Jeannie walked away, and Sam returned her attention to the victim. “What happened, Julian?” she whispered, feeling horrible about the odd confrontation she’d had with him the night before. She checked his hands and found no defensive wounds. Whoever grabbed him had caught him off guard. “What happened after you left Nick’s house?”

“Lieutenant,” McBride said a few minutes later, “the medical examiner is here. The chief and the captain are on their way. No luck reaching Cruz.”

“Thank you.” She took another long last look at Sinclair before she stood up and tugged off the gloves. “Who found him?”

“A drunk tripped over him. The guy is freaking out.” She pointed to an ambulance parked at the curb. “Paramedics are with him now.”

“Let me brief the brass, and then I want to talk to him. Canvass?”

“Tyrone and a couple of uniforms are on it,” she said, referring to her partner.

“Good job, McBride. Thanks.”

“So, um, you met him? The vic?”

“He had dinner with us at Nick’s new place on Capitol Hill. They were friends.”

“Jeez, and he just lost his other friend.”

Her lips tight with tension, Sam said, “Yes.”

Captain Malone and Chief Farnsworth arrived minutes apart, and Sam filled them in. “I left before dinner, so I need to talk to Nick about what time it ended and how Sinclair got back to the hotel.”

“Get to it,” the chief said, his expression grim as he studied the gunshot wound to Sinclair’s head.

“I’m waiting on crime scene to get here,” Sam said.

“I’ll wait for them,” Malone replied. “You go on ahead.”

“Gonna be another hot one, Lieutenant,” Farnsworth said.

“And the spotlight will once again be on me and my personal life,” she grumbled.

“Will it be too much of a distraction?” Farnsworth asked.

“No, sir. McBride, you’re with me.” She gestured for the other woman to follow her.

Jeannie trotted along behind Sam as she stalked across the park to talk to the wino who’d found Sinclair. He was all but incoherent, adding nothing to the investigation.

Furious, she took off for her car, again with Jeannie in hot pursuit.

“Do you want me to try Cruz again for you?”

“No.” Sam struggled to find the words she would need to break the devastating news to Nick. The very thought of it broke her heart, but there was no room for her emotions in the midst of what needed to be done in the next few hours. “He’ll have to catch up when he resurfaces.”

Chapter 13

Sam parallel parked on Ninth Street and stared at the front door to Nick’s house.

“How do you want to do this?” Jeannie asked.

“He’s still asleep,” Sam said, glancing up at the dark window on the second floor. “I’ll wake him up and have him come down. I want you to witness the conversation.”