Ben gets Julia a cup of coffee, and I sit beside her on the couch while she holds it in her freezing hands. Ben’s microphone is on the table in front of us, but he hasn’t turned it on yet.
“I want to do an interview,” she says. “About Matt.”
“Okay.” Ben smiles in this soft, gentle way that I think is meant to be nonthreatening. He’s never smiled at me like that, thank god. “What about Matt?”
“About … our marriage. And some things he said about Lucy.” She glances at me apologetically.
“Did you know Savannah?” Ben asks, even though I’m fairly certain he knows the answer to that question.
Julia shakes her head. She’s fixed her hair and is far more put together now. She’s one of those women who can do an effortless messy bun, and I dislike that about her. “No. I never met her. I don’t know anything about her or…” She looks at me again.
“Should I leave?” I ask hopefully. “This will probably be easier to talk about when I’m gone.”
“No.” She grabs my hand, wrapping her icy fingers around mine.
“Lucy can step out when you begin the interview,” Paige says. I try not to look too relieved. I carefully extract my hand from Julia’s grip.
“I want to talk about what Matt is actually like. What our marriage is like. Because all the things that the women in our neighborhood said about him…” She reaches for her coffee and takes a slow sip. “I can’t let them do that. I thought I could let it go, but if I don’t say something, I’m never going to be able to live with myself.”
Paige’s eyes dart to mine, and I can tell from that quick look that Ben didn’t share the end of Maya’s interview with her. She’s caught off guard.
“Telling the truth isn’t going to do shit for you, honey,” Savvy whispers.
I stand, because I really can’t take much more of this. Julia looks up at me, startled.
“I should go.” I move around the coffee table and head to the door. “If people knew I was here when she tells you…” I grab the door handle. “You don’t want me here for it.”
Julia looks like she’s going to protest, but Paige nods. “She’s right. We’ll see you later, Lucy.”
I throw open the door and practically run out.
Listen for the Lie Podcast with Ben Owens BONUS EPISODE 2
Julia Gardner showed up on my doorstep unexpectedly one day. I received word she wanted to talk to me, and I said sure, even though I was confused about what she would have to say about this case. Matt Gardner’s wife never met Savannah, and from what I’d heard from neighbors, they were a perfectly happy couple. Matt hit the jackpot with his second wife, as one person told me.
As it turns out, Matt and Julia have been separated for a couple months now.
Ben:???????????????You moved out today?
Julia:??????????????Yes. Well, I partially moved out two months ago. I went back for more of my stuff today because he said he’d be out of town. He wasn’t, but I should have expected that.
Ben:???????????????Let’s back up a bit. You and Matt have been married for…？
Julia:??????????????Three years.
Ben:???????????????How’d you meet?
Julia:??????????????I was attending a conference in Houston, and he was there visiting some friends. We met at the hotel bar and just hit it off. We dated long-distance for a while, and then I moved out to Plumpton to be with him. We got married not long after.
Ben:???????????????Tell me about Matt.
Julia:??????????????He was really— No, I was going to say he was charming, but that’s not the right word. He’s not charming, exactly. He’s comfortable. He’s one of those people that, when you meet him, it feels like you’ve been friends for a long time. He has this way of putting people at ease. I’m not very good at talking to strangers, so I noticed that about him right away. It didn’t feel like he was hitting on me in that hotel bar, it genuinely felt like he was just being friendly. Not very common with men.
It all felt very nice, at first. He was very open with me about his past, about Lucy, and it made me feel like he was an honest man. I was looking for that in a relationship. But things moved really quickly, and he pushed hard for me to come to Plumpton. I just thought he wasn’t scared of commitment.
Once I got out here, and moved into the house, things changed a little. I brushed it off, mostly. He was moodier, more likely to snap at me, but that’s what happens, isn’t it? You get comfortable in a relationship and you stop being so polite.