Page 103 of For Your Own Good

“Nothing you say in this room can be used against you in that case,” she says to Zach. “We aren’t recording this interview.”

Zach analyzes each word she uses, trying to find the loophole. Inthatcase, she said. But they can probably use what he says intheircase. If they have one.

Except he hasn’t poisoned anyone.

“Yes, I saw her in jail,” he says. “And I paid a guard to do it.”

Ezekiel stands up and says, “I need to talk to my client alone.”

Zach spent a lot of time thinking about what he would say to the FBI, and he knew his lawyer wouldn’t like it. That’s why he didn’t tell him in advance.

Agent Pruitt is still looking at Zach. “Do you want to speak to your lawyer alone?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Zach, I must advise you to end this interview now,” Ezekiel says.

“I appreciate that, but I don’t see what’s wrong with telling the truth.”

Neither of the agents says a word. They wait until Ezekiel sits back down at the table, hands folded, mouth shut.

“So you did see Courtney in jail?” Agent Pruitt says.

“Yes. I saw her once and spoke to her on the phone once.”

“What did you two discuss?”

“She was really upset. First, because her mother had been murdered. And second, because she was in jail. I tried my best to comfort her, to tell her this was all a mistake and it would work out.” Not exactly a lie, but certainly an exaggeration. Courtney wasn’t that upset. She was depressed.

“Did you talk about how her mother died?” she asks.

“I never asked if she did it, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Zach says. “She told me anyway. She said she didn’t do it, and she wanted me to know that.”

“Do you believe her?”

“Absolutely.”

“What else did you talk about?”

“I told her about things going on at school, tried to give her a little break from her own problems. Just stupid things, gossip. She said she didn’t have anyone to talk to other than her lawyer and her dad and she was really lonely,” Zach says. “Still is, probably.”

“Anything else?” Agent Pruitt says.

“No. I didn’t see her for very long. Ten, fifteen minutes at the most.”

“And the phone call? What did you talk about then?”

Zach takes a deep breath. “That was after Mrs.Benjamin died, and I knew Courtney would be upset. They worked together on theBugle. Our student paper.”

Agent Pruitt nods.

“I wanted to see how she was doing,” Zach says.

“And how was she?”

“She was upset. It was all so... unreal. Still is.”

“Did you talk about how Sonia Benjamin died?”