She kicked off her boots and bent to kiss his cheek. “So it seems.”

Celia, one of the nurses who cared for him, came out from the kitchen to greet Sam. “How about we get ready for bed, Skip?”

Sam hated the indignation that darted across the expressive side of his face. “Go ahead, Dad. I’ll be in when you’re done. I’ve got a couple of things I want to run by you.”

“I suppose I can make some time for you,” he teased, turning the chair with his one working finger and following Celia to his bedroom in what used to be the dining room.

Sam went into the kitchen and served herself a bowl of the beef stew Celia had left on the stove for her. She ate standing up without tasting anything as the events of the day ran through her mind like a movie. Under normal circumstances, she’d be obsessed with the case. She’d be thinking it through from every angle, searching out motives, making a list of suspects. But instead, she thought of Nick and the sadness that had radiated from him all day. More than once she had wanted to throw her arms around him and offer comfort, which was hardly a professional impulse.

Deciding it was pointless to try to eat, she poured the rest of the soup into the garbage disposal and stood at the sink, her shoulders stooped. She was still there twenty minutes later when Celia came into the kitchen.

“He’s ready for you.”

“Thanks, Celia.”

“He’s been kind of…”

“What?” Sam asked, immediately on alert.

“Off. He hasn’t been himself the last few days.”

“The two-year anniversary is coming up next week.”

“That could be it.”

“Let’s keep an eye on him.”

Celia nodded in agreement. “What do you know about Senator O’Connor?”

“Not as much as I’d like to.”

“What a tragedy,” Celia said, shaking her head. “We’ve been glued to the news all day. Such an awful waste.”

“Seemed like a guy who had it all.”

“But there was something sort of sad about him, too.”

“Why do you say that?”

“No reason in particular. Just a vibe he put out.”

“I never noticed,” Sam said, intrigued by the observation. She made a mental note to find some video of O’Connor’s speeches from the Senate floor and TV interviews.

“Go on in and see your dad. He so looks forward to his time with you.”

“The stew was great. Thank you.”

“Glad you liked it.”

Sam went into her father’s bedroom where he was propped up in bed, a respirator hose snaking from his throat to the machine on the floor that breathed for him at night.

“You look beat,” he said, his speech an awkward staccato around the respirator.