Haley couldn't peel her eyes away. It was rather morbid but still she couldn't stop staring at the two photos. One was a beautiful, sexy, vibrant young woman dressed seductively. The smile on her face was more of a smirk as dark, smoky make up lined her lips and eyes. Haley stared wondering what the girl had been thinking at the exact moment that picture had been taken. As a federal investigator, she had access to detailed files on the woman. She knew she was a troubled teenage runaway originally from Baton Rouge whose only shot at a better life off the streets had come from stripping in New Orleans. That part of the story wasn't uncommon. In law enforcement those sad tales came a dime a dozen but Haley knew there was so much more to the story. What kind of woman was she? What must it have been like to be next to her, to have a conversation with her? And what about her had made Nathan Scott fall in love?

One picture showed her full of life but the other was a striking and horrific contrast. It simply showed a lifeless corpse, battered, bruised and blue, a gaping wound on the left rear side of her head caked with dried blood. Haley could only imagine what had happened to her. What had the final moments of her life been like? Had she been afraid? Had she suffered much? Had it been an accident? If not, then where was the man who had vowed to love and protect her until death did them both part? Had he stood idly by as his bride had been beaten to death or had the hands that had caressed Haley's body so many times been the same hands that had taken Asher Scott's life?

"I'm glad I caught you," a voice said as the door opened.

Haley turned and looked around to see her colleague, Edmondson walking towards her.

"Hey," she said in a quiet voice.

He looked down at the table over her shoulder at the pictures spread out on display. It still gave him chills and made him wince. He didn't care how many years you were on law enforcement…you never quite got used to looking at dead bodies.

"I see you got the pictures," he cleared his throat.

"Yeah. Um, thanks. I, I was just going over the autopsy reports and stuff. I've been comparing Asher's with Daunte's."

"Looks like our perp likes to beat his victims to death."

"You know, I've seen Nathan at his worst," Haley leaned back in her chair. "I have seen his superior arrogance, I've seen his indifference, I've seen him space out and I've seen him so angry it frightens me."

"And?" Edmondson looked right at her.

"I've also seen him at his best. I've seen his heart, his soul and neither one is dark. I know. I know in my gut that he did not do this. Nathan isn't capable of murder."

"Look, James…"

"I know what you're gonna say. You're gonna tell me to prove it because all the evidence so far points to him. I know that and that's what sucks and what drives me crazy because I can't prove it. And believe me, I've been trying my damnest. It's all I think about when I'm awake. Every moment my brain is in overdrive searching for clues or a plan to find that one thing that's finally gonna exonerate him."

"And when you sleep?" he asked softly.

Haley let out a small chuckle in spite of herself, in spite of the dire situation.

"It's worse then," she admitted. "I lie awake next to him for hours and I just literally watch him sleep, watch him breathe. And he's so beautiful, so still and so peaceful. And when my eyes do finally closed it's like I'm haunted."

"You know why I asked you that question?"

"No," she shook her head.

"Because I feel the same way. Ever since I started helping you, maybe even before, it's like this case has taken over my life. You can't get away from it. At first I was so convinced Nathan Scott was guilty and it was you who made me think differently. It didn't make a lot of sense but I looked in your eyes and I saw this passion and that you really believed in what you were saying and that you'd do anything to clear him."

"I still feel that way."

"Do you?"

Haley nodded.

"It's called blind faith and that's about all I have left. Right now I don't have a heck of a whole lot that points to his innocence."

"What do you have?"

"My heart. My heart and my gut that tells me to look deeper and read between the lines. It tells me not to give up. It tells me this person I have gotten to know is a gentle, kind, confused, scared, vulnerable boy who got mixed up in very bad situations with very bad people but despite all of that, he is not a cold blooded, pre meditated murderer."

"James. You're a tough girl and a hell of an agent. You got a big heart but maybe it's time to face it. You, we…well, we've done all we can do."

"That's not true," she stated emphatically. "There has to be a way. There has to be something else and I can't give up because I am all he has."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know! I am trying to find a way to help him, to disprove the two murder charges."

"Okay, let's say you do and by the way, it's a long shot, but let's say you pull a rabbit out of your hat or ass or wherever and he doesn't get charged with murder. Then what? Face it, Scott is no angel. There are a shit load of white collar crimes he can be charged with, that he is guilty of and you better believe they're gonna lay it on thick enough to get him a hefty prison sentence. What do you do about that?"

Haley took a deep breath.

"I come clean to him."

"You what?"

"I tell him everything, he lawyers up with the best and strikes a deal on the tax evasion, gambling and lying to the feds. At the most he'll do six months in minimum security and with a lot of luck, he'll just get probation. He makes a public apology and within two years, he'll be back in the NBA."

"I don't know what's crazier…that plan or the fact that you have given it that much thought."

