“I am not entirely certain,” Tariq said slowly.

“You saw her, or you didn’t. Which was it, Tariq?”

“I have seen her and not seen her, if you will allow me to explain.” Tariq’s tone was calm, but there was an undercurrent of annoyance. He didn’t like to be challenged, or questioned. “Claudia and I have not been in contact very frequently this year. I have been out of the country for a good share of the time. Unfortunately my absences coincided with yours, Lily. When you suddenly decided to stay in Spain, Claudia was bereft.”

I bit my lip to keep myself from answering Tariq’s accusation. I needed to hear what he knew.

“However, I believe in retrospect that perhaps the fact that you and I were both absent may have forced Claudia to reconsider her appetite for self-destruction,” Tariq continued. “In April, she made the decision, entirely voluntary and entirely her own, that she would go into a rehabilitation center.”

“I know. She told me.” I remembered being annoyed that she’d disappeared for weeks without a word, but then feeling elated when I found out what she’d been up to. I’m so proud of you, I’d told her. Even though she’d gotten my hopes up before, I clung to the idea she’d one day manage to kick her habit. Oh, shut up, Honey Bear, she’d responded. If I’m going to be somebody’s role model, I can’t be such a screwup. It had struck an odd chord at the time, but we’d had so much to catch up on I hadn’t thought much of it then. “Did you give her the money to go?” I asked Tariq.

“Yes. I had been pressing her for some time on this issue. I was glad she acquiesced. The next time we saw each other, it was already July. She was, well, wonderful really. We had dinner on the Fourth of July weekend and she was…” His eyes stared into the distance without focus, as if he were drinking in the sight of her in front of him, and his clipped voice softened. “She was vital and spirited and happy. Well and happy.”

“And after that?” I asked.

“We saw each other next at the end of August. Claudia was unsettled, but she would not explain why. She insisted that she was fine, but I know her too well.”