“Bad Lies” Chapter Eight

The night Lynn met Wythe had all the markings of a charming mishap. It was a typical late shift for her at the Thai restaurant on 53rd Street, where she hosted while working toward finishing her dissertation at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought. She was all pragmatism and focus back then—except when she was there, beneath the dim lights of the small restaurant, where the clinking of dishes and the low murmur of conversations slowed her mind.

Wythe walked in with a group of men she pegged as tourists, though she’d later learn two of them were far from typical. One was Payne Stewart, the charismatic pro golfer, alongside his caddy Mike Hicks and Wythe’s caddy Dale Smith. They were fresh off the second round of the 1989 PGA Championship being played at Kemper Lakes northwest of the city. Stewart had shot a 66 after a disappointing 74 on day one. Wythe had shot two consecutive rounds of 70, and both were in good spirits, guaranteed a paycheck for making the cut.