“That’s what I think. And it’s what Ezra’s family deserves.” She took a slow breath. “Then I need to create a memorial to the men and women who were hanged here. If there are any kind of records from the time—names, dates, anything of the sort—I’ll need to find them. And if I have any money left over after the media circus and lawsuits that today is going to spawn, it’ll go to excavating parts of the hill, looking for remains. And giving them formal burials.”

“You might have more money than you expect,” Kant said. “You never asked Andrew what your financial situation was.”

She shrugged. “I’ll find a way to put it to something good. It doesn’t seem right to profit from this kind of thing.”

He nodded.

“After that…” Margot raised her shoulders and let them drop again. “You’ll always have a home here if you want it. I’ll offer that to everyone who was working here. But I can imagine you’ll want to go somewhere else, after being chained to Gallows Hill for so long. In the short term, at least for the next couple of days, you and the others might want to clear out. The bodies are old, but I’m sure the police will still have plenty of questions. And I figure I have until this afternoon before the news vans arrive. I’ll probably want to ask you some questions later—the best way to wind up the business and the best places to start searching the land—but that won’t be for a while.”

“That is a lot of work,” Kant murmured.

“Well, I might not have made the mess, but it’s mine to clean up.” The talisman was still threaded around her wrist. Margot ran her fingertips over the precious items she’d tied there. The photo of her parents, soaked through with wine. Her hair clip. The key. The label from her tape. Her grandmother’s ring. Kant’s button. “I never really had a purpose before this. When I came to Gallows Hill, this wasn’t the kind of responsibility I was expecting. But I think I’m able to do it. And it’ll mean something to a lot of people who have been waiting a very long time.”

Kant turned his face toward the sun. His gray beard and shaggy hair were lit through with shocks of gold from the light. He was silent for a minute, lost in thought, then said, “I’ve always been happy working here. Even with the bad parts. I like the work. I think I’d like to take on some more of it, if you wouldn’t mind the company.”

Margot, surprised and touched in equal measures, felt herself smile. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

“Mm.” He breathed in deeply. “Looks like we’re ready to start.”