With Nick’s hand on her elbow to guide her, they worked their way through the crowd. He stopped all of a sudden, and Sam turned to see who had caught his eye.

“You came,” Nick said, clearly startled to see the youthful man with brown hair and eyes and an olive complexion that reminded Sam of Nick’s.

“Of course I did.” After a long pause, he added, “You looked real good up there, Nicky. Real good.”

An awkward moment passed before Nick seemed to recover his manners. “This is Sam Holland. Sam, my father, Leo Cappuano.”

“Oh.” Sam glanced up to take a read of Nick’s impassive face before accepting Leo’s outstretched hand. He seemed far too young to be Nick’s father, but then she remembered he was only fifteen years older than his son. “Pleased to meet you.”

“You, too,” Leo said. “I’ve read about the two of you in the paper.”

Nick winced. “I meant to call you, but it’s been kind of crazy…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I appreciate you coming. I really do.”

“I’m very sorry this happened to your friend, Nicky. He was a good guy.”

“Yes, he was.”

Neither of them seemed to know what to say next, and Sam ached for them.

“Well,” Nick said, “the family’s having a thing at the Willard. Can you join us?”

“I need to get back to work,” Leo said. “I just took the morning off.”

Nick shook his hand. “Give my best to Stacy and the kids.”

“You got it.” With a smile for Sam, Leo added, “Bring your pretty lady up to Baltimore for dinner one day soon.”

“I will. I have Christmas presents for the boys.”

“They’d love to see you. Any time. Take care, Nicky.” With a smile, Leo left them.

“Dad?”

He turned back.

“Thanks again for being here.”

Leo nodded and headed for the main door.

Nick exhaled a long deep breath. “That was a surprise.”

“A good surprise?”

“Yeah, sure.”

But she could tell it had rattled him. What would it be like to expect so little of your father that you’d be shocked to see him at your best friend’s funeral? Sam couldn’t imagine.

On the way out of church, numerous people stopped Nick to compliment him on his heartfelt eulogy. He accepted each remark with a gracious smile, but Sam could feel his tension in the tight grip he kept on her hand. When they finally made it outside, he took a deep breath.

Gonzo met them. “No sign of either of them.”

Removing the ear piece she’d worn during the funeral, Sam took a measuring look around at the crowd. “I really thought they’d be here, if nothing more than to pour salt in the O’Connors’s wounds. She told Cruz they were planning to attend.”

“We’ll keep looking,” Gonzo assured her.