Mrs. Bates was in the front yard pruning roses. She raised her head when Decker got out of the car but made no attempt to rise from her squat. He went over to the flower bed and knelt beside her.

“Hello,” she said softly. “What do you want, Sergeant?”

“I was in the neighborhood. I thought I’d stop by and see how you’re doing.”

She snipped off a rose hip and shrugged.

“I like those red ones,” Decker said. “Olympiads, aren’t they?”

She nodded.

“My mother has a bed of them,” he said. “She’s a big gardener.”

Mrs. Bates said nothing.

“She says it’s her therapy,” Decker continued. “Claims the world wouldn’t need shrinks if everyone would just grow things instead.”

“I can understand that,” Mrs. Bates whispered.

He watched her trim the bushes for a minute.

She asked, “Does your mother live out here?”

“No. Florida.”

“There’s plenty of sunshine over there also.”

“That’s true,” he said. “But Gainsville also has a lot of humidity. You can’t beat L.A. for weather. I’ve tried to tell my mom that, but she and my dad are settled where they are.”

“It’s hard to…adjust…to new things,” Mrs. Bates said in a cracked voice. “What…” She swallowed back tears. “What brought you out to Los Angeles?”

“My ex-wife’s family and a job in a law firm. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. I’d been a cop in Florida for eight years and I’d convinced myself that it was time for a change.”

“You didn’t like law?” She blushed. “I don’t mean to pry—”

“You’re not prying,” Decker said, smiling. “No, I didn’t like law. Not the kind I was practicing anyway. But I’m glad I moved. It’s worked out well for me here.”

She pricked her finger on a thorn, said “ouch,” stuck the finger in her mouth, and sucked.

“I’m distracting you,” Decker said.

“No,” she protested. “Really, I’m fine. I should have worn gloves.”

“How’s Erin?” Decker asked.

“She’s…fine. More subuded. More serious.” She faced him. “Have you…learned anything new?”

His throat became dry. The police had reported the ordeal of last night to the press as a drug bust—an officer-involved shooting during the raid on a rock house. Decker had insisted upon it. The thought of the Bateses waking up to front-page headlines that splashed out the gory death of their daughter nauseated him.

But he could break it to her now. Tell her gently. Ease the shock of the horrible news to come. She’d have to know eventually. That was originally why he’d come out to visit her. But now, seeing her like this…To tell her what he knew, what he’d seen…He couldn’t do it.

He cursed his cowardice.