Listen for the Lie
by Amy Tintera
Contents
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Lucy
Overview
Keaton approaches Lucy and, without fully apologizing, admits that new information has changed how he sees Savvy’s murder. Learning about Matt’s violence and the fact that Matt and Nina hid being out that night makes Keaton doubt the old assumptions about Lucy and shifts suspicion toward what Matt and Nina were concealing.
Summary
While Lucy is sitting with Emmett, Keaton unexpectedly walks up and asks to talk. Lucy is immediately wary because he is Savvy’s brother, but Keaton insists he only wants a conversation. As he sits down and drinks, Lucy is struck again by how much he looks like Savvy, which adds to her unease.
Keaton first circles around the subject by asking about Ben Owens and whether Ben seems to be on Lucy’s side. Lucy deflects his questions with sarcasm, and the exchange stays tense, though Emmett occasionally interrupts and softens the mood. Beneath the banter, Keaton is clearly trying to figure out whether Lucy is still being treated as the obvious killer.
Keaton then admits he has been rethinking what happened after learning more about Matt. He says he did not know Matt was violent, and he also did not know Matt left home that night or that Nina was with him. Because Matt and Nina never told Keaton or anyone else that they were out that night, Keaton now finds their silence suspicious.
When Keaton quietly asks whether Lucy really does not remember that night, an intrusive line from Savvy’s voice cuts through Lucy’s thoughts, showing how disturbing and fragmented Lucy’s memory still is. Emmett says he never believed Lucy was lying, which surprises Lucy. Keaton does not fully apologize, but he effectively concedes that Lucy may be telling the truth and that Matt and Nina’s hidden movements on the night of Savvy’s death need closer scrutiny.
Who Appears
- Lucynarrator; endures a tense talk with Keaton while her fragmented memories and Savvy’s voice intrude
- KeatonSavvy’s brother; confronts Lucy, then admits Matt and Nina’s secrecy now seems suspicious
- Emmettsits with Lucy, buffers the conversation, and says he never thought Lucy was lying
- Mattdiscussed as violent and as someone who left home that night without telling others
- Ninamentioned as being with Matt that night and hiding that fact afterward
- Ben Owenspodcaster Keaton asks about, trying to gauge whether Ben believes Lucy
- Savvypresent through Lucy’s thoughts and Keaton’s resemblance, reinforcing the murder’s emotional weight