Thomas pulled a gun from the inside pocket of his winter coat. Pointing it at Sam and Nick, he said, “Then take a seat and shut up.” He gestured to the sofa.

“Thomas,” Nick said, taking a step toward him, “you don’t want to do this. What difference will it make now?”

The younger man stared at him, his eyes even more wild and unfocused than they were when he first arrived. “Are you serious? What difference will it make? My grandfather ruined my mother’s life. He shipped her off like unwanted garbage to protect his political image.”

Sam rested her hand on Nick’s arm to pull him back. Nodding her head, she signaled for him to take a seat with her on the sofa.

Once they were seated, Thomas turned back to Graham. “All you cared about was yourself.”

“That’s not true. I cared about your father, and you, too. I sent money. For years. I made sure you had everything you needed.”

“Everything except my father and my family! You took everything from us. We got him for one lousy weekend a month, and you know what he was doing the rest of the time? Fucking his way through Washington with one stupid bitch after another.”

Watching Thomas gesture erratically with the gun, Nick’s heart slowed to a crawl.

Sam poked his leg to get his attention.

He watched as she raised her pant leg and removed the small clutch piece she had strapped to her calf.

She pressed it into his hand and drew her primary weapon from the shoulder harness she had worn for the funeral, keeping the gun hidden in her suit coat in case Thomas turned to them. Mouthing the word “wait” she used her finger to indicate that he should go right while she went left.

Nick nodded to let her know he understood.

“You know what he told me a couple of weeks ago when I introduced him to my girlfriend? He advised me later that I shouldn’t get ‘tied down’ to one woman. That a man needs to ‘mix it up,’ that ‘variety is the spice of life.’ It was a real touching father-son moment, and it was the first time it ever occurred to me that he’d been unfaithful to my mother. She’d waited her whole life for him. Ever since you banished her, she’s done nothing but wait for him and settle for whatever scraps he tossed our way. And then he comes and tells us he’s running for re-election! He actually expected us to be happy about his big news. He’d promised us one term. One term for you, his beloved father. Then it would be our turn. He lied about everything. Everything!”

“He loved you.”

“No, he loved you! You were the only one he cared about.”

“You killed him,” Graham said in a whisper. “You killed my son.”