“Good,” Roderick said, and let go, and settled back into the pillows as if that had been the last heavy thing he needed to lift. “Now go take care of your sister.”

Three days later, at dawn, with the rain finally gone and a thin gray light coming up over the harbor, Roderick Benedict died in his sleep.

Chapter 5 — She Celebrates

The call reached Demi at 6:20 in the morning. She was in the master bedroom of the Bethesda house — Roderick’s house — with Gareth asleep beside her, one heavy arm thrown across the duvet.

She listened to the night nurse’s careful, practiced condolences, said the right soft things back, and set the phone down on the nightstand.

Then she laughed.

It came out of her before she could think about it, a bright, delighted sound in the quiet room, and Gareth stirred and lifted his head.