"The attacker tried to silence her for good, and to save herself she had no choice but to jump from the window."
"By the time we reached the scene, she was covered in injuries and barely lucid."
"But she was still clutching this good-luck charm in her hand, saying she wanted to give it to her dad."
"Such a bright, good girl. It breaks your heart."
"Don't worry, though. We'll do everything we can to catch the man who did this."
To assist the investigation, the police asked me to confirm the evidence from the scene.
The moment they laid it out, the tears came before I could stop them.
Under a heap of torn clothing lay a small good-luck charm.
Faye had gone up the mountain last year to get it.
Back then she'd presented it to Barnaby like some precious treasure, only to be scolded for wasting her time on nonsense and embarrassing the Farley name.
After that, she pushed herself twice as hard, all so she could get into his old university.
Yesterday she'd received her acceptance letter and couldn't wait to bring him the good news.
Who could have known she'd nearly not come back at all.
I pressed the charm to my chest.
The tears I'd held back for so long finally fell.
For the next few days, I stayed by my daughter's side.
With the therapist's help, she no longer had the thoughts of ending her life that she'd had at first.
She even forced smiles to comfort me.
"My dad is a great lawyer. I have to be strong. I can't let him down."
But that great-lawyer father of hers never came to see her. Not once.
She said nothing about it, yet I couldn't bear to watch her ache.
So I kept calling Barnaby.
When the agreed-upon day came, my girl deliberately changed into long sleeves.
We waited together from dawn until dark, and only then did Barnaby finally show up, dragged there against his will.
He was on the phone, frowning at me.
"The firm just took on a difficult case. Whatever it is, make it quick."
Faye was about to lift the acceptance letter in her hand.
Barnaby suddenly turned to his assistant Maxine Pruitt behind him.
"Did you find the surveillance footage from the scene?"
"Time is money. We can't waste a second."
The smile on my daughter's face faltered, but she gathered her courage and spoke anyway.
"Dad, I got into Weston University."
Barnaby ignored her.
He just went on discussing the case with Maxine as if Faye weren't there.
"But don't worry too much. Since he's your relative, I'll give it everything I've got."
"Besides, I've always despised those shameless little girls who go around sleeping with people at such a young age."
The color drained completely from my daughter's face.
She kept rubbing at the wounds beneath her clothes, the smile on her face uglier than any crying.
My heart clenched tight.
I was about to step forward and cut them off when a knock sounded at the door.
Maxine glanced over, and her expression suddenly turned eager.
"Barnaby, this is that distant cousin of mine I mentioned, the one who wanted your help with a case."
"He's just a country boy, doesn't know much about anything. He'd barely gotten to the city when he got caught in a badger game."
"Please, come look with me. I'm afraid he's so young, what if he does something desperate…"
The moment he heard that, Barnaby dropped my daughter and walked out without a backward glance.
Worried she'd be hurt, I hurried over to comfort her.
Before I could reach her, she started trembling.
"Mom."
Faye clenched her teeth.
"That night, the man who knocked me out. That's him."
"What!"
I shot to my feet.
But my daughter grabbed my hand and held on.
