The Lies I Told(99)

“Thanks. I don’t always feel proud. Especially when I think back to Clare. She had something she wanted to show me, but we never met up.”

“What did she want to show you?”

“I think she wanted me to see Brit sick. That night Brit became ill like Clare and I did as kids.”

“She said she had a sensitive stomach.”

“It was more than that. See, Richards thinks our mother was poisoning us. When we were sick, the doctors were nice to her, and Daddy hung around more.”

His handcuffs clinked as he leaned forward. “Oh, Marisa, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s a mental illness. It’s demented, and I don’t want to believe it, but it all makes sense.” I flexed my fingers, trying to relax the stiffness and the urge to grip the chair’s arms. “After Mom died, Brit didn’t get sick anymore, but Clare and I did. We also went through phases where we were kind of out of it. I can’t prove it, but I think Brit was drugging us and Clare figured it out.” It felt so strange to be telling this terrible secret to the man who’d killed my sister. But I had to give a little to get a little. “That’s what Clare and Brit fought about before the party. Poor Clare wasn’t in her right mind when she went to that party. She was devastated by what she’d found out.”

He stared at me, saying nothing, and I didn’t rush to fill the silence. Let him chew on that information nugget for a while.

“She went to the party dressed like me,” I said finally. “She was looking for trouble, I think.”

He didn’t speak, but he was listening.

“She’d found out she was pregnant. She was freaking out on all levels.”

“Where were you?”

“Jack drugged me. Had sex with me.”

“He raped you?” His voice hardened.

“Intoxicated consent isn’t really consent, is it?”

“No, it’s not.”

“When I went to see Brit before the fall break, someone found me. I was really drunk. God knows what they could’ve done to me, but that person, my guardian angel, laid me on a bed and let me sleep it off. That’s an act of kindness I’ll never forget.” I’d not mention he’d drugged me in the bar.

His shoulders relaxed a fraction.

“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for saving me that night.”

“Why do you think it was me?” David asked.

“I don’t know for certain. But I’ve had a chance to get to know you. You’re an upstanding guy. You wouldn’t force or take a girl that’s too drunk.”

“No, I would not.”

“I’m pretty sure when the DNA tests come back, they’ll prove you were the baby’s father.” As he leaned back, I held up my hand. “I’m not blaming you. Rather, I want to thank you. You were nice to Clare when she needed it most. She and I both were pretty lost in those days.” I wasn’t sure how many more thank-yous I could toss this guy’s way before I lost total grip on my control.

When he again didn’t respond, I said, “And then you came back for me. You were my first sale, weren’t you?”

“I liked the print. That’s not a crime.”

“You’ve done nothing that’s a crime. You loved my sister, you supported my art, and you’ve been nothing but kind to Brit.”

He drew in a breath, exhaled it slowly.

“What’s worrying me is Jack. He’s going to walk in a couple of hours. And he scares me more than anyone. He’s saying you killed Clare, but I think it was him. I think he left me while I was passed out and came to the party. I don’t know if he confused her with me or if he was just trying to hurt another Stockton girl.” I paused, realizing my heart rate was kicking up. “When he gets out, and he will, he’s going to come after me again.”

“He won’t do that.”

“I think he will. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“He won’t hurt you. That I promise. When I get out of here, and I will, I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“I think he’s setting you up,” I said.

“Why would he do that?”

I dropped my voice and leaned toward the plexiglass. “He’s smart. Really smart. And we both know he’s a survivor.”

“He tried to hurt you. That’s not smart. He’ll go to jail for that.”

“Assault is a world away from accessory to murder.”

David’s frown deepened.

I allowed real tears to fill my eyes and spill down my cheeks. “I wish you’d been there for Clare. The idea of Jack strangling her in the bitter cold and then stripping her naked breaks my heart. I hated the idea that her last moments were filled with such fear.”

His eyes glistened.

I pushed up my sleeve, knowing he’d see the darkening bruises on my forearm, and held my hand up to the glass. “I’m scared.”

“He’s not going to hurt you.” He raised his hands to mine. “I swear. I’ll always be watching you.”

I smiled, brushed aside a tear. “Like Clare.”

“No matter what Jack says, I loved her. She loved me.”

I wanted to reach through the glass and smash his forlorn face. “I know. And I know she was so emotional then. She said things to me I know she regretted.”