Nancy gave her a penetrating look. “Yes, you know that. But I think you knew how to deal with it when it happened to you. Matt didn’t, he bottled up the pain inside. He would hardly talk to me about it.”

“What about his friends? Couldn’t he talk to them?”

“Matt lost most of his friends while he dated Amy. She consumed his whole life. She took everything from him, she demanded it. But she gave him so little in return.”

“Do you hate her?”

Nancy was reflective. “I did hate her. How could I not when I saw what she had done to my son? But when she lost her own son … . I don’t know. I pitied her as well. I’m sure it was the last thing Matt would have wanted to happen to her.”

“Are you sure?” Kelly asked, the question popping out before she could stop it. Above all else she did not want to give Nancy a clue as to her purpose in visiting. Nancy might have caught her drift, it was hard to be sure. She did not answer directly.

“Matt was a very kind man,” she said.

Kelly spoke carefully. “But he was depressed. I hate to ask this, Mrs. Connor, but is it possible he crashed his plane on purpose?”

She shook her head. “No.”

They spoke a few minutes more but the conversation was essentially over. Kelly decided she had gotten what she had come for—an insight into the dark side of Amy. Her vague theory took on greater clarity. Yet it almost crumbled as she went to leave. It was then Nancy brought up Cindy Firestone, Matt’s girlfriend at the time of his death. The fact that there was another woman threw Kelly off balance. If he had been seeing someone else, maybe all her ideas were wrong.

“Why didn’t you mention her earlier?” Kelly asked, standing at the door.

“I didn’t think Cindy had anything to do with Amy.” The reply held a taunt. Isn’t that why you are here in the first place? Or do you have another reason?

“How long were they involved?” Kelly asked.

“For two or three months before he died. Why?”

“Just curious. Do you have Cindy’s number?”

This time Nancy wasn’t buying. “What exactly is it you want, Mrs. Fienman?”

“I told you. An insight into Amy’s character.”

“Cindy never met Amy.”

“Yes. But I’m sure Matt told Cindy things about Amy that he told no one else.”

“Hardly. Cindy said Matt never spoke about Amy.”

Kelly acted casual. “If you don’t have the number, that’s okay.”

Nancy’s eyes never left her face. “It’s okay because you can get the number in five minutes. I may as well give it to you myself, and at least warn Cindy that you’ll be calling. Wait here a moment.”

“Thank you,” Kelly said, feeling like a fool.