Sam stared out the window, watching the world whiz by. “I bet the Brantleys would’ve said the same thing about Todd when he was twelve. No one ever thinks it’s going to be their kid. Tracy never thought it would be Brooke.”

“It’s just that Scotty has such a rigid sense of right and wrong. I can’t see him ever losing that quality.”

“That’s true. He’s the best person I’ve ever known. What if we do everything right, and he still goes wrong?”

“With you keeping tabs on him, he’ll be too afraid to go wrong. I know I’d be if I were your kid.”

Sam couldn’t contain the burst of laughter that escaped through her tightly clenched lips.

“You’ll keep him on the straight and narrow. I have no doubt about that.”

“Thanks. I appreciate you talking me off the ledge. I feel so bad for those parents. For all of them. No matter what their kids were doing, none of them deserved what happened to them.”

“No, they didn’t.”

Sam reached for her phone and placed a call to Lindsey McNamara. The instant she heard the doctor’s voice on the other end of the line, Sam realized she shouldn’t be making the call when Gonzo was running the case.

“Sam?” Lindsey asked after a moment of silence.

“Sorry. I was calling to see if there’s anything new on the DNA, but I totally forgot I’m not in charge of this case. Gonzo is.”

Lindsey snorted with laughter. “You’ll be glad to know he’s one step ahead of you. I just talked to him and gave him what I have.”

“Do you have confirmation of who was with Brooke?”

“Yes,” Lindsey said softly. “I’ve consulted with the FBI lab to run the DNA from her rape kit against the DNA from our victims, and we’ve got three matches with one more profile that wasn’t among our victims.”

Sam fought back the wave of revulsion that made her nauseous when she considered four guys taking turns with Brooke. “I’ll bet the fourth guy is our friend Brody Mitchell, who we just took into custody. He’s the one who posted the video and photos online. I’m going to request a warrant for his DNA. Can we call you when we get the warrant?”

“I’ll be here. I’m really sorry this happened to your niece, Sam.”

“So am I. I’ve got to run. My sister is beeping in. I’ll be in touch.” Sam pushed the send button to take the call from Tracy. “Hey, what’s up?”

“She’s awake.”

“I’ll be right there.” Sam closed her phone and looked over at Freddie. “I hate to ask you to take the other interview by yourself, but Brooke is awake.”