The boy broke down at that juncture. “We were just having fun with her. I don’t get how that’s a crime.”

“Brody,” the lawyer said in a tone thick with warning. “Shut up.”

“No! We didn’t do anything wrong. She wanted it.”

Even from a distance, Sam could see the muscle pulsing with tension in Freddie’s jaw as he held back the retort she knew he was dying to make to that audacious statement.

“I can assure you,” Gonzo said calmly, “she did not want it, and because she was unable to say so, what you all did to her is a crime. Now, you can either protect yourself or your friends, but you can’t have it both ways.”

Brody buried his face in his hands, shaking his head over and over. “I don’t get how I can be charged with rape when I never touched her.”

“Let me tell you how. Say you and I get a big idea to rob a gas station. You drive me there and wait in the car while I go in and do the deed. Say I get trigger-happy while I’m inside the store and the clerk ends up dead. You’re as responsible for that clerk’s death as I am, even though you were in the car when it happened. He was murdered during a felony that you took part in. Same thing here. The young woman was raped during a felony sexual assault that you took part in by videotaping it and failing to intervene on her behalf.” Clearly losing patience with the kid, Gonzo concluded with, “You all got drunk and stoned and did stupid shit that you were doubly stupid enough to videotape. Any remaining questions?”

“We didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt,” Brody said softly as it seemed to settle in on him that his carefree life as a teenager had ended.

“And yet nine kids are dead and another is lying in ICU after being gang-raped,” Gonzo said. “It’s safe to say people got hurt. The question that remains is, what’re you going to do to make this right?”

“I’d like some time to consult with my client,” the lawyer said.

Gonzo and Freddie stood and left the room.

Sam switched off the intercom to the interrogation room and went out to talk to them in the hallway.

“What a freaking idiot,” Gonzo said. “How do kids grow up to be this stupid?”

“It’s in the genes,” Malone said when he joined them. He handed a piece of paper to Gonzo. “Your hunch was spot-on, Lieutenant. His mother has a record of drug possession and dealing.”

“Apple, meet tree,” Freddie said. “I couldn’t believe when he said they were just having fun with her, and no one got hurt.”

“I could tell you were trying not to punch his lights out,” Sam said.