Lara feels dizzy. Part of her wants to cry out, Yes! Yes– they sent that monster to our house to get those files. But we never planted those cameras! And now Ben is dead. And it’s all their fault!But she remains silent.
Cousins moves to play the recording.
‘We don’t have to see it,’ her attorney says.
‘I want to see it,’ she says, her voice hoarse.
The detective starts the recording, and she turns her eyes to the monitor, filled with dread. She watches, her heart pounding, reliving that awful morning after Ben’s death. It’s terrible to watch.
[Lara] Who else would send someone to get those files? And why the hell would I believe you? You’remurderers!
[Jill] No, Lara, we’re not! We didn’t hurt Greg– it was an accident!
[Lara] I don’t believe you.
[Ted] What did you tell the police?
[Lara] Oh yes, it’s still all aboutyou, isn’t it? I protected you. I didn’t tell them what he was really after. I told them he wanted to terrorize us and rob us. That he wanted money. I didn’t tell them about the digital files.
[Jill] Thank you.
[Lara] I’m going to talk to them again, this afternoon. I may change my story. I might tell them what really happened.
[Ted] Why would you do that?
[Lara] Because he fucking killed my husband!
[Ted] We didn’t send him, whoever he was. There are other… players involved. And we don’t know who they are.
[Lara] I know you murdered Greg for his money. I know there’s evidence of that out there somewhere… Ben never believed you could have harmed Greg– he simply couldn’t imagine it.Isuspected, but I only ever wanted to support you, to protect you. But now I feel differently. I don’t care about you any more. And you owe me.
[Ted] What do you want?
[Lara] Five million.
She lowers her head in shame, tears welling. It’s all there on the tape; she threatened to go to the police with the truth unless Ted and Jill paid her $5 million. She’s a blackmailer. She doesn’t want to go to prison; she’s about to be a new mother. Ben, the only truly good person she ever knew, is dead. And her reputation is destroyed.
She wants nothing more to do with any of this. The two men across the table are staring at her. She remembers what her attorney, sitting beside her, told her– that none of those recordings are admissible in a court of law, that without thoserecordings, the police have nothing– against the Westcotts, or against her. He also told her that if she wanted to, she could give evidence against them, and thatwouldbe admissible. That he might be able to help her cut a deal, if that’s what she wanted to do.
Detective Cousins says, ‘So tell us what really happened that night.’
Lara doesn’t want to put herself through it. She just wants to be a mother. She clears her throat and says, ‘No comment.’
She looks up, catches Ramirez’s eyes. He gets up and abruptly leaves the room.
Epilogue
JILL FINDS IThard to bear. She envies Ted that he does not.
After their interrogation at the police station, Jill had shut herself up in the brownstone, afraid to leave the house. She knew Ted was worried about what Lara might do. But Jill had secretly decided that if Lara told the truth, Jill would back her up as long as they offered her a deal. After a couple of difficult days of not hearing anything, Jill snuck upstairs to the second floor and called Lara.
‘Hi,’ Jill said when Lara picked up the phone.
‘What do you want?’
Jill swallowed and said, ‘What did you say to the police?’
‘Nothing.’
