He had punched hard. Fear had driven him to pull his fist back and shoot it forward with all his might. Life would never be quite the same after tonight, because a man was dead and it was his doing.

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. He had already forgiven the dead man, but he worried about the mother and wife and children who didn’t yet know the man they loved was dead.

A pair of police officers finally approached him. The younger one spoke first. “You’re the man who punched that guy to kingdom come?”

Patrick winced. “It was me,” he said, no pride in his voice.

“Let’s go somewhere we can talk,” the older officer said in a thick German accent. What was it about a German accent that made people sound so angry? His badge identified him as Sergeant Dittmer, and Patrick followed him through the front door and into the night.

Clusters of neighbors still loitered in the street, gaping through the open doorway at the bloody scene inside.

“What happened?” Sergeant Dittmer asked once they were a few yards from the onlookers. The younger policeman took out a notepad, pencil at the ready.

Patrick’s legal instincts kicked in. What happened tonight was a straightforward case of self-defense, but it was possible the Blackstones had played a role in it, and they might try to twist this.

“I was with Liam and his mother all evening. We were minding our own business when someone came pounding on the door. Liam answered and got stabbed about two seconds later. Two others barged in to finish the job, and I stopped them. I’ve never seen them before.”

“And Liam? Did he know them?”

Patrick shrugged. “You’ll have to ask him that.”

“Does Liam Malone have any enemies?” Sergeant Dittmer asked.

Any leader of a labor union had plenty of enemies, but Patrick doubted this had anything to do with the union. He nodded to the dozens of neighbors loitering in the street. “They could probably answer that better than me. I only met him a few weeks ago.” Had it only been three weeks? It seemed forever now.

“And what is your relationship with Mr. Malone?”

He thought carefully before answering. He had offered Liam a little legal advice, but he wasn’t officially his lawyer. If he identified himself as such, it would get back to the Blackstones, and something warned Patrick against that.

“Just a friend,” he said.

“You must come to the station to file a formal report of what happened here tonight,” Sergeant Dittmer ordered.

The brusque tone worried Patrick. “Am I a suspect?”

“No, but we need a formal statement,” Sergeant Dittmer said.

Patrick glanced pointedly at the officer with the notepad. “I just gave you one. I’m heading to the hospital to check on my friend. His mother may need help.”