Tracy released a rattling sigh. “I’m shocked and horrified and...” Her voice broke. “Not as shocked as I should be that something like this finally happened. It’s like she was leading up to it for the last couple of years. I know Mike feels the same way, though he’d never say it out loud.”

“I’m also not as shocked as I should be that she found a way out of school or came home to attend a party or got high or drank. But what they did to her is on them, not her.”

“If she hadn’t done what she did, they couldn’t have done what they did,” Tracy said.

“Maybe not, but it doesn’t excuse them, and the fact is that after they raped her, someone killed them and everyone else who was there. Because she had blood all over her, it’s highly likely that Brooke and others were there when the killings took place. Either they were the killers or they managed to escape with their lives.”

“You don’t think she...”

“No, I don’t think she had anything to do with murder, Trace. She was stoned out of her mind, and the video proves that.”

“God, how could she have done this to herself and to us?”

“She’s got a long road ahead of her coming to terms with what happened. If there’s a bright side, she won’t remember much of it. I’ve got to go, but keep me posted on what’s going on there. I’ll come by when I get back.”

“Thanks for what you’re doing. I’m sure you’re out on a ledge on our behalf, and I appreciate it.”

“She’s alive, and that’s all that matters right now. Try not to worry about the rest.”

“I’m trying.”

“I’ll see you soon.” Sam ended the call filled with feelings of impotence and rage. Here she was, the best-qualified member of the department, relegated to the sidelines in what promised to be another hot case. Her niece was in the ICU, her sister was riddled with misplaced guilt and her dad and husband were angry with her.

This day could only get better from here, right? Wrong. She opened her front door to find Darren Tabor from the Washington Star still staked out on the sidewalk. “What do you want, Darren?”

“I’m wondering what you’re doing home when there’s been a mass homicide in the city.”

“I’m on vacation.”

“Nine kids were murdered, and you’re on vacation? Why do I find that hard to believe?”

Sam shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. The last thing she needed was the pesky reporter catching wind of the fact that her niece had been at the scene at the time of the murders.