so sorry he had to go when he did. He was a good guy, a great cop in the making. I miss him, even if he was annoying sometimes.”
Gonzo took the tissue one of the other women handed him and pressed it to his eyes. When he looked up, Sam sent him a reassuring chin lift and a nod, hoping he knew how proud of him she was.
“I’m Scotty, and the lieutenant is my mom. I wasn’t part of her family when my grandpa Skip was shot. I met my future parents after Gramps had been in the wheelchair for two years already. So I never knew him before, but I heard lots of stories about how he was a terrible dancer and gave the best parties and was a great cop. I would’ve liked to have known that version of him, but I’m really thankful I got to know him at all. He taught me a lot in the short time I knew him, things like how important it is to keep your word and that the measure of a person is whether they do the right thing when no one is looking. Stuff like that. I know I’ll always remember him and the things he taught me.”
Roni handed Sam a tissue that she accepted with a grateful smile.
Nick gave Scotty’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’m Nick, and you’ve met my wife, Sam, over there, and my son, Scotty. I lost my best friend and former boss to murder almost two years ago. I was chief of staff to Senator John O’Connor at the time of his murder, and when I lost him, I also lost my job and my identity and a friend who’d been by my side since I was eighteen. I was tapped to take his Senate seat, which later led to being asked by President Nelson to replace Vice President Gooding when he fell ill, and here I am, vice president because my best friend was murdered. Sometimes, it’s hard to wrap my head around the way it all happened. But I like to think John would be pleased and maybe shocked to see me now. He’d definitely have something to say about it.” He ended with a small grin that belied the pain he carried with him from the loss of John and the events that followed.
“I’d also like to add that, like Scotty, I didn’t know Skip before he was injured, but I grew to love him for many of the same reasons Scotty did, plus one more really important one—he made my wife into the best cop and person I’ve ever known, and I’ll always be thankful to him for her.”
Sam dabbed at her eyes again. “No fair.”
Everyone else laughed, which relieved some of the tension that had come from hearing everyone’s stories.
“I’m Roni. My husband, Patrick, was killed a month ago when a stray bullet found him on a sidewalk when he was out grabbing a sandwich for lunch. We were newlyweds, madly in love and just happy, you know? I thought I was set for life once we got married. I never imagined having to live most of my life without him. I think a lot about the day before he died, when I was supposed to go to the grocery store but forgot and went straight home instead. I was moaning about forgetting and said I’d go back out. But Patrick told me not to sweat it. He said he’d go out for lunch the next day. I wonder if maybe if I’d made it to the store, he wouldn’t have left the office to get lunch, and he’d still be here with me. I know there’s no sense second-guessing something that’s already happened, but I’ll always be sorry I didn’t make it to the store that day.”
Sam reached for Roni’s hand and gave it a squeeze, her heart breaking all over again for the other woman. What a thing to have to live with, the feeling that something you did or didn’t do might’ve indirectly cost someone else their life—and that someone being the person you love most in the world.
“I’m Joseph, and my son, Daniel, was killed when he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Someone looking for revenge against an ex-boss locked the boss and my son in a freezer, where they froze to death. I try not to think about what that must’ve been like for them, if it hurt or how long