Page 43 of You Will Never Be Me

“Ah.” I grimace apologetically. “It’s been a while, actually.”

“Really?” Detective Clarke’s eyebrows rise. He still hasn’t drunk his matcha latte, and I wonder if this means he thinks I’m a suspect. “How come? Meredith’s sister said you’re her best friend.”

I press my lips into a thin, sad smile. “We were. But we drifted apart. You know how these things go.” Last night, as I lay awake in bed, I considered not telling the cops that Meredith and I had a falling out, but quickly dismissed it. It’s more than likely that Clara would’ve told them about our fight, and if they caught me out in a lie, I would be in deep trouble. Still, I don’t want them to know the extent of our fight. Best to minimize the damage unless they press hard.

“Did you two have a fight?” Detective Garza says.

“Sort of.” I sigh and bounce Sabine a little, so their attention is pulled to my cute, chubby baby. No one can possibly suspect a mother holding a cherubic baby in her lap. “We’re both momfluencers, and when I got big—”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Detective Clarke says. “Momfluencer?”

“A mom influencer,” Detective Garza says.

“Yeah, that’s right. We’re influencers who focus on mom-friendly content. You know, lots of life hacks about cooking and how to change a diaper efficiently—that kind of thing.” I purposelyfocus on the least exciting parts of the job, counting on these details boring the detectives, and I think I see Detective Clarke’s eyes glazing over ever so slightly. Good. He thinks I’m a dumb bitch whose life revolves around changing diapers. Dumb bitches whose lives revolve around changing diapers don’t murder their best friends and dump their bodies in a lake. “And when I got big, I think Meredith felt a little bit insecure about it. She decided she didn’t want to be friends with me anymore.” I let out a small, apologetic laugh. “Oh god, that sounds so childish, doesn’t it?” Ha ha, silly women and their silly little fights that definitely did not lead to murder.

Detective Clarke smirks. “A little.”

Detective Garza takes another sip of matcha latte but keeps her eyes on me. I think that maybe she’s not quite convinced just yet. As though reading my mind, she says, “How bad was this fight?”

I purse my lips. “I mean, we weren’t screaming at each other or anything like that.” We definitely were screaming at each other. “No name-calling.”You social-climbing bitch, Meredith had called me.You pathetic jealous loser, I’d called her. “It was more like disappointment, I guess.”

“And this happened when, exactly?”

I pretend to think. “I wanna say maybe five, six months ago?” It was four months ago, but who’s counting?

Detective Clarke leans back in his chair, looking bored. Since our fight happened so long ago, it’s looking less and less likely that I might have anything to do with her disappearance.

“I hope she’s okay, Detectives.” I sigh, shaking my head. “After our last talk, she blocked me, and I haven’t heard from her since. I sent her a few texts, apologizing, but she didn’t respond. I could still see her posts, though, so I assumed she was fine.”

“The posts were scheduled in advance,” Detective Garza says.

My eyes go wide. “So…wait, so you’re saying that for the last month, no one’s heard from Mer, and she hasn’t actually been posting to her social media accounts actively?”

Both detectives nod.

I sit back, stunned. “I—this whole time, I just thought she’s been ignoring me.”

“Didn’t Clara tell you she hasn’t heard from Meredith either?” Detective Garza says.

“Yeah, but I kind of assumed—well, Clara and Meredith’s relationship is kind of choppy. You know, sisters.”

“Sure, I understand,” Detective Garza says, “but you’re aware that Meredith also left her son with Clara, right?”

I nod.

“And you didn’t find that strange? That she would up and leave her only child and not even bother calling to check in on him?”

Shit, shit. This interview is slipping away from me, and I need to grab it back under control, fast. I pinch Sabine’s butt cheek and she squirms and starts fussing. “Sorry, I need to feed this one real quick. Could you?” I stand and hand Sabine to Detective Garza without waiting for her to agree. I note Detective Garza’s discomfort, and Detective Clarke, surprisingly, holds his arms out, and Detective Garza hands Sabine over with obvious relief.

I bustle about, taking a prepared bottle of formula from the fridge and heating it up, my mind whirring away as I wait for the bottle to warm up. How best to answer this question?

“Sorry about that,” I say, shaking the bottle as I return to the dining table.

“No worries; she’s a cutie,” Detective Clarke says, standing up and passing Sabine to me gently.

Sabine grabs the bottle with her chubby hands and starts sucking furiously. I smile down at her with unabashed affection. I know exactly how I must look right now—loving and safe. Completely unlike their usual suspects. “Sorry, I totally forgot what we were talking about.”

Detective Garza leans forward. “You’re a mom, Mrs.Palmer,” she says, nodding at Sabine. “As a mother, don’t you find it strange that your friend left her child and never bothered to even text to ask about him?”

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