"What happened?" Jackson asked again staring at the officer intently.

"Sir, we aren't sure what happened. That's why we have a few questions we'd like to ask you."

"I don't know anything about what happened. I have no idea what April is even doing in Tacoma."

"Does Dr. Kepner have any enemies?"

"What?"

"Anyone who would want to hurt her?"

"What? No, no- no one would want to hurt April. She's sweet, and innocent. She grew up on a farm, and she loves Jesus and she'd go out of her way to help anybody. No one in their right mind would ever… Oh God, how could this have happened? Who would have done this?"

"Was she involved in any dangerous or illegal activities?"

"No! She's- she's April, I've seen her thank an automatic door. She'd never hurt a fly"

"Do you know if she's been assaulted in the past? Perhaps she's in an abusive relationship."

"No, she's dating this paramedic- he's totally harmless. Look, it's like I told you. April she's- perfect. Or as close to perfect as anyone can get. I mean she's totally frustrating sometimes, and she can be completely clueless. But she'd never do anything to deserve…"

"So you have no clue as to who might have assaulted her."

"No" Jackson scoffed. "But if I ever find the bastard…"

"I'm going to get another cup of coffee" one of the officers said to the other. "Do you want anything?"

"No" he replied. "I'll finish up with this man, and then we can leave."

"Wait" Jackson said as a thought occurred to him. "How do you know she was assaulted? Where did you find her?"

"We can't discuss details of the case with you sir."

"That's a wedding ring, on your finger?" Jackson asked him.

"Yes" he responded.

"What if this is your wife? Wouldn't you want to know what happened to her?"

"Is Dr. Kepner your wife? I thought you said she had a boyfriend?"

"She does, but I…. I love her. And I need to know what happened. Please."

"Okay" the officer said moving close to him and speaking in a low voice. "She was found in an alley. It was bad. I don't think I've ever seen a rape victim quite so battered."

"Rape?" Jackson asked as he swallowed hard. He felt a burning sensation in his throat and the whole room seemed to be spinning. "No" he said breathlessly. "She's April, she couldn't have been…"

"I'm sorry sir" the officer said.

"You- you have no idea who did this?" Jackson said shakily.

"Judging by the severity of her injuries, my guess, it was more than one guy."

"Oh God" Jackson gasped fighting tears. "She was alone when you found her?"

"Yes."

"Was she scared?"

"She was already unconscious at that point, she probably had been for quite some time…"

"What the hell was April doing in an alley in Tacoma? How the hell did this happen?"

"Look sir, we don't know. If you could provide us with a list of people Dr. Kepner is close with, we could ask them. Maybe somebody knows something. But my guess is this was just a random attack. Hopefully Dr. Kepner will wake up soon and she can tell us more."

"She's going to be traumatized" Jackson said as tears filled his eyes. "When she wakes up, she's going to…. Oh God, how could this have happened to her? She's April!"

"Sexual assault can happen to anyone. 1 in 4 women are sexually assaulted at some point in their life."

"I don't need a statistic!" Jackson snapped back. "I'm a doctor, I know the numbers. I've studied them, I've worked with victims. I know how it goes. But it doesn't matter. This was never supposed to happen, not to her. Not to April."

"Sir, are you going to be okay?" the officer asked. "Do you need medical assistance?"

"No I don't need medical assistance! I need this to not have happened; I need April to be okay, I need…"

"Sir-" a nurse interrupted looking at Jackson. "Dr. Kepner is awake. Would you like to see her?"

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