“No. It’s not forgetting. Memories change. We understand events in a new way. We go on after a mistake. We think we’ll be a hero in our own story. Sometimes we aren’t.”

“You’re quiet over there, Mahler,” Thackrey said. “What’s wrong?”

Eden could sense the connection with Mahler ending. “One other thing. According to Lieutenant Mahler’s service record, he’s fired his weapon twice while on duty. Both kill shots. Which means when he shoots you, you’ll be dead.”

Thackrey pulled Eden toward him so their faces were inches apart. “Think so? Maybe he’ll miss and kill you.” He swung Eden around. “Come on, Mahler, take your shot. It’s simple. It’s like a program code, a binary choice. Yes or no. On or off. Her, then me. You can handle that, can’t you?”

Mahler turned his head to keep the moving couple in the good corner of his vision. The rest of the room remained a wavy, moving blur.

Thackrey stopped moving and stared at Mahler. “Wait a minute. Something’s wrong. You can’t see, can you? I noticed something odd about the way you tipped your head when you came to my house.”

In Mahler’s field of vision, the scotoma began to vibrate and move.

Thackrey leaned close to Eden. “You’re screwed, Detective Somers. Your boy here can’t see to shoot. You need a different hero.”

As the pair swung around again, Mahler found them in his vision. He caught a glimpse of Eden looking directly at him with the signaling posture every law enforcement officer learned. The next time, as Thackrey began his turn, Eden gripped the hand that held hers and swung it hard into Thackrey’s face.

The blow stunned Thackrey. He let go of Eden for a second, swaying. Regaining his balance, he raised his gun. Before he could shoot, Mahler fired three times.

The bullets exploded into Thackrey’s body and opened like flowers on his chest. He looked down, searching for something. Then his legs weakened. He fell backward, hitting the coffee table on his way to the floor.

Mahler rushed across the room, his Sig still leveled on the fallen figure. He pulled the gun from Thackrey’s fingers and laid it on the table out of reach. Holding Thackrey’s wrist, Mahler felt for a pulse. When he found none, he let the arm fall beside the dead man’s body, where dark blood had begun to pool. The room was suddenly still, as if death had extinguished sound and left behind a hollow, empty space.

(ii)

(FRIDAY, 1:35 P.M.)

In her move to strike Thackrey, Eden had fallen to the floor. Now she crawled on her hands and knees across the room until she reached a corner and couldn’t go farther. She sat there, crouched in a tight ball.