Page 35 of See You Again
She gnawed on her lip. What if James made a statement saying they weren’t dating? Cami could easily believe that Kip’s ego would sink their deal if he found out she’d lied just so she didn’t have to sleep with him.
“What’s wrong?” Madison asked when Cami groaned out loud.
“Nothing. Just thinking about all we need to get done.”
“This afternoon we are getting into the nitty gritty, right?” She glanced up, and Cami nodded. “Brief background on the relationship between Amy and Janelle, and the big picture outline of the night she disappeared.”
“We have enough for all that. Did you see the email with the script I sent you this morning?”
“Yeah, I’ve practiced the opener and got your list of questions.”
Part of what made Murder She Spoke successful was that only a portion of their podcast was scripted. Madison and Cami took turns writing the opening statement that set the stage for what the episode would be about. The rest of their format was interviews with people involved in the case and whatever taped portions they could pry out of law enforcement. Each episode featured one of them talking while the other played Devil’s Advocate.
“Are you ready?”
Cami took a long drink of her smoothie and nodded at her friend.
Madison stood and stuck her head out the door to let Gerry know they were getting ready to start. Settling her headphones on her ears, Cami waited until Madison gave her the signal, letting her know she was ready, before Cami flicked the switch on the microphones and hit the button on their computer to record.
“Amy Hawthorne was the classic small-town southern girl.” Madison’s melodic voice filled the room as she read their intro.
“The youngest of four siblings, she was extremely close to her family. That’s why, when none of her family could reach her one Sunday evening after she failed to show up for her mother’s birthday, they knew something was wrong. What transpired was a search on a scale the small rural county had never seen…”
Later that afternoon, after they sent the raw cut of the podcast to their producer to make the final product, Gerry rejoined them.
He lifted an eyebrow. “By the way, your friend Justin was fishing about your boyfriend before you got here. He was trying to hide it, but he is definitely unhappy about it.”
“Surprise, surprise,” Madison muttered.
“Mads,” Cami warned.
“I’m just saying, no one’s platonic friend hovers the way that guy does.”
“He has a girlfriend.”
Madison rolled her eyes. “For the last five years. But that hasn’t stopped him from bringing you lunch smoothies and wanting you to go to pick out a Halloween pumpkin with him.”
Gerry brought his hand up to smother a laugh.
“He’s a nice guy,” Cami insisted. “Men and women can be friends!”
Gerry and Madison exchanged a look.
“Pumpkin patches are a date thing. Not a friend thing. Have you never seen a Hallmark movie?”
“It’s not like that. Justin can be awkward. He’s comfortable with me. We’ve been friends since we were nineteen!”
“He’s not comfortable with his girlfriend? Don’t they work together?” One of Madison’s eyebrows flew up.
“I didn’t tell him anything for the record. Not for his lack of trying, though.” Gerry chimed in.
“I understand why Justin is curious if he saw my name linked to James’s. There’s… the three of us have history.”
“Did you date Justin?” Gerry looked slightly repulsed.
“No, we were all friends—in the same study group. James put Justin in a difficult position. But when push came to shove, Justin was a good friend to me. He still is.”
“I’ll bet he is. He’s delusional enough to think he’s getting out of the friend zone someday. Fine, I’ll drop it.” Madison said, when Cami glared at her.