Leigh wanted to shake him, because he didn’t understand. “We have to find her now, Walter. The minute Andrew can’t get in touch with Reggie, he’s going to know something’s wrong.”
“But he won’t really know.”
“He’s a predator. He goes by instinct,” Leigh told him. “Think about it. Reggie’s gone, then Andrew finds out voir dire is postponed and I’m nowhere to be found. I promise you he’ll either post all of the videos online or he’ll show the original murder video to the cops, or—whatever he does, I can’t let Callie be here for the blowback. We’ve got to get her out of town as quickly as possible.”
“She’s not going to leave town,” Walter said. “You know that. This is her home.”
Leigh wasn’ t going to give her sister a choice. Callie had to disappear. There was no arguing the point. She tapped harder on the glass.
Walter said, “Leigh.”
She ignored him, walking farther down, cupping her hands to her eyes to help her see into the dark waiting room. Her heart was in her throat. Her fight or flight was spinning like a Ferris wheel. Leigh could only take her life in five-minute increments because if she let herself think past those few minutes, then everything would start to snowball and she would be staring down the fact that life as she knew it was about to be over.
She was frantic to protect her sister from the coming avalanche.
“Leigh,” Walter tried again, and if she hadn’t been so worried about her husband, she would’ve screamed at him to stop saying her fucking name.
They were both exhausted and shellshocked by what they had done to Reggie. Driving around aimlessly most of the night hadn’t diminished their anxiety. They had coasted by Phil’s, knocked on doors at Callie’s cheap motel, roused clerks at other nearby motels, cruised past shooting galleries, called the booking desk at the police station, talked to nurses at five different emergency rooms. It was just like old times and it was still horrible and still emotionally draining and they still had not found her sister.
Leigh wasn’t going to give up. She owed it to Callie to warn her about the tapes.
She owed it to Callie to finally tell her the truth.
“There.” Walter pointed through the burglar bars just as the lights came on inside the waiting room. Callie was wearing jeans and a satin yellow jacket that Leigh recognized from middle school. Despite the heat, she had snapped it closed all the way up to her neck.
“Cal!” Leigh called through the glass.
Her tone didn’t put any urgency in Callie’s step as her sister slowly made her through the waiting room. Walter was right about the tan. Callie’s skin was almost golden. But the sickliness was still there, the painful thinness, the hollowed-out look to her eyes.
The harsh lights put Callie’s deterioration on full display when she finally reached the door. Her movements were labored. Her expression was blank. She was breathing through her mouth. No matter what, Callie always looked pleased to see Leigh, even when it was over a metal table at the county jail. Now, she looked wary. Her eyes darted around the parking lot as she slipped a key into the lock.
The glass door swung back. Another key opened the security gate. Up close, Leigh could see faded make-up on her sister’s face. Smeared eyeliner. Splotchy eyeshadow. Callie’s lips were stained dark pink. Decades had passed since Leigh had seen her sister with anything more than cat whiskers drawn in straight lines across her cheeks.
Callie spoke to Walter first. “Long time, friend.”
Walter said, “Good to see you, friend.”
Leigh couldn’t stomach their Chip and Dale routine right now. She asked Callie, “Are you okay?”
Callie gave a Callie response. “Is anyone ever really okay?”
Leigh nodded toward the BMW. “Whose car is that?”
“It’s been parked there all night,” Callie said, which wasn’t technically an answer.
Leigh opened her mouth to demand more details, but then she realized there was no point. The car didn’t matter. She had come here to talk to her sister. She had rehearsed her speech throughout the long, endless night. All that she needed from Callie was time , one of the very few resources that Callie always had in abundance.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Walter said, as if taking a cue. “It’s good to see you, Callie.”
Callie returned a salute. “Don’t be a stranger.”
Leigh didn’t wait for an invitation. She went inside the building, pulled the gate closed. The lobby hadn’t changed in decades. Even the smell was familiar—wet dog with a tinge of bleach because Callie would get on her hands and knees to scrub the floor if it meant Dr. Jerry wouldn’t have to.