At last she understood.

Adele was a dope fiend, too.

She felt it with a sense of pain.

Always, she knew, the fiends tried to get away alone somewhere for a few minutes to snuff some of their favorite nepenthe.

She had heard before of the cocaine "snuffers" who took a little of the deadly powder, placed it on the back of the hand, and inhaled it up the nose with a quick intake of breath.