“I thought this school was the answer to our prayers.”

“I thought so, too, and you can bet I’m going to find out what happened there.” Sam stepped back from him. “The best thing you can do right now is be here with Tracy and help her through this. Brooke is going to feel like death when she comes to, and it’ll be a long road for her. They’re both going to need you.”

Mike nodded, wiped his eyes and ran a hand over his close-cropped dark blond hair, which had begun to go gray in the last year. “Nick seemed pissed earlier. Out of sorts. Not at all himself. Is everything okay?”

“It will be.” Sam hoped she was right about that. They didn’t have much experience with being at serious odds with each other. “He’s hurting from the hit to the ribs. Between that and everything with Brooke... We’re all out of sorts. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Keep me posted on how she’s doing.”

“We will.”

Sam hugged both her sisters and promised to be back soon.

“Find out what happened, Sam,” Tracy said with new tears in her ravaged eyes. “Please find out what happened to my baby.”

“I will.” Sam was in the elevator when she remembered she didn’t have a car. Normally, she would’ve called Nick for a ride, but since he was furious with her at the moment, she called Freddie. “Hey, where are you?”

“Still at MacArthur.”

“Can you take a break to pick me up at GW? I’d like to take a look at the scene.”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“I’ll be at the ER entrance.”

“See you in a few.”

As Sam paced back and forth in the waiting room, she ignored the curious stares directed her way by the handful of people sitting in chairs, waiting to be seen. She focused on the television, where special coverage of the MacArthur murders was the lead story.

“Police are being tight-lipped about what transpired inside the MacArthur Boulevard townhome of prominent Washington attorney William Springer, his wife, Marissa, and their son Hugo, who is rumored to be among the victims found murdered in the home around midnight. According to information obtained from police communications, at least six individuals are believed dead inside the home. Mr. Springer and his wife reportedly were in Aspen, where they own a second home, and are on their way back to the District at this time.” They showed a photo of the lawyer Sam had faced off against many times in court. “Mr. Springer’s biography on his company’s website lists Hugo as the youngest of his five children. The other four no longer reside at home.”