Ivy:????????????????Sure.
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.
“That I’m crazy. That a blow to the head and the stress of being accused of murder got to me and made me completely bonkers.”
“That is not what I was getting at.”
“Then what?”
“I’m just trying to get a clear picture of what happened right after the murder. The attention seemed to be very intensely focused on finding out who murdered Savvy. How many days did you have to recover before Savvy’s mother came to ask you questions?”
Zero days. I could still see Mrs. Harper standing in the doorway of my hospital room, tears streaming down her face. She’d held my hands and begged me.
“Please, Lucy, please. We need to know something. Anything.”
“I just think it’s strange that your mother was so willing to give Mrs. Harper immediate, unfettered access to you.” Ben lifts an eyebrow.
“I said it was fine. At the time. I could make my own decisions.”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t.”
I pause and then blurt out my next words. “I was invested in figuring out who murdered Savvy too. And I never told my parents I did it.” Not that I remember, anyway. The days after the murder are very fuzzy.
“Listen, when the urge to murder someone strikes, sometimes you just gotta go with it.”
The voice is loud, and clear. I actually jump a little and glance around, like someone might be standing next to me.
He cocks his head. “I know.”
“I’m just saying, I had no problem with Ivy coming over and asking me questions. I wanted to help.”
“I’m sure you did.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh my god, Lucy, it means that I’m sure you did.” He’s amused now, and I’m startled to discover that I genuinely care whether or not he thinks I killed Savvy. How fucking annoying.
“Do you always think that people have nefarious intentions, or is it just me?” he asks.
“It’s just you,” I lie.
“I’m just saying, that if it were my child, and she’d just experienced a major trauma and a serious, life-threatening injury, I wouldn’t let anyone near her. I’d build her a pillow fort and guard the doorway. Even if she was a twenty-four-year-old woman claiming that it was fine.” He arches an eyebrow. “But that’s just me.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I look over at the teenager who is now furiously typing on his phone, tongue poking out one side of his mouth.
“Did you know that Beverly invited me to her birthday party?”
My attention snaps back to Ben, my lips turning up in amusement. “She failed to mention that.”
“Is it okay with you if I go?”
“It’s her party. You don’t need my permission.”
“I feel like I do.” He leans back in the booth, tossing his hair out of his eye with a sort of easy sexiness that makes me uncomfortable.
“Why? Is it against the rules to go to a birthday party with the family of the woman suspected of murdering the subject of your podcast? Are there podcaster ethics?”
“I don’t…” He cocks his head, like he’s considering. “It’s not against the rules. I’ve always considered the podcaster ethics to be the same as journalism ethics.”
“Sure.”
“I won’t go if it’ll make you uncomfortable.”
“You’re the one who’s going to be uncomfortable.”
“You think so?”
“My mom did not appreciate episode four, since you lightly implied she was a bad mom for letting Ivy talk to me and is also maybe involved somehow.”