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“Anything for you.”
Roni Connolly came over to say hello.
“Hey, Roni,” Sam said. “You remember my sisters, Tracy and Angela.”
“Of course. It’s nice to see you again. Angela, would it be okay if I hugged you?”
“Sure,” Ang said with a shy smile.
The two women embraced for a long time, and when they pulled back, both were in tears.
Roni took Angela by the hand. “I’ve got you.”
Sam grasped Tracy’s arm when her older sister would’ve followed Roni and Angela. “Let Roni take her.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. Roni knows more about what Angela’s dealing with than we ever will. I hope.”
“It’s brutal seeing her go through this.” Tracy looked more exhausted than Sam had ever seen her. “Absolutely brutal.”
“Who’s got her kids?”
“They’re with Mike at our house.”
“It’s good of you both to make it possible for her to be here.”
“I just hope it helps.”
When they took their seats, across from Roni and Angela, Sam sent Nick a quick text.Angela showed up to grief group, so I’m going to stick around, then try to see Shelby after. Don’t wait to eat.
I’m glad she went. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy until my gorgeous wife gets home.
“Everything okay?” Tracy asked when Sam put the BlackBerry in her pocket.
“Yep.”
Dr. Trulo stood before the group of more than fifty people seated in a tight circle. “Welcome to our monthly meeting. I wish I could say I was happy to see you here, but I’m not. I’m sorry for whatever life-changing event has brought you to us, and I hope you can find some comfort by being with people who understand.”
Sam was surprised to see Cameron and Gigi come in, holding hands.
“Would anyone like to volunteer to begin?” Dr. Trulo said.
Lenore Worthington raised her hand. “Thank you, Dr. Trulo and Sam, for organizing this group. The meetings and the friends I’ve made here have become a bit of a lifeline for me lately.” She twisted a tissue in her hands. “I’ve recently gotten the answers I craved for fifteen long years, and I’m finding that to be a hollow victory. I’m not sure what I thought would happen once I could put a face to the person who took my son from me, once I knewwhy, but whatever I thought would happen… Well, it’s just another day without my boy. He’d be a man now,” she said with a tearful laugh. “He’d be thirty-two soon. Maybe he’d have a wife and kids and a job and a mortgage. He was going places, my Calvin, and I miss him more than ever. That’s all I wanted to say.”
“Your courage has been an inspiration to all of us, Lenore,” Dr. Trulo said. “Thank you for sharing your feelings and for giving a voice to the often-hollow victory that comes with justice.”
Sam listened to a number of other people share similar experiences of long-awaited justice being less satisfying than they’d anticipated. She understood that. Knowing who’d killed her father didn’t bring him back or change the reality he’d been forced to live with as a quadriplegic the last years of his life. If anything, in his case, the answers had led to more heartache.
“I want you to know, Lenore and everyone else, that I understand how you feel.” Sam said the words before she’d even decided to speak. “Even as part of the team that helps get justice for your loved ones, I’m always aware that those answers won’t change the fundamental reality of your loss. It didn’t change anything for me. In many ways, finding out who shot and eventually killed my dad only made things worse. What does help is knowing that others get it, so thank you for that.”
Lenore nodded in agreement and sent a warm smile to Sam. “I couldn’t agree more. Thank you for all you did to get justice for my family and for this opportunity to grieve together. It means everything to me.”
“We have a number of new people here tonight, and I’d like to offer them the opportunity to share with no obligation,” Dr. Trulo said.
Sam noticed that Angela was looking down as Cam and Gigi glanced at each other.
“I’d like to say something,” Gigi said. “I’m Detective Gigi Dominguez, and I’ve twice been the victim of violent crime recently. I’m completely altered by what happened, first with my former boyfriend who assaulted me and then by…”
