Avery wasn’t sure she believed him, but at least for the moment, he sounded sincere. “You two were incredibly close, weren’t you?”
Benjamin nodded. “Honestly, asravenousas her sex drive was, our talks were the more intimate of our interactions. I think the only person closer to her might have been Saoirse. For personal matters, anyway. Obviously, Eira never talked to me about business.” He paused, realizing something. “It’s weird Saoirse isn’t here yet, actually… I wonder if she couldn’t bear it—she and Eira were attached at the hip.”
“You two are good friends?”
“Oh.” Benjamin actually giggled a little in embarrassment. “No, I barely know the woman, we only met a few times, but I’ve seen the pictures, and Eira would talk about her all the time—and the family. ShelovedSaoirse’s family. Honestly, if anyone is getting leftanythingin her will other than charities, it’s Saoirse and her family.”
If that were true and these deaths were related to the will, it was possiblethe rest of the Hudson family was not out of danger. “Who do you think would be the most upset if the Hudsons were left some of her money? Did Eira have any enemies? Or anyone particularly opportunistic—perhaps in her work-life?”
He turned a suspicious look toward her, and Avery worried she’d been too obvious. The look became impish as he suppressed a grin. “You really like the dirt, don’t you? Is that a cop thing, always looking for a crime?”
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Psh, girl, you couldn’t if you tried.” He scanned the room. “I mean, I get it.Myfavorite kind of drama is the sort that has nothing to do with me.” His lips pouted into a small, thoughtful frown. “The new CEO of Caladrius is a peach. Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself, I forgot you don’t know any of this. Caladrius is Eira’s company, they do all the medical magic.”
Avery’s eyes cut to Benjamin. “Medical magic?”
“Develop pharmaceuticals, treatments, a lot of science gobbledygook that goes over my head but is undoubtedly saving the world. Anyway, Eira loved the man who replaced her. He’s got a medical research background, actually put a project on hold last winter because safety tests had been inconclusive. Eira had been an adviser and figurehead, but he’s been in charge for a while. If anything, Eira’s death is more of a loss for him than any sort of career gain.” He jokingly winked at her. “So you can check him off your future suspect list.”
“Very funny,” Avery tried to defuse the exchange, attempting to sound good-natured rather than perturbed.
Benjamin clicked his tongue and glanced around. “As for enemies, not really. I mean Carys was definitely written out of the will, but she doesn’t know that, and knowing Eira, she did that for Carys’s own good. ‘Carys the Cursed, given the world but sees the worst,’ as Eira would say.” He pointed to a small older woman drowning in a fur coat. “There’s Hedda, I suppose, but that rivalry was all in her head—if you’ll pardon the pun.”
“Hedda?”
“Hedda Schmidt. Old money. Saw herself as Eira’s social nemesis, buthonestly, Eira was in a class all her own… I think she even saw Hedda as a bit of a charity project. For human kindness, not money. But don’t try telling that to Hedda, she wasconvincedEira was trying to sabotage her reputation.”
“But she wasn’t?”
“Hedda Schmidt is a batty old fool wrapped in a mink stole. She didn’t needanyone’shelp making that obvious to the public eye.” He gave Avery a small smile and a shrug. “That’s all the dirt I know, sorry.” He paused, catching sight of Saga. “Oh, except that one, with the pink hair? That’s Saoirse’s granddaughter, Saga—and so she was kinda Eira’s granddaughter too. Nothing nefarious about her. From what I know, she adored Eira, and Eira was absolutely over the moon proud of her,but…” He leaned in far too close again, and Avery had to press her tongue into the fang of her canine to remain stoic. “She was supposed to get married earlier this summer, except instead she ends up living the wrong side of a bad romantic comedy. The groom’s high school sweetheart actually burst into the chapel and poured her heart out about how she was still in love with him, and he actually left with her! Poor Saga had a total meltdown, quit medical school, dyed her hair, and moved back home utterly disgraced.” Benjamin smiled, confident this was the biggest piece of gossip he’d dropped their entire conversation.
“That’s my date,” said Avery, feeling ice creep in and douse the warmth she’d been so focused on maintaining in her voice.
Benjamin’s face went from a pleasant flawless cream to a blotchy vermillion as embarrassment overtook him. “Oh, I um…” After making some mental connections, he untangled himself from her and took a step back. “You must work with Reza.”
“Mm,” Avery grunted through a tight smile, trying not to look too relieved that she’d been released. “Since you’re a man who fancies dramas that do not involve or affect him, allow me to clear something up.”
“S-sure.”
Avery smoothed out the sleeves of her shirt. “The only one disgraced inthat story is the blithering idiot who had the opportunity to spend the rest of his days in the glow of her presence, and chose to run instead.” She met his eyes once more to ensure her point had landed.
Benjamin swallowed. “My mistake,” he croaked.
“Don’t make it again.” Avery gave a curt nod and left him to rejoin Saga.
Chapter 16
Saga
Saga stood at the front of the chapel, looking over the photographs of the woman who’d been like a second grandmother to her. She recognized a few from Mamó’s collection, including one of the graduation photos from Hult. It was strange looking at it now, knowing Saoirse had been the one to hold the camera that day. That surreal feeling only took greater hold as she came across pictures of Eira and Saoirse together. It was impossible to fully grasp how much their lives had been intertwined through the years. She even saw a few of herself with Eira. It wasn’t until she confirmed that Hugh was not present in any of the photos that she realized she’d been holding her breath.
She knew many had been taken when they were still together. Clearly Saoirse had been looking out for her and had purposefully omitted those.
From the corner of her eye, she could see Elis Goff step up to look at the altar, examining the objects carefully arranged on top. He was tall, lanky in form, but handsome—and tanner than she recalled. He had the lean muscle of a runner. His square jaw was lined with a perfectly groomed beard which shared the salt-and-pepper shade of his closely cropped hair. He reached a hand into the pocket of his black suit jacket, produced a small metal flask, and took a surreptitious drink.
Immediately following, another man in a suit stepped up beside him, his back blocking Saga’s view of both. He attempted to speak in hushed tones, but Fitzrovia’s walls were made for resonance.
Saga, pretending to be oblivious, inclined her head toward them whileadmiring the wedding photo on the altar.
