When they got back to the L.A. office, Kelly did not hang around long. Charlie got yanked into a private meeting with Vicki, and Lentil was not around to go over the strategy on Latin America. The time was half past three and Kelly was already tired. Fatigue came quickly and without warning these days. Even protein powder mixed with juice did little to revive her flagging reserves. She suspected she would have had more energy if Jimmy was safe at home. Which reminded her, she had an unpleasant task she was avoiding. She had to talk to Amy and gently explain that their chances of getting Jimmy back were now dismal.

Kelly found Amy at the side of her house, working in the garden. Staying with the Techers, Kelly had been amazed how much time Amy spent on her flowers and plants. Amy said the feel of the soil calmed her. But as Kelly walked up, she looked far beyond calm—somewhere south of the valley of Valiums. Amy raised her head in greeting, but her gaze lingered too long without recognition. Then she shook herself and coughed.

“I was just thinking of you,” she said.

“I’m sorry, Amy. I’m so sorry.”

Amy stood and pulled off her plastic gloves and dropped them on the ground. “Everyone’s sorry,” she whispered.

Kelly put a hand on her arm. “How are you doing?”

Amy lowered her head and rocked unsteadily on her feet. It was as if she tried to recall something she had striven to forget. “I used to love to smell Jimmy when I picked him up,” she said. “It was one of the things I loved most about him. But just now, out here with the flowers, I realized that I’ve forgotten that smell. I try to remember it and all I see is his face. But his smell, the feel of his skin, the sound of his voice—they’re all leaving me. Why do you think that is?”

“You must miss him an awful lot.”

Amy raised her head and looked nowhere. “Yeah. That must be it.”

“Amy …” Kelly began.

She suddenly turned on her. “Or is it because he’s dead?”

“I don’t think he’s dead.”

“But will I ever see him again?”

Kelly could not lie. “I don’t know. We lost our best chance on Saturday.”

Amy stood staring for a minute. She never did respond, though, merely walked away, into the house. Kelly could only follow, not sure she had fulfilled the reason for her visit, or even if her visit served a legitimate purpose. Amy had been depressed and now she was more depressed.