Chapter Thirty-One: Lucy

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONELUCY

I text Ben the next morning as I get in my car. I turn the key in the ignition, the warm air blasting in my face as the car starts.

I’m going to Matt’s. If I turn up dead, do a podcast about my murder.

He hasn’t responded by the time I pull up in front of my old house.

I bound up the front walkway before I can change my mind. This is probably a deeply stupid idea, but Matt won’t answer my calls, and if I don’t confront him soon, I’m going to explode.

“Let’s kill your husband.”

Shush, Savvy. We’re not murdering anyone today.

The door swings open before I reach it, and I stop short.

A woman steps out, dragging two large suitcases behind her. She’s tiny—five feet, maybe—and she struggles with the bags, which probably weigh more than she does. One of them topples over on its side and she curses.

“You want some help?” I ask.

Her head snaps up. Her eyes are blue, and bloodshot. The red curls she has tied up in a bun are coming loose, hanging over one shoulder. She’s a mess, but still stunning.

She stares at me.

“Wife number two?” I guess.

“Julia,” she says.

“Lucy.”

“I know.”

She hasn’t answered my question about help, but I grab the toppled bag anyway. We drag them to the Lexus in the driveway and I help her load them both in the trunk. She slams it shut and turns to me.

“What are you doing here?” she asks.

“I need to talk to Matt.”

“About what?”

That seems intrusive, considering we just met, but I guess she’s still technically married to the man.

“Murder.”

She bursts into tears.

My phone buzzes, and I don’t know what to do about this crying replacement wife, so I open my purse and glance at the screen. There are two texts from Ben.

THAT’S NOT FUNNY.

Are you really at Matt’s right now?

Julia sniffles, drawing my attention back to her. She grabs my hands. Hers are very cold, which is weird in this weather.

“Don’t go in there,” she says. “He’s in a bad mood.”

I’ll bet he is. My phone buzzes again.

“Let me help you,” she continues.

I cock my head, confused. “Help me?”

“You know that podcaster, right? I want to talk to him.”

I avoid Ben’s gaze as we step into the room and Paige introduces them. Maybe I’m worried that both Paige and Julia will immediately know we’re having sex if I look at him.

Maybe I’m just really, really annoyed that the man I’m sleeping with has so much information about my life, and now he’s going to have so much information about my marriage. I miss Nathan, and that glazed, far-off look he got when I was speaking.

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.