SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2023 #6
Cindy: Well, my husband and daughter and I went there for Christmas that year.
My sister-in-law seemed okay for the most part, a bit out of it at times and on edge, but I just figured she was tired from the move and work and the holidays.
My brother made a fantastic Christmas dinner.
The boys were also in good spirits, real helpful to their mom.
I remember that specifically. I was, you know, impressed that two teenage boys were so polite and considerate.
You don’t always see that these days. They were lovely boys.
[long pause] The only one who was off that visit was Justine.
Cleo: Can you give us more details about that, Cindy?
Cindy: I caught her staring at John and the boys in a weird way, as if suspicious.
And she kept taking photos, but not of the whole family—just candid shots of my brother and the boys, when they weren’t expecting it, like she was going to catch them doing something underhanded.
And then, my daughter and I were putting our coats and hats on to go for a walk in the woods and Justine stood in front of the door and told us we weren’t allowed to go.
She said she forbade it. I actually laughed in her face, thinking she was joking.
Then she leaned right into me and said, “There are bad things in those woods, and I will not let you go.” It really freaked my daughter out, so we just took our coats off and didn’t say another word about it.
When I told my brother about it a few weeks later, he just laughed and said that Justine could be silly about the woods, that there was nothing in there that would hurt anyone.
Cleo: Did you see your brother again, Cindy?
Cindy: [cries for several seconds] They were supposed to come see us at Easter, but my sister-in-law canceled last-minute.
She said she wasn’t feeling up to it. I suggested my brother come on his own with the boys, to give her time on her own to rest, but found out later that she didn’t give him the option.
Cleo: Had Justine ever been controlling that like that before?
Cindy: No, never. John used to come visit me with the boys all the time. Justine wasn’t the controlling type, at least not before that.
Cleo: Did you speak to your brother again, after Easter?
Cindy: He called me every few weeks, and he sounded good for the most part.
Said work was going well and they all loved the house.
He talked a lot about the woods, saying he’d go for long walks in there every day after work.
He seemed happy and settled. That’s why when Justine called me, I didn’t think much of it.
I thought it was just her being weird again.
I mostly thought it was, you know, hormonal because she’d mentioned something about perimenopause.
Some of us go a bit crazy because of it.
Cleo: Tell us about that phone call, Cindy.
Cleo: It was the second week of May. Right before the murders.
She called me up late one night. I thought something had happened to my brother or the boys, so right away I said, “What’s wrong?
Is everyone okay?” She whispered, “Nobody is okay. They’re not who they say they are.
” I said, “Who’s not?” But she ignored my question.
She asked me if I could tell when I talked to my brother that something wasn’t right about him.
I said, no, that I had talked to him only a few days before and he seemed fine.
She said, “It’s tricking us all.” I asked who, and she said the woods.
I asked her to put my brother on the phone, but she refused.
Then I asked if she needed me to come there to help her and she said no.
She said, “I’ll take care of it myself.” Then she started crying and said, “Forgive me, please forgive me.” I thought she was asking me to forgive her for calling so late, but I know now it was forgiveness for what she was going to do.
Cleo: I know this must be so hard for you, Cindy, and I’m really grateful that you’re here today to tell us about your brother and nephews. We want to understand this heinous crime as much as you do. Did you contact your brother the next day and tell him about the strange phone call from Justine?
Cindy: [takes sip of water] I was busy the next day.
We left for my daughter’s gymnastics competition, so I didn’t call.
I texted him that I’d gotten a weird phone call from Justine the night before.
That I was worried about her. A couple days later, when he hadn’t responded, I realized that I’d forgotten to hit Send.
[sobs] When I realized this, I called him and left a message, but by then, it was too late.
I called him back many times over the next few days.
Finally, I tried calling Justine, but she didn’t answer either.
Then I got the phone call from the police.
Quinn stops the podcast. Polly’s snoring softly.
He wonders when she fell asleep. Did she hear the part about Justine Gordon not letting her sister-in-law and niece go into the woods at Christmas?
Polly was right, the podcast has made him more worried.
What’s in those woods that scared Justine Gordon so much? Is his dad in there with it right now?