Listening to him, Sam had a whole new appreciation for how John’s death had affected Nick’s professional life. The failure to pass the immigration bill had to be a bitter defeat on top of the personal tragedy. “In that case, his murder seems too well timed to be coincidental.”

“Someone couldn’t bear to see him get this win, you mean,” Freddie said.

“Which takes us right back to his brother Terry,” Sam said.

Nick shook his head.

“Speak,” Sam said.

“I’ve said this before—Terry doesn’t have the balls to kill his brother. He’s an overgrown boy trying to live in a man’s world. This would take planning and foresight. Terry’s idea of making a plan is deciding which bar to hit on a given night.”

“Still,” Sam said, “he had motive, opportunity, a key and can’t produce his alibi. I want to bring him in tomorrow morning for a formal interview.”

“Can’t that wait until after the funeral?” Nick asked, beseeching her with those hazel eyes of his.

“No. I’m sorry. I wish I could spare the O’Connors any more grief, but the minute they lied to me about Thomas, they lost the right to that courtesy. In fact, I could charge them with obstruction of justice.”

“But you won’t,” Nick said stiffly.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“I noticed Terry never completed the court-ordered safe driving school after his DUI,” Freddie said.

Sam smiled as she turned to Gonzo and Arnold. “Will you pick up Terry O’Connor in the morning? While he’s our guest, we’ll have another chat with him about his alibi. Coordinate with Loudoun County.”

“Can do,” Arnold said.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree,” Nick said, frustration all but rippling from him.

“So noted.” To the others, she said, “What’ve we got on the bombing?”

Higgins gave them an in-depth analysis of the four crude, homemade bombs they’d found attached to Sam’s car and Nick’s. “We got a partial print off one of the EDs on Mr. Cappuano’s car, and we’re running it through AFIS now,” he said, referring to the Automated Fingerprint Identification System.

“We’ve worked our way through the Johnson family and the majority of their known associates,” Detective Jeannie McBride said. “For the most part, they were hardly sympathetic to hear you’d nearly gotten blown up but were adamant that they had nothing to do with it.” With a chagrinned expression, she added, “A few said they wished they’d thought of it.”

“Nice,” Nick muttered.

“We didn’t pick up any vibe that an actual order had come from either of the Johnsons,” McBride said.

“And it would have,” Sam said. “After six months undercover with them, I can tell you nothing happens without one of them ordering it.”

“Agreed,” McBride said.