Page 117 of Everything She Feared

“Once a boy said mean things to me. Then something happened that—”

Katie halted.

“Then what, Katie? Go ahead.”

“No, I forgot, I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

“It might help me to help you if—”

“No, I don’t want to say any more today.”

Dr. Mehta let Katie’s answer stand for several seconds, deciding not to push the subject, while watching her closely.

“Okay, if you want to talk about any of this at any time, you know I’m here to listen and help you, okay?”

“Okay.”

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Online

On phones andmonitors across the US and around the world, the intro and montage forTell-Tale Heartsfades to completion and the hosts appear.

“Hello and welcome.” Sonya, in her red-framed glasses and headphones, waves from the studio table.

“I’m Sonya. This is my brother, Shane.”

Beside her, Shane taps the brim of his New York Jets ball cap.

“Welcome to another episode ofTell-Tale Hearts,” he says. “We’re so pumped for this one because of our special guest. But first things first.”

They give a rundown of the show’s background, the advisory about disturbing content, then acknowledge their ever-growing audience.

“As you may recall,” Shane says, “in a previous episode we looked at the case of Herman and Magda Vryker.”

“They’re the married couple who committed at least seven murders in 1994 and 1995 across Montana, Idaho and Washington,” Sonya says.

“Your response was phenomenal,” Shane says. “So, today we’re going to revisit it from a different perspective.”

“Whoa, bro, look at everyone joining us today already—it’s awesome.”

“Let’s get to it,” he says. “For new viewers and those who aren’t familiar with the Vrykers, a little refresher.”

For the next several minutes, Sonya recaps events as a slideshow of photos from the case appears on the screen, culminating with Herman and Magda’s arrests, Magda glaring into the camera with icy intensity.

“It’s one of the most horrendous stories we know, and it’s far from over,” Sonya says. “To take us deeper into it, we’re honored to have Ryan Gardner as our guest. Ryan’s sister, Carrie Gardner, and her friend Willow Walker were among the people murdered by the Vrykers.”

“A show note,” Shane says. “Ryan keeps a very low profile. We’re protecting his identity by disguising his appearance, voice and location, for reasons that will become evident. And in addition to our live texts and posts, we’ll have a call-in segment, for you to ask Ryan questions.”

The screen splits and Ryan appears. He wears a long-sleeved, faded denim shirt, a Covid mask, dark glasses and a ball cap. His backdrop is a plain wall with no window or details.

“Welcome, Ryan,” Sonya says.

“Thank you for inviting me.” His voice sounds normal, but it’s not his.

“We thank you,” she says. “We know you don’t usually do interviews, but you lived, and continue to live, with the pain of this case.”

“Yes.”

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