“You’re upset right now, and for good reason, but try not to leap to any conclusions until we know more.”

“I’m trying.”

“Call me when she wakes up. Don’t let her talk to anyone before she talks to me.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

Sam closed her outdated flip phone and sat at the desk thinking the whole thing through as a detective rather than a distraught aunt.

“It must be bad if you didn’t mess with my desk,” Nick said when he came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders.

“It’s as bad as it gets. There was video of her having sex with three different guys.”

He blew out a deep breath. “Was she an active participant?”

“Hardly. She was out of it.”

Nick turned the desk chair so she faced him. “What’re you doing here rather than out chasing down a murderer?”

“I was taken off the case because of the potential conflict of interest.”

He sat on a footstool, and Sam caught his grimace as his body made contact with the furniture. “Because of Brooke.”

“Yes.”

“But?”

“But what?”

“You said earlier I don’t know you at all, but because I actually know you better than anyone, I’m asking what you’re planning to do.”

That earned him a small smile. “I’m not sure yet. The chief was unusually stern with me when he took me off the case, so I have to be careful.”

“I bet it wasn’t easy to tell him you might have a conflict.”

He knew her too well. “It wasn’t.”

“But you told him.”

“With some encouragement from Gonzo.”

“It was the right thing to do, Samantha.”

“If my niece gets dragged through the mud, and I’m unable to protect her, will you still think it was the right thing to do?”

“If your niece was somehow involved in the murders—and I doubt she was, based on how out of it she was when we saw her—it wouldn’t be your place to protect her. You’d be putting your own career—and neck—on the line, and I’m particularly fond of your neck.”

“If I supposedly did the right thing disclosing, why do I feel like total shit about it?”

“Because this awful thing has happened to someone you love, and you’re completely powerless to fix it. Welcome to my world.”

“It’s a sucky feeling.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Farnsworth took me off the homicide case. He didn’t say anything about Brooke’s case.”

“Which may be wrapped up in the homicide.”

“And it may not be.”

“So you’re going to run your own investigation into what happened to her.”

“That’s the plan.”

“And if it intersects with the homicide?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”

“You’re taking a big chance with your career and your reputation.”