Sadie(48)
Now she’s living with Sally and awaiting her court date.
At first, Cat doesn’t want anything to do with me. Her privacy is important to her, and she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of her criminal history being shared with the world. When I explained to Cat about Sadie, and how we found Cat’s credit card in her car, she’s more willing to talk.
CAT MATHER:
Yeah, I was with her, just for a little while. She gave me a ride. She scared me, kind of. I don’t know.
WEST McCRAY: This is what Cat Mather looks like now: she’s a white, twenty-three-year-old woman with a plain, unassuming face that almost belies the actions that have gotten her into this mess. Her aunt, Sally, greets me at the front door. Sally is a friendly, middle-aged brunette, who gives me a brief primer on the Mather family on our short trip to the living room, where her niece awaits.
SALLY QUINN:
She’s my sister’s daughter. They’ve been estranged for a long time. Family problems. It’s terrible. Cat disappeared when she was nineteen. I’ve been hoping this whole … unpleasantness would help them reconcile somehow, but it hasn’t happened. Maybe it will, though. I really hope it does, because Cat’s father— CAT MATHER:
Hey, Sal. Maybe leave something for me to talk about?
SALLY QUINN:
[LAUGHS] Anyway, here she is.
Good luck.
WEST McCRAY:
As soon as Sally’s gone, Cat quickly makes one thing clear: CAT MATHER:
We’re here to talk about Sadie, and that’s all. Got it?
WEST McCRAY:
Fair enough. One thing that stood out to me when I got ahold of you was when I asked if you knew Sadie, you said yes right away. She’s been giving other people an alias, but she was up front with you when you met. She told you her real name.
CAT MATHER:
What name was she giving people?
WEST McCRAY:
Lera. How did she end up with your credit card?
CAT MATHER:
It was in my bag. I had it for emergencies, but I preferred dealing with cash. I must have dropped it when I was with her.
WEST McCRAY: She didn’t use it.
CAT MATHER:
She wouldn’t have been able to. I realized pretty quick it was gone. Canceled it.
WEST McCRAY:
Tell me about how you two met.
CAT MATHER:
We were both leaving this place, Montgomery, at the same time. I was hitching and she picked me up.
WEST McCRAY:
Do you know what she was doing in Montgomery?
CAT MATHER:
Nope.
WEST McCRAY [STUDIO]: Montgomery is a postcard town.
Actually, it’s a city, but that’s what Danny likes to call a particular kind of place. You know—the kinds that make you wish you were there. Remember when I said Cold Creek wasn’t the dream Americans aspired to? Well, Montgomery is. It’s a beautiful, picturesque college town with a thriving economy, driven in large part by its student population and the wealthy baby boomers who want to live out their retirement basking in the glow of the young. If you haven’t been, you simply must. If it’s too far out of your way, check out the movies Love the One You’re With, A Fine Autumn Day, and Our Last Dance. They were filmed there.
CAT MATHER:
She wanted to get out of there. I could tell because I did too. Places like that, places that look so nice they don’t seem real? The worst shit you can imagine happens in them. And I’m not wrong. You seen the news?
WEST McCRAY:
Recently, Montgomery has been devastated by a grotesque scandal involving one of the pillars of its community.
Silas Baker is—or at least he was—a well-regarded local businessman, who played a part in Montgomery’s economic success. He invested in the legalized recreational marijuana boom, made a fortune, and then reinvested back into his home city. He owns a few department stores; a local bar, Cooper’s; the grocer’s; and has a financial stake in several other popular businesses within the city. For this, he was awarded Montgomery’s Good Citizenship Award six years ago.
A few months ago, he was arrested for sexually abusing the young children he’s coached in T-ball over the last seven years. They ranged in age from five to eight years old.
CAT MATHER:
… I think she felt sorry for me because it was raining like you wouldn’t believe. I could barely see two feet in front of my face and I was soaked clean through. She sort of slowed as she passed me, then she pulled over. It was a black car—a Chevy, I think?
WEST McCRAY:
Yeah, that’s what she was driving.
CAT MATHER:
Anyway, she asked me if I was a psycho and I asked her if she was one and once we got that outta the way, I got in the car. She had this stutter. She was kind of messed up. Not because of the stutter, though, that’s not what I mean.
WEST McCRAY:
What do you mean?
CAT MATHER:
She looked like someone clocked her in the face. Her nose was swollen, bit of a black eye, scraped chin. I think it must’ve happened that day because it just got worse looking the longer I was with her.
WEST McCRAY:
Did she tell you what happened?
CAT MATHER:
She said she fell but that was clearly bullshit.