“Another one?” Gonzo had been shocked to hear that Sam’s niece might’ve been at the house before the murders. She’d done the right thing by coming clean about her potential personal connection, but he knew she hadn’t done so easily.

“Several of them, actually. Scotty saw the drop-off at my place last night.”

“Oh, shit.”

“And Brooke is making the rounds on social media. Photos and video of the party before it went bad.” Sam let out a rattling sigh. “I’m between a rock and very hard place on this, Gonzo. I heard what the chief said, and I agree about the conflict of interest, but I can’t not be involved.”

“So we’ll keep you behind the scenes.”

“That’s what I hoped you’d say. I’m waiting to hear from the headmaster at Brooke’s school to figure out how the hell she got out of there last night. I want to know everything that happened from the time she left the school until I found her on my front porch.”

“If you focus on that part, you’ll take a big load off me. I’ve got to figure out timelines for nine other kids. Cruz, McBride and Tyrone are working on that now. I called in Archelotta to get him going on the cell phones, and Dominguez and Carlucci are going home for six hours and then coming back. We may need some overtime on this one.”

“Malone can authorize it.” She hesitated before she added, “I’m afraid this whole thing is going to come down on my niece somehow.”

“You said she was totally out of it, right?”

“Yeah, and the video shows she was out of it before some of the vics were dead, but still... Where are her clothes? Where’s her cell phone and purse? Probably in that pile of clothes and phones at MacArthur, so you’ll have no choice but to look at her, which will make this video that shows her being sexually assaulted by three guys necessary to her case, which will in turn ruin her life. The whole thing makes me sick.”

“Let’s take it a step at a time. Any idea on the source of the pictures and video?”

“It came from an account called WilsonSeniors. I assume that’s Wilson High School seniors, so I’m waiting for a call back from the principal.”

“You know your friend Hill might be useful here. He could get us access to the FBI’s Cybercrimes Unit. You ought to give him a call.”

“Ugh. Wouldn’t I owe him a favor then?”

Gonzo laughed, relieved to see a spark of humor from his lieutenant and friend. “If it means shutting down the account and getting that video offline before it goes viral, will you care about owing him one?”

“You’re right. I’m calling him now.”