Page 45 of Dissection of a Murder
Julian gets touchy whenever I mention Sienna. I know when to leave it.
—
A few days later, I’m walking back to chambers at lunchtime, clutching my sandwich and luminous green smoothie from Pret. I’m trying to be healthy at the moment.
“Leila!” Chester calls out from somewhere. I turn to see him standing in the reception area. Late autumn sun streams through the large sash windows and scatters a warm, golden glow everywhere. Our building is old—I believe from the Georgian period—and this would have been the drawing room. He stands beside an imposing fireplace; the blue, pink, and white patterned tiles pop against the black surround. An oversized vase of lilies sits on the coffee table.
I fell in love with Innovation Chambers the moment I stepped foot in it. Each set of chambers has its own personality in terms of ethos, building, barristers, and specialty. Some sets are strict and straitlaced, others are nonstop party chambers. Some are downright corrupt. This one felt right to me: legal excellence laced with strong, eccentric personalities, not afraid to be different.
Speaking of eccentric personalities, I smile and walk over to sayhi to Chester. He glances around at the reception desk to see if anyone’s there.
“I wanted to apologize again for my behavior in the bar,” he says quietly, having avoided me around chambers since it happened. “Your reaction was entirely appropriate.”
The giddy, excitable look Chester had in his eyes that day is absent. He is now sober and has likely thought about the incident and reflected on it. He will be embarrassed, and rightly so. But I’m not going to punish him for it. People make mistakes.
“Chester, how long have we known each other?” I whisper. “It’s forgotten. Don’t worry about it.”
The smile he gives me is one of relief. He’s obviously got some stuff going on; the last thing he needs is me threatening to make life harder for him over this.
“How are you getting on with your ‘issue’ at home?”
He looks at me quizzically, frowning in a way that suggests he has no idea what I’m talking about.
“You mean the wife?” he asks, with a significant raise of the eyebrows. “All quiet. Nothing since. Probably my paranoia or a symptom of my old age.”
“Seriously?” I laugh. “You’re one of the sharpest minds I know, Chester, don’t give me that.”
“Back to normal,” he says quietly, shaking his head. “I think I must have just imagined it. Everything is tickety-boo.”
I don’t believe it, and he doesn’t either. But it’s easier for him to believe the lie because it’s more tolerable than confronting the reality and having his life blow up.
“Speak of the devil…” he says, and I turn to see Demi skipping up the steps outside chambers. Within seconds she makes a majestic entrance into the reception area. Her long, camel coat swishes around her, with a personality of its own. She clutches a shiny, blackBalenciaga handbag, which complements her tall, black boots. Dark brown sunglasses sit on her head as her honey-colored hair cascades around her shoulders.
“Leila! Hi!”
“Hi, Demi, nice to see you,” I remark, catching a glimpse of the short, fitted dress she’s wearing underneath the coat. It’s no wonder Chester is willing to overlook her scurrilous activities. “Are you going out for lunch?”
“Yes,” Chester tells me. “We’re meeting Tom. We haven’t seen him for a while.”
I smile at Chester. I know seeing his son will mean a lot to him.
“Darling,” Chester says to Demi, laying a hand on the small of her back. “I’ve just remembered I need to have a quick word with Edward. Give me two minutes.”
He dashes off, leaving the two of us alone.
“Hope the case is going well,” she says politely, glancing at my lunch to see what I’ve bought.
“Yes, really well, thank you.”
Just as I’m wondering whether to excuse myself or take this opportunity to dig under the surface a bit, she beats me to it.
“I wanted to ask, Leila, what did your birthday card mean?”
Her tone has changed. She’s not playing the dutiful wife now. She’s asking with purpose. I’m thrown for a second.
“Sorry, what?”
“Your birthday card to Chester. It’s still on his desk. I saw it when I was in his study the other week.”
