Leo took his hand out of the bag.

And after a moment, he nodded.

“Yes, sir,” he said.

And I saw, in his face, something that looked almost like relief — the relief of a good man who had offered to carry a darkness for someone he loved, and been told, gently, that he did not have to.

I have never forgotten Leo’s face in that moment, and I have come to understand it as one of the most important things that happened in that whole terrible week.

Because Leo’s offer had not been bloodlust, and I want to be clear about that, in defense of a good man.