Do you remember what went on just before Andrew stopped showing up for game nights at your place? I do. He was gone for two weeks because he had to housesit for his stepfather. Mom and stepdad went on a big vacation every summer, for like 10 days, and Andrew was just expected to stay behind. He usually just stayed at his mom’s apartment, but that year he was asked to mind that house his stepdad owned, the one out in that old rich subdivision west of Houston. Maybe the guy had a bunch of houses. He was big on real estate, wasn’t he?

The guy had inherited this dog from one of his clients, somebody who moved out and didn’t want to take the dog with them. I want to say it was an Australian Shepherd. Do you remember any of this? Andrew talked about it the weekend before. Dog had behavioral problems – whined, barked, scratched at the door, pissed on the carpet.