By the time they reached the back of the house, Leigh’s eyes were burning from a sudden burst of color. An entire wall had been devoted to an aquarium. Large tropical fish swam behind a thick slab of glass that stretched from floor to ceiling. A white leather couch sat across from it, a kind of viewing station for the show. Leigh’s brain flashed up the memory of Callie sticking her hand into the ten-gallon tank she’d set up in the Waleskis’ living room. Callie’s fingers had been caked with blood. She’d insisted on washing her hands at the sink first so that the fish didn’t get sick.
“They’re cool, right?” Sidney was typing on her phone, but she nodded toward the aquarium. “So, it was the same guy who did something at the Atlanta Aquarium. Andrew can tell you about it. He’s really into fish. I just texted him that you’re here.”
Leigh turned around. She realized this was the first time she’d had a private conversation with Andrew’s fiancée. Unless she counted Sidney calling her a bitch across the parking lot.
“Look,” Sidney said, as if she’d read Leigh’s mind. “Sorry about the other day. This is all so very upsetting. Andy’s such a lost little puppy sometimes. I feel very protective.”
Leigh nodded. “Understood.”
“I feel like—” She held up her hands in an open shrug. “What is going on with this bullshit? Why do the cops have it out for him? Is it because he’s got money or he drives nice cars or is it some kind of vendetta because Linda worked on that Covid task force?”
Leigh was constantly amazed when rich white people assumed the system always worked until they found themselves wrapped up in it. Then, it had to be some kind of goddam conspiracy.
She told Sidney, “I had a client who got arrested for stealing a lawnmower. He died of Covid in jail because he couldn’t afford the five-hundred-dollar cash bail.”
“Was he guilty?”
Leigh knew a lost cause when she saw one. “I’m doing everything I can to help Andrew.”
“I fucking hope so. He’s paying you enough.” Sidney was back on her phone before Leigh could formulate a response.
Since she was being ignored, Leigh took the opportunity to walk to the wall of windows along the back of the house. The same square shrubs lined the tombstone path toward the pool. The decking was more white marble. All of the outdoor furniture was white. Four lounge chairs. Four chairs around a glass table. None of it looked inviting. None of it looked used. Even the grass looked artificial. The only variation in color came from the steel and cedar fence marking the property line in the distance.
If she had the gift of poetry, she’d come up with a verse about the house being the frigid embodiment of Andrew’s soul.
“Harleigh.”
Leigh slowly turned around. Andrew had sneaked up on her again, but, this time, she hadn’t startled. She gave him a cool look of appraisal. In contrast to the house, he was dressed in all black, from his T-shirt to his sweatpants to the matching slippers on his feet.
She told him, “We should talk.”
“Sid?” His raised voice bounced against the hard surfaces. “Sid, are you here?”
Andrew walked into the hall, looking for his fiancée. Leigh could see that the back of his hair was still damp. He’d probably just gotten out of the shower.
“I bet she went to pick up the cake for the wedding,” Andrew said. “We’ve got a small ceremony planned for tonight. Just Mom and some people from the dealerships. Unless you’d like to come?”
Leigh said nothing. She wanted to see if she could make him uncomfortable.
His bland expression didn’t change, but he finally asked, “Are you going to tell me why you’re here?”
Leigh shook her head. She had already been caught on one camera. She wasn’t going to get caught on another one. “Outside.”
Andrew raised his eyebrows, but she could tell he was enjoying the intrigue. He unlocked the door. The entire set of windows accordioned back. “After you.”
Leigh stepped carefully across the threshold. The marble was textured, but her high heels couldn’t find even purchase. She slipped them off and left them by the door. She said nothing to Andrew as she headed toward the pool. Leigh didn’t stop at the edge of the marble decking. She stepped down the stairs that lined the disappearing edge. The artificial turf was stiff under her bare feet, still wet from the morning dew. She could hear Andrew’s heavier footsteps hitting the ground behind her. Leigh wondered if this was the sound Tammy Karlsen had heard as he’d followed her into the park. Or was she already handcuffed by then? Was she gagged so that she couldn’t scream? Was she too drugged to know that she needed to?