“Call nine-one-one.” Sam lifted the thin sheet that covered her niece and discovered she was naked underneath. “Holy shit,” she whispered as Brooke shivered uncontrollably, and Sam tried to identify the source of the blood using only her hands to guide her. When she couldn’t find any sign of an open wound upon a quick check of the areas she could reach without moving her, Sam whipped off her own coat and put it over her niece, who smelled of booze and vomit.

“Brooke, it’s Auntie Sam. Can you hear me? Say something.” In the background, Sam was aware of Nick calling for an ambulance and a follow-up call to Harry, telling him to get back to the hospital ASAP.

“It’s Sam’s niece,” she heard him say over the roar of her own heart, which seemed to be beating in her ears. “We found her bloody and unconscious on our front stoop when we got home.”

“Will you turn on the porch light and get some blankets?” Sam said when Nick ended the call with Harry. “I have to call Tracy.” Sam’s mind was racing almost as fast as her heart was pounding. In the span of minutes, she came up with what felt like a million questions.

“Can we move her inside?”

“No. We shouldn’t move her until the paramedics get here. What’s taking so long?”

“I’ll get the blankets and call Tracy. What should I tell her?”

“That Brooke is here and not feeling well. Tell her to meet us at the GW ER.”

The porch light came on, and Sam winced at the sight of Brooke’s bruised and swollen face. “God, what happened to you, and where the hell are the paramedics?”

In the distance she finally heard the sound of sirens getting closer. “Hang in there, honey.”

Nick came out with a couple of blankets. “Tracy’s freaking out. She wanted to come here, but I told her to go to the hospital. Mike is with her, and he’s going to drive.”

Sam nodded and helped him cover Brooke with the blankets.

“Where’s all the blood coming from?” Nick asked.

“I can’t tell, and I’m afraid to move her.” Sam pulled her cell phone from her pocket and realized her hands were shaking when she couldn’t make them cooperate to call her partner.

Nick took the phone from her. “Who do you want?”

“Freddie.”

Nick put through the call and handed the phone to her.

“We’re on vacation,” Freddie said with a sleepy-sounding groan.

“I need you.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately on alert.

Sam quickly filled him in on what was going on. “I need someone to canvas my neighborhood to see if we can figure out how she got here. And I need someone who isn’t going to blab all over town that my niece was found naked and bleeding on my doorstep. I need you, Freddie.”