Niki leaned forward, elbows on her knees to match Lila’s posture. “I take it they never caught the guy?”

“Guys. There were two of them. They took a picture that made the rounds among my…my friends. It showed…” Lila paused to let a lump in her throat melt. “It showed me from the waist up, no clothes. My eyes were half open. I looked drunk. One guy took the picture while the other posed me. You can see his blue jeans—his knee—stuck under my ribs to prop me up.”

“That must have been…I can’t imagine.”

“It was. But that brings me to my favor. Last week, I was supposed to handle Gavin Spencer’s first appearance, but when he spoke, I froze. I couldn’t talk or breathe—almost passed out right there in court. I talked to my therapist, and he thinks that Gavin’s lisp might have triggered my reaction. It’s possible one of my attackers had a speech impediment.”

“Is it possible…that Gavin Spencer might have been your attacker?”

“I thought about that, but it doesn’t fit. Spencer kills his victims; I was left alive. He takes them to his house; my attack happened in my car. He puts their clothing back on; that didn’t happen with me. Spencer’s a lone wolf; my attackers worked as a pair. And they took a picture. Don’t serial rapists stick to their habits?”

“They do, but they also learn from mistakes.”

“There’s one more thing. I looked up Gavin’s high school graduation on the internet. It was the same night that I was attacked, and he was there taking pictures—in Indiana. Honestly, other than the use of GHB, I don’t see a connection.”

“I could follow up with his high school just in case,” Niki said. “I agree it’s unlikely, but leave no stone unturned, right? So, how do I fit into all this?”

“I want to see my case file—see if there’s anything in it that might jog my memory. I reacted to Gavin’s speech impediment. My therapist said that years ago, when I was under hypnosis, I mentioned a guy with a slur, someone I couldn’t understand because he sounded drunk. Maybe there’s something in my file that might mean something to me even if they didn’t make the connection back then.”

Niki mulled it over for a moment and said, “If the party was in Uptown, that’ll be the Fifth Precinct. I can’t imagine anyone would have a problem with you taking a peek. When do you want to go?”

Lila hadn’t expected it to be that easy. “Um, whenever you’re available.”

“How about right now?”

Chapter 30

Chapter 30