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Dervish strokes his beard, eyes narrow “What do you want to talk about?”

I stroll to the chair where I usually sit and drag it around to the side of the desk, so I’ eye contact The words come by themselves

“You never ask about Bill-E’s last day or his final thoughts”

Dervish stiffens “I don’t think we need to discuss that”

“Why don’t you want to know?” I press

“Did Meera put you up to this?” he says angrily “She has no right It’s none of her business”

“No,” I agree “It’s our business And it’s time we dealt with it”

“What do you mean?”

“You want all of Bill-E, his life from start to finish, wrapped up neatly like a birthday present I can’t give you that unless I tell you about the end, what he felt in the cave, how he reacted to the news that Grubbs was his brother, that you’d lied to him all those years, that you allowed him to be killed”

“I didn’t allow anything!” Dervish shouts “Grubbs did what he had to There was no other way If there had been, do you think I would have let hi

“You’re right,” I say softly “It was necessary Bill-E knew that too He didn’t understand everything about the tunnel and the Demonata, but he saw your pain He knew you still loved him, that you had no choice He died without bitterness”

Tears well up in Dervish’s eyes His hands are tres at his beard “He must have hated me,” Dervish moans “I betrayed him I didn’t tell him when his father died He believed I was his dad I should have—”

“He was disappointed,” I interrupt “He wanted you to be his father because he loved you so e his love for you In fact, in theto slaughter you both, that love grew stronger than ever He even found tiagged”

“Joke?” Dervish echoes, tears trickling down his cheeks

“When Lord Loss told hiuess this ets half of your money now!’”