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hell.”
                 
    “Thanks,” he said sullenly.  He tucked his thumb under his chin and laid his open fist against his lips while he thought for a moment.
                 
    Jake arched an eyebrow at him.  “Seriously, I have never seen you look like this before.  Is it about this new case?”
                 
    Without actually responding, Samuel asked, “Have you found anything out yet?”
                 
    “It’s that urgent?”  Jake asked.  When his boss nodded, he said, “Well, before about four months ago, Haley Iverson never existed.”
                 
    Now he had Samuel’s undivided attention.  “Really?  So, that’s not her real name.”
                 
    “Well, not entirely, I don’t believe.”  Jake studied him for a reaction.  “And as for the whole checking out her lifestyle bit…that would be easier without your interference,” he said sarcastically.
                 
    “Listen, I hate the thought of her alone.  If I can prevent that…” His voice trailed off and he shrugged his shoulders.
                 
    “Hey, first of all, what makes you think she’d be alone?”  Samuel opened his mouth to protest, but Jake silenced him with a look.  “Secondly, I can’t check out her routine if you interfere with that.”
                 
    Scowling, Samuel asked, “Is there a third?”
                 
    “Just this.”  He passed a medical file across the desk.  “Since you kept her out of the apartment for a few hours, I took a moment to search it.”
                 
    “You broke in,” he said accusingly.
                 
    “You have to admit, her building isn’t the most secure you’ve ever seen, right?”  Samuel still wasn’t impressed.  He fingered the folder and mentally prepared to open it.  “So, anyway, this file gave me a much better jumping off point.  Open it.  You’ll see.”
                 
    Taking a deep breath, Samuel opened the file.  Instantly, his stomach lurched.  He was greeted with color photos of Haley.  He might not have recognized her, and not simply because of the brilliant copper hair.  Her injuries were about as bad as Ellen had described.  The left side of her face was swollen almost beyond recognition.  That eye was nearly sealed shut.  Crusted blood around her swollen lips and nose suggested more violence.  The pictures of her body were just as appalling with the bruising around the upper arms, as well as the abrasions and bruising of her breasts and inner thighs.  He swallowed hard, trying to imagine who could have ever done something so horrible to the gentle, innocent woman he had grown to care about.  Then he saw the photo of her back, which required stitches at the time.  Haley had not been taken gently.
                 
    Samuel read through the file with a grim expression on his face.  He registered that it was a knife wound on her back, created when the attacker had cut off her bra.  Her nose hadn’t been broken, nor had any of her facial bones, probably just sheer luck, judging from the photos.  And then the word that he hoped desperately he wouldn’t see flashed before him.  The rape kit came back positive.  Haley!   His heart screamed.
                 
    She had refused to give a statement, had walked to the hospital.  No family or friends came with her or after her.  And as he read through the itemized list of her cataloged possessions, he saw one item listed that made him pause.  A diamond engagement ring.
     
     
    Finally, after trying on no fewer than ten dresses, Beth and Haley agreed that the midnight blue strapless gown was the best option.  The classic coloring was perfect for the time of day, and, Beth was quick to point out, it covered that hideous scar.  Haley had pasted a brave smile on her face at Beth’s assessment.