There was a long silence on the phone. Bosch heard Edgar say he was going to get some coffee in the watch office. Rider said she’d go along, even though Bosch knew she didn’t drink coffee. She had an assortment of herbal teas she kept in the drawer of her desk.

“Harry, it’s not right,” Eleanor said.

“What are you talking about, Eleanor?”

Another long moment of silence went by before she answered.

“I was thinking about that movie we saw last year. About the Titanic.”

“I remember.”

“And the girl in that. She fell in love with that boy, that she only met right there on the boat. And it was . . . I mean, she loved him so much. So much that at the end she wouldn’t leave. She didn’t take the lifeboat so she would be with him.”

“I remember, Eleanor.”

He remembered her crying in the seat next to him and his smiling and not being able to understand how a film would affect her in such a way.

“You cried.”

“Yes. It’s because everybody wants that kind of love. And, Harry, you deserve that from me. I — ”

“No, Eleanor, what you give me is more than — ”

“She jumped from a lifeboat back onto the Titanic, Harry.” She laughed a little bit. But it sounded sad to Bosch. “I guess nobody can ever top that.”

“You’re right. Nobody can. That’s why it was a movie. Listen . . . you are all I’ve ever wanted, Eleanor. You don’t have to do anything for me.”

“Yes, I do. I do . . . I love you, Harry. But not enough. You deserve better.”

“Eleanor, no . . . please. I . . .”

“I’m going to go away for a while. Think about things.”

“Will you wait there? I’ll be home in fifteen minutes. We can talk about — ”

“No, no. That’s why I paged. I can’t do this in person.”

He could tell she was crying.

“Well, I’m coming up there.”

“I won’t be here,” she said urgently. “I packed the car before I paged you. I knew you’d try to come.”

Bosch put his hand over his eyes. He wanted to be in darkness.

“Where will you be?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Will you call?”

“Yes, I’ll call.”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m . . . I’ll be fine.”

“Eleanor, I love you. I know I never said that enough but I — ”

She made a shushing sound in the phone and he stopped.

“I love you, Harry, but I have to do this.”

After a long moment, during which he felt a deep tearing inside, he said, “Okay, Eleanor.”

The silence that followed was as dark as the inside of a coffin. His coffin.

“Good-bye, Harry,” she finally said. “I’ll see you.”