Page 162 of This is Why We Lied

Dave started shaking his head. “You’re full of shit.”

“Mercy wanted me to tell Jon that she forgave him,” Will said. “She didn’t want him carrying around any guilt from the fight. Those were literally the last words out of her mouth. Not about you, Dave. Never about you. Mercy could barely speak. She was bleeding out. The knife was still inside of her chest. I could hear the breath wheezing through the holes in her lungs. And with her last ounce of strength, her literal last breaths, she looked me right in the eye and said it three times in a row. Three times. Forgive him. Forgive him. Forgive—”

Will’s voice caught. He stared at Dave with a look of horror on his face.

“What?” Dave said. “What did she say?”

Sara didn’t understand what was happening. She watched Will’s chest rise and fall as he took in a deep breath and slowly let it go. His gaze was still locked with Dave’s. Something passed between them. Maybe their shared history. They were two fatherless boys. Jon had been raised a fatherless son. And now his mother was gone. They both knew better than most what it meant to be truly alone.

Will told Dave, “Mercy’s last words were Tell Jon that I forgive him.”

Dave said nothing. He stared up at Will, his head back, his mouth closed. He gave a slight nod, no more than a dip of his chin. Then the magic trick happened again, but this time in reverse. Dave deflated like a balloon. His shoulders rolled in. His fists relaxed. His hands dropped to his sides. The only thing that didn’t change was the mournful expression on his face.

He asked, “Mercy said that?”

“Yes.”

“That’s exactly what she said?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Dave nodded once, like his mind had been made up. “Okay, it was me. I killed her.”

Bitty gasped. “Davey, no.”

Dave picked up a paper napkin from the table. He dried his eyes. “It was me.”

“Davey,” Bitty said. “Stop talking. We’ll get a lawyer.”

“It’s all right, Mama. I stabbed Mercy. I’m the one who killed her.” Dave waved toward the door. “Go on now. You don’t need to hear the details.”

Sara couldn’t take her eyes off Will. The pain in his eyes was killing her. She had seen him at the lake with Mercy. She knew what her death had taken out of him. He looked down at his injured hand. He’d placed it back over his chest. Sara longed to go to him, but she knew that she couldn’t. She could only sit helplessly as the room started to clear. First the guests, then Bitty finally stood up to push Cecil’s chair, then they were gone.

Will finally looked at Sara. He shook his head. He told Faith, “Take over.”

Sara felt his hand on her shoulder as he walked past. He’d pressed down, telling her to stay. He needed time alone. Sara had to give it to him.

Faith acted quickly. She had her Glock in her hands. Kevin had moved closer. She told Dave, “Show me that knife. Slowly.”

Dave started with the butterfly knife in his boot. He laid it on the table. He said, “I knew Mercy was fucking around. I knew she was pregnant. I didn’t know about the bootlegging, but I knew that she was making money and she wasn’t giving any to me. We got into an argument.”

“Where did you argue?”

“In the kitchen.” Dave took out his wallet, his phone. “I cleaned out the safe. That’s why you didn’t find anything.”

Faith asked, “What was in there?”

“Money. The books she was cooking so everybody got paid.”

Faith said, “What about the knife?”

“What about it?” Dave gave an exaggerated shrug. “Red handle. Piece of metal sticking out of the broken-off part.”

“Where did you get it?”

“Mercy kept it in her desk drawer. She used it to open envelopes.”

“How did she end up at the bachelor cottages?”