did Lucy seem confused? Did she keep forgetting things? Besides the incident, I mean.
Ivy:????????????????Hmmm … she did, actually. I’d go over there and she’d start telling me all the things she’d told me last time. I thought she just really wanted me to know.
Ben:???????????????But at the time, you didn’t think that the injury could account for Lucy’s odd behavior?
Ivy:????????????????Maybe. I can’t recall exactly. But, honestly, it doesn’t matter either way. It was after I saw how Don and Kathleen were acting that I knew for sure it was Lucy.
Ben:???????????????How were they acting?
Ivy:????????????????Suspicious. Don would hover while I asked Lucy questions. Kathleen left us alone, but Don acted very weird every time I went over there. He was outright hostile at first.
Ben:???????????????Hostile?
Ivy:????????????????He told me I was upsetting Lucy, that she’d been hurt too and I needed to wait to talk to her. Kathleen convinced him, but he would linger in the doorway and listen to everything. He never left us alone. I actually told the police about that.
Ben:???????????????About him lingering?
Ivy:????????????????Yeah. It struck me as … someone trying to make sure that his daughter doesn’t say the wrong thing. He was treating her like she was a child again. I started to think that Lucy had told him something and he was trying to protect her by making sure she didn’t tell anyone else. And then I think that the guilt got to Kathleen, and she said something.
Ben:???????????????What did she say?
Ivy:????????????????[long sigh] You know, I’ve kept this to myself, because I don’t blame Kathleen and Don. I really don’t. But once, when I went over to their house, Kathleen followed me outside after I finished talking to Lucy. And she gave me this really long hug, and when we pulled away, she was crying, and she said, “Just wait a little longer, okay? I’ll make this right.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
LUCY
“Are you trying to imply that I’m crazy?”
Ben is sitting in his usual spot at the diner, leaned casually back in the booth. His laptop is closed in front of him, his notebooks piled neatly on top. He’s done for the day, or taking a break, or saw me coming and put everything away.
He squints at me. “What?”
I slide into the booth across from him. The redheaded kid behind the counter is staring at me. Someone must have clued him in as to who I am.
“Those questions you asked Ivy. What were you getting at?”
“What do you think I was getting at?” One side of his mouth lifts in an aggravating smirk.