Kim diverted her eyes before reconnecting. “I saw it on the local news, yes. What does that have to do with me?”

Izzy had to tread carefully. She didn’t want Kim to scamper away. She needed this information, and Kim’s initial reaction was already telling Izzy that she knew something. “You knew the sergeant, right?”

Kim nodded. “Yeah. We dated briefly.”

“How did you meet him?”

“I worked part-time at a diner in Arlington during college. He came in almost every day. We struck up a conversation, and it just went from there. I knew he was a cop, so I was willing to take a chance on him, unlike the other random guys who hit on me.”

And wasn’t that a huge travesty. One of the things that bothered Izzy so much about what the sergeant had done was that he abused his position of power and authority. That was one of the reasons Izzy hadn’t thought twice when he invited her to his office that night. She had trusted him completely.

Izzy was worried Kim might shut down, so she figured it was best to get right to the point. “I also knew the sergeant. I worked with him when I was at Arlington PD before I went to NCIS.” She took a deep breath. “He sexually assaulted me.”

Kim’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

Izzy couldn’t tell whether Kim was showing relief or confusion. “Yes. And the entire reason I’m here is to find out whether he hurt other women the same way he hurt me. Given that you said you dated briefly, I wanted to see what your experience was with him.”

Kim didn’t immediately respond. She looked away again and then took a sip of her drink. “I really would prefer not to talk about this.”

Izzy understood that sentiment all too well. “Kim, I know if you had any experiences like I did, then you don’t want to speak on this topic, but it’s really important because the police are investigating the murder, and truthfully, they’re looking at me as a suspect. I’m trying to show them that he had a pattern of abuse that is far and wide, and that his killer could’ve been anyone.”

Kim leaned forward. “If what you’re saying is true, then wouldn’t it implicate me if I told you what he did to me?”

Exactly as Izzy had thought. Kim did have an unfortunate story to tell. “I’m not trying to implicate anyone specifically. I’m just trying to put the facts about his past behavior out there for all to see.”

Kim shook her head. “No. It doesn’t make any sense for me to talk, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t want people knowing what happened to me and talking about it. I’m sorry about what you went through, but I can’t help you.”