I know, Detective Warren, that had I asked, you would’ve helped me, too. You would’ve summoned the cavalry, girded your loins and waded into battle on my behalf.

Thank you for your faith in me.

But in truth, I’ve been lucky to have lived this long. A woman with my condition, I should’ve succumbed to infection or some other injury long ago. The constant diligence preached by my adoptive father saved me, but maybe it doomed me, as well. I spend night after night inspecting my own skin, while diligently denying myself even the simplest of life’s pleasures, a walk on a beach, a hike in the mountains, a crazy night out on the town.

And for what? The lover I’ve never taken? The kids I’ve never had? The life I’ve never truly led?

I’m tired, D.D. I’ve been isolated too long by a condition that sounds like a blessing but is ultimately a curse. I’ve lost my connection to humanity. I’ve lost my sense of self.

Alex remained patiently waiting. D.D. leaned against him, not quite ready to leave the graveside but not sure why.

“Adeline left her entire estate to a children’s service agency,” she commented now. “And we’re talking a considerable sum of money. Apparently Adeline was pretty successful, not to mention what she’d inherited from her adoptive father.”

“It stands to reason she’d want other children to have a better chance,” Alex said.

“You mean, better than her and her sister.”

“Adeline confused making a bad choice with being a bad person,” Alex supplied reasonably. “Maybe because bad choices were her family legacy, so she only needed to mess up once to decide the exception proved the norm. But she’d been granted a huge opportunity when she was adopted, and she used it to build a real life. She was intelligent, empathetic, valued. Even when she went off the rails . . .” Alex shrugged.

D.D. understood what he was trying to say. “You had to like her style. I mean, the look that had to have been on Charlie Sgarzi’s face when he saw Shana standing there . . . I hope it was worth it.”

“She helped you,” Alex said somberly. “For that, I’ll always be grateful.”

“You know, you get older, acquire more aches and pains, then of course, do something stupid to wind up injured like I did, and it’s easy to be bitter. I didn’t want to hurt. Or slow down. Or feel so . . . weak. But Adeline was right: Melvin is looking out for me. And pain brings us together. A shared building block of the human experience. Adeline never got to feel that bond. In the end, it got to her.”

“Do you think her sister loved her?” Alex asked. “It’s what Adeline wanted, but after everything she did, is it what she got?”