I've done the same sort of thing with a perpetually late friend and guess what?

"I just wish our late friend had showed for the party."

I was way ahead of Fielding on calling my "late brother's friend."

I do not think it can be our late friends.

You're thinking, of course, that like our late friend here, you know too much.

It's too bad that our late friend here made you forget yourself.

Our late friends here didn't have time to get anything away, now, did they?

Spider, we'll be happy to bring one of your late friends here for burial.

I'll see if our late friends were carrying anything of value with them.

"In the meantime, let's move our late friend here into my office and see what we can learn about him."