Page 63 of The Women of Wild Hill
“Yes, well, the universe works in mysterious ways, doesn’t it?” Brigid replied.
“Indeed it does,” Liam agreed.
The silence stretched out until Brigid broke it. “So how was the funeral?”
“Far less funereal than one might imagine,” Liam said. “There were hundreds of protesters. One might get the sense my father wasn’t well-liked.”
“Were you close to him?”
“As close as anyone could get to him, I suppose,” Liam said. “He was a great dad when I was a kid. Things changed long before he and my mother split. I didn’t see much of him at all after AMN began to grow. I think he only remembered I was there when he realized he wasn’t immortal and would need to turn over the reins of the empire someday.”
“So you’ll be taking over AMN now?” Brigid asked.
“Oh yes.” Liam turned to look at her. “I already have.”
Brigid spotted Phoebe crossing the lawn with a bottle of peroxide and a roll of gauze in her hands. “Don’t mention that to my sister,” she whispered. “She’s already borderline homicidal.”
“Take a seat,” Phoebe ordered when she reached them, gesturing toward a large chunk of granite a few feet from the fire. “I’ll get you cleaned up.”
Liam chose a different rock and sat down. Phoebe and Brigid exchanged a glance before they joined him. No words were spoken, but Brigid made it clear they were not going to hurt their guest.
“So your father wanted to be buried as close to our mother as possible?” Phoebe asked as she cleaned Liam’s wound.
“Apparently,” Liam replied. “I assume she’s somewhere on the Island as well. I thought it would be impertinent to ask.”
“You’re sitting on her tombstone,” Phoebe told him.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” He started to rise.
“Sit,” both women ordered at once.
“Our mom wouldn’t have cared,” Brigid explained. “She would have thought it was funny.”
“It’s true,” Phoebe confirmed. “Not sure how she would have felt about Calum Geddes wanting to be so close to her, though.”
“Why do you say that?” Liam asked. “They were in love, weren’t they? He certainly was never the same after her death. It was like the whole world had gone dark for him.”
“Did your father have any theories about why our mother killed herself?” Brigid asked, fishing around to see how much he knew.
Liam shook his head. “No. He never spoke about it—and no one would have dared mention her death in front of him. But the note she left seemed to indicate a break with reality, did it not? It didn’t make much sense, as I recall.”
“I’m sure it made perfect sense,” Brigid replied. “We just haven’tfigured out what she meant. All these years later, the note’s still a mystery.”
“Not the only one,” Liam said.
Phoebe paused. “What do you mean?”
“The poison your mother consumed. As far as I know, it was never identified. Did you find out what it was?”
Phoebe looked as though she’d been hit with a bolt of electricity. Brigid, for once, had been struck silent.
“I’m sorry if I hit a raw nerve,” Liam said. “It wasn’t my place to mention it.”
“It’s alright,” Brigid assured him. “It’s just that the thirtieth anniversary of her death is coming up. We’re both feeling a bit frazzled.”
“And it’s late. We should all be in bed.” Phoebe stepped between them to tend to Liam’s wound. Silence reigned while she worked.
“Thank you,” Liam said when Phoebe was done. “I’ll send someone out to deal with the wreck in the morning. Are you okay if it waits until then?”
