Page 12 of Trick of Light
“You. And you.” Lily Highgrove wasn’t exactly happy to see them. Gabby could understand; recent events had been hard on her. Then again, Gabby herself was the actual victim of some of those events, so as far as she was concerned, Lily could just suck it up. Her son Andy had imprisoned Gabby onboard a fancy sailboat, after all, even if it was for her own safety.
The Highgroves were a trust fund family who’d settled on Sea Smoke Island to experiment with raising chickens and angora rabbits. Heather always joked that they put a whole different spin on “sea smoke” with their dedication to cannabis consumption.
“Is Andy around?” Luke kept it professional. “Official business.”
“What could it possibly be now? My poor boy hasn’t set a foot wrong since all that mess. In fact, he’s been helping the folks your father sent over, the ones who are trying to track down the missing islanders. We’ve been so proud of him, please tell me?—”
“He’s done nothing wrong,” Luke reassured her. “I promise this will be quick and he’s not in trouble.”
“Well…” Lily hesitated, still blocking them from coming in. “I’m worried he might react badly to seeing you, Luke. Is there any chance I can help instead?”
“Actually, yes.” Gabby jumped at the chance to avoid telling Andy she’d given up his secret to Luke. “We’re trying to track down a home remedy that’s making the rounds. A few people have gotten sick from it. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt. Do you know if Andy is taking anything like that? Herbal concoctions, salves, teas?”
Lily toyed with the ends of her hair, which lay in a loose ponytail across her shoulder. She wore a cashmere lounging set in oatmeal, with her bare feet peeking out from under. Did she ever wear shoes? Gabby wondered. “Just the usual,” she said vaguely.
Vague was Lily’s default style. She seemed to float through the world as if none of it was completely real. Maybe that was how she dealt with having a son on the spectrum.
“Can you tell us what the usual is?” Luke asked, taking out his notebook. “And where you acquired it?”
She huffed out a breath. “Must I? Isn’t that sort of thing confidential?”
“It’s up to you, but we’re trying to trace a bad batch of something before someone gets seriously hurt.” He stuck his pen behind his ear in a gesture Gabby knew would be catnip for Heather. “Listen, how about you just give us a list of the doctors or herbalists that you’ve been working with?”
“Is this going to be some kind of witch hunt? Because I won’t be part of that. You can’t blame us for going outside the Western medical system. It has no soul.”
Oh Lord. Gabby bit her lip to keep from laughing at the expression on Luke’s face, as if he’d just stepped into a pit of snakes.
“No witch hunt here. I have nothing against witches. Just toxic substances.”
It took a long moment of debate with herself, but finally she said, with extreme reluctance, “We’ve been working with Tamara Brown since we came to the island. She’s helped us with so many things. Andy’s anxiety, my anxiety, Tessa’s terrible acne, my husband’s erectile dysfunction?—”
“We get the picture,” Luke said hastily. “Thank you, Lily, we can take it from here.”
Safely inside the truck, Gabby could finally release the laughter she’d bottled up. “I thought she was worried about confidentiality. Was she going to spill all the family secrets if we let her?”
Luke was chuckling too as he started up the truck. “Funny thing is, I knew about Jason’s issues. When he gets stoned he can’t stop talking. He showed up at the constable’s office in tears, wanting to confess a whole bunch of shit.”
Gabby assessed him with a curious sideways glance. This man was very likely going to be a big part of her life. He was her podcast partner’s partner. That was almost like a brother-in-law. She probably ought to get to know him.
“You like being the constable here, don’t you?”
“I do. This island is full of characters. I’ve gotten to know people on a level I wouldn’t have if I didn’t have this job. I feel like I’m contributing, and that means a lot to me.”
“It’s pretty different from how you grew up.”
“Yeah. I couldn’t choose that. But I can choose this.”
She liked that perspective, partly because it resonated with her own experience. She hadn’t chosen to be the daughter of a high-powered politician and a federal judge. On one hand, she was fortunate, and she knew that. On the other hand, big responsibilities came with that background.
“Was it difficult leaving the family fold?”
“Not for me. I was pretty isolated as a kid. My mother got the blame for breaking up my father’s first marriage. Carson hated me like poison, and Fiona was hot and cold. Barnaby was the only one who stood up for me, and he left when I was fifteen. After that, I was on my own.”
Her attention picked up at the mention of Barnaby. “At least you had someone in your corner.”
“Yeah, Barnaby kept me alive.” He gave a dark chuckle. “Might have been truer than I realized. I’m glad he’s back. I don’t know if he’s glad, but I am. You should give him a chance.”
The sudden shift made her startle. “Me? What do you mean?”
