Leigh reached out a hand, giving Saga’s a gentle squeeze. “Brigid doesn’t think it’s dumb.”
Saga smiled involuntarily before remembering her grandmother. “Gods, what a mess this all is.”
“Does Hemlock have any theories on how the deaths might be connected?” It was a thinly veiled attempt on Leigh’s part to distract from the grief, but Saga didn’t mind. There was nothing either of them could do about Saoirse right now, and feeling productive didn’t sting the way mourning did.
“A few ideas—nothing concrete yet. I was trying to ask about Eira before all this happened, actually.”
“Eira Goff?” Leigh’s eyebrows raised. “Is her death related to all this?”
“Well, we don’t know. But the first victim was Eira’s live-in nurse, and Mamó was Eira’s best friend. That has to mean something, doesn’t it? Not to mention, the magic I felt in this room”—Saga held up her phone again—“felt identical to what I felt at the town house.” She took a deep breath. “Right now the only link between them is Eira.”
“Do you think Eira may also have been a victim? That maybe her heart attack wasn’t a heart attack?”
“Until the very last moment, what happened to Mamó appeared to be a heart attack. All the same symptoms until the darkness flooded out. Hard to think that’s just a coincidence.”
Leigh shivered.
“Did Eira have any enemies?” Saga asked.
“She was breaking new ground in pharmaceutical treatments, helpingrevolutionize the medical world—that always comes with rivalries, but no one who would cause her physical harm, and certainly no one capable of causing supernatural harm.”
“Who, though?”
Leigh tried to remember, but it was clear this knowledge was out of her field of interest. “I’m sorry, duckie, I don’t know their names. Never really paid enough attention to her business competition—and neither did she, truth be told. I think that’s how she was so successful in the end.”
Of course if it had been that simple and straightforward, it was unlikely that Avery would have needed any help at all—let alone from Saga. “So no one that might have had it out for both her and Mamó?”
“They might have been practically sisters, but they ran in very different circles otherwise.”
Saga tapped the knitting needles together thoughtfully. “What about anything odd Eira might have got into while I was away? Or something I might have not heard since she wasn’t well enough to take visitors when I moved back?”
Leigh pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I can’t imagine there is anything she wouldn’t have told you when you visited on the holidays…” Her voice trailed off. “Do you know aboutBenjamin?”
The knitting needles paused in their dance. “Who isBenjamin?” She echoed her aunt’s inflection and emphasis.
“A young artist Eira sponsored. She didn’t talk about him much to me, of course, but was very impressed with his work. A painter, I think? Or perhaps multiple mediums. I think your grandmother went to a show once with Eira.”
Saga’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. There was nothing particularly odd or out of place about that. It was no secret Eira Goff had a great eye for art, though, by her own admission, no talent to create it. “Why thetone?”
Leigh hemmed. “It feels like gossip, and I can’t vouch for any truth in it. There was a rumor that he may have been more to her than that.”
“Like… They were dating?”
“The tabloids described it as a ‘torrid affair,’ but your grandmother never spoke a word of it to me, so again, I would take that with a grain of salt. Though I do know Elis could not stand the boy.”
“Boy?” Saga shifted uncomfortably. “Howyoungare we talking here?”
“Oh, don’t make that face—early twenties.”
Saga’s eyebrows lifted. “That’s quite an age gap. Do you think he was after her money?”
Leigh waved her hands. “As I said, it was garbage in the tabloids. I only saw it because the corner shop has them on full display at checkout.”
“But you did say Elis couldn’t stand him.”
“Elis Goff has been a philandering showboat with no occupation or hobby other than baffling doctors with the resilience of his liver since his wife passed years ago. It was a horrible accident, and I wouldn’t wish that loss on anyone, but he hasn’t exactly endeared himself to anyone with his coping methods. His mother actively housing and funding someone else clearly made him nervous that more of his inheritance would be donated away. Goddess forfend he should have to find gainful employment.”
Saga felt herself wince at the unexpected harshness of her aunt’s judgment. “I’ve never heard you talk about anyone like this.”
