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"But how does it hen you forget like that? Is there any retrieving the inforone?"

"Oh, sometimes it’ll come back, but usually it’s blank… like a hole in the botto the way"

"What made you think of it in the first place?"

"I don’t knoas looking through a desk drawer and came across the red leather ot this flash" He fell silent I glanced over at hi his bad hand,rubber teats

"Kitty didn’t know anything about it?"

He shook his head

"How’s she doing?"

"She’s up and around I guess Derek’s going over to see her later on…" He paused We were reaching the crest of the hill and ato be all right with this?" I asked

He was staring intently at the side of the road "Just up here Slon and pull over if you can"

I checked my rearview mirror There were three cars behindfroravel shoulder where I could park The bridge, with its low concrete guardrails, was about ten yards ahead Bobby sat there, staring to his right

Where the road descends fro back as far as the eye can see to a range of lavender ust heat shi as it must have looked for thousands of years In the distance, live oaks dotted the landscape, as snaggy and dark and hunched as buffalo