A blonde woman greeted him.

He figured she might want to see his badge, so he showed it to her. “Jake Malone, Metro PD.”

“Come in. Tom was excited to hear you were in town and coming by.” She stepped aside to admit him to the house. “I’m Amanda. It’s nice to meet an old friend of Tom’s.”

Jake shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, too.” He noted dark circles under her eyes and a pinched, strained set to her mouth.

“I’m not sure what they told you at the bar, but Tom… He’s really sick. I just wanted you to be prepared… He doesn’t look like himself anymore.”

“I understand but thank you for the concern.”

“Right this way.”

Her warning in no way prepared Jake for the sight of Tom, shriveled and diminished in the hospital bed in what had probably once been a dining room. That reminded him of Skip, who’d been relegated to the former dining room at his house after the shooting.

Tom’s eyes lit up at the sight of Jake. “This is a nice surprise,” he said softly. “A blast from the past.” It seemed to take all his strength to hold out his hand to Jake, who shook it gently.

“Good to see you, old friend.”

“You, too. What brings you to NOLA?”

“I came to see you. Heard you were hanging your hat down this way these days.”

“Been here almost twelve years now. Since right after I retired. You and Joe…” He coughed and tried to sit up a bit.

Amanda raised his bed.

“Thanks, hon.” He glanced at Jake. “You and Joe… They’re gonna carry you two dinosaurs outta there in pine boxes at this rate.”

Jake laughed. “Still going strong.”

“Fools.”

He laughed again. “So we’re told. Frequently.”

“Heard about Skip. Awful sorry about that.”

“Thanks. It was a tough one.”

“And his daughter, the first lady…” He coughed again. “That’s something.”

“Sure is.”

“What’re they like? Her and the husband?”

“Good people. What you saw from him with the State of the Union… That’s who he really is.”

“He’s been obsessed with the coverage of them,” Amanda said. “That his old friend’s daughter is now the first lady has given him something to look forward to every day when he watches the news.”

“They’ll like hearing that.”

“Are they as nice as they seem?” Tom asked.

“Very much so. Our country is in good hands with them in the White House.”

“She’s a heck of a detective, too.”

“One of the best I’ve ever worked with, tied for first place with her dad.”

“You must miss him. You two and Joe were tight.”

“We do miss him. Even after he was so grievously injured, he was still sharp as a tack and a huge part of our lives.”

“And Conklin…”

“Don’t get me started on that bastard.”

“I couldn’t believe when I heard he’d sat on info in Skip’s case. I was shocked for days.”

“We all were.”