Tallon was clearly recording outdoors. She described her walk up Josie Banfield’s driveway. I hadn’t seen or talked to Josie in years. As difficult as Katy had been during the last gasp of her marriage to Joe, Josie had been one of the most toxic people I’d ever known. Joe was just twenty-one when Emma was born. Josie had a drug problem. Their break-up and custody battle had gotten as ugly as they come.
As Tallon’s breathing got heavy from the walk, she explained a little of that to her listeners. I heard her ring the doorbell. A moment later, Josie answered it, her voice muffled but instantly recognizable.
“Sure,” she said after quick introductions. “Come on in. It’s just me in the house right now. Is the living room okay? Will it mess with your sound?”
Eric paused the playback. “She didn’t just catch her off guard. Tallon didn’t just show up. This was prearranged. What is Josie thinking?”
“She’s thinking about the maximum damage she can do to Joe and Katy,” I said. “As usual, Emma is an afterthought. An acceptable casualty to Josie’s toxic narcissism.” I had the same brief thought as Eric; I wasn’t sure I could listen to this. And yet, I knew I had to.
“It’s been a long time since I talked to Joe,” Josie said. “But I can tell you he was the love of my life.”
“What happened? If you’re okay with telling me,” Tallon asked.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I’ve been in recovery for a few years now. I’m comfortable owning up to my own sins. I know I hurt a lot of people. Including, and especially Emma.”
“So you’re not worried that talking to me like this could hurt her more?”
Josie sighed. “I know it might. But she went no contact with me a long time ago. Which I understand. I wasn’t there for Emma like I should have been. That will be the greatest regret of my life. I suppose this is selfish of me. But if she listens to this, then she can hear me apologize. Maybe it will open the door just a crack.”
“But you know that’s not why I’m here,” Tallon said. “You know that the subject of my podcast is about Tom Loomis’s murder.”
“You wanted me to talk about Joe and Katy,” she said. “To know what I know about their relationship. Well, I don’t see how I can do that without talking about Emma. I believe she’s the reason Joe and Katy lasted as long as they did. See, Katy was a good wife to Joe, I think. For a while, I think he was happy. But it’s not because he was ever truly in love with her. It’s more that he needed a mom for Emma. Because I wasn’t capable of being one at that time. I own that.”
“You’re saying you don’t believe Joe Leary loved his first wife, Katy?”
“He probably loved her. But I doubt he was everinlove with her. I suppose that’s a clichéd way to describe it. It just fits in this situation.”
“What makes you think that? What proof do you have of that?” Tallon asked.
“Well, he told me.”
“He told you?” Tallon asked. I spoke it out loud at the very same time.
“Yes,” Josie said. “A couple of years ago. I’m not proud to admit it. But at the same time, I’m not ashamed of it. Joe and I got back together briefly while he and Katy were separated. Before she finally filed for divorce. And look, I knew what I was getting into. I was convenient. He knew Katy was cheating on him with Tom. What better way to get back at her and settle the score than coming back to me. I am probably the one person who could have driven Katy the most crazy. She was always threatened by me. Both because I’m Emma’s real mother and because I know it’s the same for Joe.”
“What’s the same for Joe?” Tallon asked.
“I know that I’m the love of Joe’s life, too.”
“Turn it off,” I said. “Turn it off!”
Eric complied. “What is she doing?”
My phone rang. It was Joe again. This time, I answered and put him on speaker.
“I’m gonna kill her!” he shouted. I shared his sentiment.
“I need you to stay away from her right now,” I said. “Do not go over there. It’s the worst thing you can do.”
“She’s lying,” he said.
I knew I’d regret the question, but I asked it anyway. “Is she?”
“She’s not the love of my life,” he spat. It wasn’t the answer I was angling for.
“Joe,” I said. “Is she lying about the two of you getting back together?”
His brief silence told me everything. Eric groaned beside me.
