Page 129 of This is Why We Lied

“It’s what kids do.” Sara shrugged when he looked up at her. “All of those emotions you were feeling last night are perfectly normal. Mercy understood that. I promise you she didn’t blame you for being mad at her. She loved you.”

Jon’s tears started back in earnest. He started to put the pen to his mouth, then changed his mind. “She didn’t want me vaping.”

Sara wasn’t going to lecture him about quitting right now. “When you’re ready, I want you to talk to Will. He has some things he wants to tell you.”

Jon wiped his eyes. “He’s not mad at me for calling him Trashcan?”

Sara had almost forgotten about the exchange. “Not even the littlest bit. He would be very glad to talk to you.”

“Where’s my—” his voice caught. “Where’s Dave?”

“He’s in the hospital.” Sara chose her words carefully. She knew that she couldn’t tell him the truth right now, but she wasn’t going to lie. “Your father is fine, but he was injured when he was taken into custody.”

“Good. I hope he’s hurting the same way he always hurt her.”

Sara heard the bitterness in his tone. His fist had clenched around the vape pen.

Jon said, “A while back, he told me that he’d probably end up dying in prison. He was looking for pity, but I guess he was right, huh? It was gonna happen eventually.”

“Let’s talk about something else,” Sara said, as much for her own sake as for Jon’s. “Did you have any questions about what’s going to happen with your mother?”

“Papa said we’re gonna cremate her but—” His lip started to tremble. He turned his head away, looking into the forest. “What’s that like?”

“Cremation?” Sara gave the answer some thought. She never talked down to children, but Jon was in a delicate place. “Your mother is being transported to GBI headquarters now. Once the autopsy is complete, she’ll be taken to a crematorium. There’s a specially designed chamber that uses heat and evaporation to render the body to ash.”

“Like an oven?”

“More like a funeral pyre. Do you know what that is?”

“Yes, ma’am. Bitty let me watch Vikings on her iPad.” Jon leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You don’t need to do the autopsy if they already know who did it, right?”

“We still have to. It’s part of the procedure. We need to collect evidence to legally establish a manner of death.”

He looked startled. “It wasn’t because she was stabbed?”

“Ultimately, yes.” Sara skipped the explanation on cause vs. manner vs. mechanism of death. “Remember what I said. This is part of a legal procedure. Everything will have to be documented. Evidence will have to be collected and identified. It’s a lengthy process. I can walk you through the steps if you like. You’re still at the beginning.”

“But if my dad would go ahead and confess to murdering her, then you wouldn’t have to do any of that?”

Sara felt the guilt start to well back up for hiding Dave’s innocence. She still kept strictly to the truth. “Jon, I’m sorry. That’s not how it works. An autopsy has to be performed.”

“Don’t say you’re sorry.” He was crying in earnest now. “What if I don’t want it? I’m her son. Tell them I don’t want it.”

“Legally, it’s still required.”

“Are you kidding me?” he yelled. “She’s already been stabbed to death and now you’re gonna cut her up some more?”

“Jon—”

“How is that fair?” He stood up from the swing. “You said you liked her, but you’re just as bad as the rest of them. Hasn’t she been hurt enough already?”

Jon didn’t wait for an answer. He walked into the cottage and slammed the door.

Sara longed to follow him inside. He had a right to know about Dave. But he was also a sixteen-year-old kid who was angry and hurting. Ultimately, finding the person responsible for killing his mother would give him some sense of peace. For now, Sara could only ensure the bare minimum was being met. He was sheltered. He had food. He had water. He was safe. Everything else was out of her control.

Instead of going back to her cottage, she decided to find the satellite phone in the UTV. Sara had a duty to report Chuck’s death to Nadine. That, at least, was one task she could complete. She put Jon’s pain to the back of her mind. She called up the details from Chuck’s crime scene so her report to Nadine would be succinct. Analyzing the contents of the water jug would be key. Motivation would also play a factor in the prosecution. If Sara’s theory was correct, the eye drops would be listed as the cause of death, but the mechanism would be drowning, and the manner would be homicide. Any mitigating factors were for the jury to decide.

She took a deep breath to clear her lungs. Cottage six came into view. A little farther on, she found herself in the compound, passing the other cottages. When Will and Sara had first arrived, Sara had thought of the clearing as idyllic, almost like a painting from a storybook. Now, she felt a heavy weight on her shoulders as she got closer to the main house. Cecil was sitting on the porch. Bitty was beside him. Both of them had angry expressions on their faces. No wonder Jon hadn’t wanted to go home.