Page 39 of Burning Your Lies

He offers us a handshake. “You’re here! Henry Pruitt. Please come in.”

Jordan and I share a look before we step over the threshold. One glance around the first floor makes it clear why he quickly agreed to a paid interview. He lives in poverty. His furniture isworn out and mostly broken. His wooden window frames are chipped and some of them are in pieces. He walks, picking up dirty clothes scattered in the room.

He points at the sofa. “Please. Take a seat. Can I offer a drink?”

I set up the camera, so it’s focused on Henry. Unwillingly, I sit on the lumpy sofa. “No, thank you.” I smile at Henry. “My name is Steve James. This is my colleague, Ned Daniels. We are journalists for a local London newspaper. As agreed on the phone, this interview will be recorded, in case we miss any details in our notes.”

Jordan offers the man a weak smile. “Please say your answers in a full sentence so we can use direct quotes. Please start by introducing yourself.”

Henry looks at the camera. “My name is Henry Pruitt. I am recording this from Plymouth.”

“What made you leave London for Plymouth?”

“There was no—”

“Full sentences,” I remind him.

He gives a nervous nod and tries again. “I left London because there was no life for me there after my divorce. My children didn’t want to know me. I had nothing. So, I moved away and found a life for me here.”

“We’re writing an article about CEO Xavier Rivers. It’s an inspirational story about his upbringing and his success. In his interview, he spoke of his mother and her relationship with you. He said while it hurt for his parents to separate, he was glad his mother found love and happiness with you.”

His eyebrows shoot up at the lies. “I have to say, I am very surprised to hear that.”

“Because you never had a good relationship with him?” Jordan asks.

“I had no relationship with Xavier at all, because I was not aware he knew about the affair.”

I feign confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Elizabeth and I were both married when the affair began. I met her at work. She was the most beautiful woman I had seen. She was always so put together and wore a coy smile. We both had small children. My eldest daughter was only eight or nine. Liz only had the one child, and he was no older than ten when the affair started. It continued for a few years. And then, one day, she just stopped replying. We were meant to spend the evening together, but she never showed.”

Jordan is sucked into the sadness the man radiates. “And you never looked for her?”

He sighs. “I wanted to look for her, but I assumed she wanted to end things and believed it was the easiest way. A few days later, I heard she had gone travelling. I didn’t believe it, but I forced myself to because it was easier than accepting the truth.”

“Which was?” I probe.

“The truth was, she stayed with him, even though he beat her.” For the first time, Henry has an expression other than nostalgia. He looksangry.“He was a violent son of a bitch. She tried to hide it, but I knew. I saw the marks. They were almost black. I asked her what happened, and she told me to forget about it. But I couldn’t forget. I have spent many years of my life wondering what he did to her when he found out about the affair.”

“What do you think happened, Mr Pruitt?”

“He definitely beat her. I think he handed in her notice. I think he kept her hostage the way he truly wanted her to be. He thought making her diamonds would make up for all the times he battered her.”

“Xavier claims she lived happily with you until she died.” I pretend to flick through my notes. “He said she maintained a loose relationship with him.”

Henry shakes his head. “I don’t know where he got that impression from. I never heard from Liz after that day. After thatday, it was like she vanished. Almost as if she never existed at all.”

Jordan edges closer to the edge of his seat. “You still sound heartbroken about that.”

The old man stares out of his broken window. “I loved her dearly. I wish Xavier was right, and she lived a happy life with me. Perhaps we both would have had something left to live for. Her departure took a toll on me and my marriage. My wife suspected something happened and one day she just asked me, and I admitted the truth. She found it in her to forgive me and we lived in silos for a few years. And then I lost my job and couldn’t find another. I had no money to provide for my family. Karma came and bit me. And my wife soon realised, if I couldn’t be a man and take care of her, I was just a cheat. She kicked me out of the house.”

Jordan stares at me in disbelief, and I see the fear in his eyes. “Your life fell apart.”

He blankly stares at the camera as he continues. “A few years after my divorce, some thugs attacked me in the streets. I remember laying on the side of the road, wishing I would die from my injuries. When a stranger called the ambulance, I begged them not to.”

Me and Jordan share another look. I look at Henry again and feel a pinch of pity for him. He fell in love with the wrong woman and Xavier and his father tore him apart until he was left with nothing but this dingy, shattered house.

Time to plant the seed.

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