"Look…"

"No, you look. We are still federal agents. Have you forgotten that? You turn coat and tell Scott everything and there goes your badge, you got me? It's gone, James. Just like that. You'll be done. Your career and everything you worked hard for will be down the fucking toilet. And as if that isn't bad enough, you know what's gonna happen next? They're gonna turn around and prosecute your ass. You get what that means, rook? Huh? You familiar with U.S. Code Title 18 Chapter 73, Sections 1510 and 1512?"

Haley bit her lip.

"Obstruction of a criminal investigation and witness tampering."

"Good, it's nice to see you remembered something because if you do what you're plan on doing it's just gonna land you jobless and blackballed sitting in a cell next to your boyfriend, who by the way will never get a light sentence or probation without turning over Daddy and Grandpa and we both know that'll never happen."

"You don't know that. You don't know Nathan. I mean, once he sees…"

"Can I show you something?" Edmondson interrupted.

She looked in his hand and saw a DVD case. He opened it and popped the disc into the player.

"What is that?"

"I'm gonna tell you a story and you have to promise to listen to me. Don't listen as an agent and don't listen with your heart. Just listen to me with an open, objective mind."

"Edmondson…"

"You see this document here? It is a 200 page report detailing alleged transgressions of Royal and Daniel Scott betting on basketball games. In this report, Nathan Scott's name is mentioned over 70 times with enough circumstantial proof to link him to illegal gambling. We have telephone, bank, and even the betting records themselves. If taken to trial and convicted, at best with a good lawyer, minimum two years in a federal penitentiary and permanent NBA ineligibility."

"Or…"

"This stack of papers here proves Scott filed false income tax returns at least four years and he didn't disclose any of his income earned from illegal gambling activity. Possible penalty? Seven years imprisonment. Lying to a federal agent, which he confessed to you. Penalty? Carries up to a maximum of five years in prison. So what do we have without the murder charges? Boom, your guy still goes down for about four to 14 years of lockup and his career will be in the gutter right along with yours if you don't smarten up."

Emotion formed a lump in the pit of Haley's throat. She didn't want to hear it.

"It doesn't have to be that way. I mean, if you could just see…"

Without further ado, he pressed the "play" button on the DVD remote. The image on the screen was already in black and white, making it difficult to see. The fact that it was dark and fuzzy only complicated matters more. Haley squinted to see make out what was a parking lot. She could barely see the image of a man who appeared to be pacing, hand to his ear as if he were holding a cell phone to it.

"That's Daunte Johnson."

A few minutes later, a dark SUV barreled full speed ahead into the lot barely missing the man. The SUV disappeared out of sight but the two agents saw Daunte, shaken but unharmed, walk angrily out of the camera's sight headed presumably towards where the SUV was. Ten or so minutes went by and Haley felt the breath leave her body as a tall, thin male in a hooded sweatshirt stepped nervously in view. He then disappeared as well and the SUV made its way back into sight as it made its exit, the driver obviously the same man in the sweatshirt.

"Oh my God…"

"You know what that person left behind, James? A partial bloody footprint. After further forensic analysis, it was confirmed the print came from a size 14 Nike sneaker known as the NS 23's."

Haley gulped.

"NS 23's. Those…those are Nathan's shoes. I mean, he endorses them for Nike."

"Exactly. And it's a new endorsement deal which means at the time of Johnson's murder, the shoes were not available for sale to the general public. Only limited copies had been produced, including a test pair for Scott to wear so he could approve the new line."

"Oh my God…"

"The first three letters of the license plate? Well, it was enhanced and it matched a vehicle belonging to Nathan. He had motive. He hated Johnson. There had been bad blood between the two for years. Daunte was one of the main reasons he had gotten caught up in all that points shaving and game throwing and gambling in the first place. Daunte Johnson also was due to rat him out to the FBI in less than 12 hours. Now let's say Nathan was on to him. Hell, you've already seen his temper. It's possible a confrontation got out of hand."

"That's completely circumstantial. It doesn't prove anything."

"You saw the tape. You see the guy all the time. Hell, you lay in bed with him every night," he pointed to the paused image on the TV. "Yeah it's a little blurry and you can't make out the face but come on. You know it's him. You know that's Nathan on the DVD."

"No! No, you…you don't understand. You're supposed to be helping me. You're supposed to be on our side. Why are you doing this?"

"Asher was his wife and in his own way he may have loved her but you better believe he loves his family name more. The girl was nothing but a whore. She was a big mouth, drunken druggie who knew too much and decided to play a dangerous game with some dangerous people. She threatened him. He had given her the world and how was she gonna repay him? By taking him and his whole family down. You think he was going to let that fly? I mean, who did that little ungrateful bitch think she was? He had to stop her. He couldn't divorce her, there was only one way. So he took her to Nauset Beach and he waited. When the time was right he beat her either to death or near death and staged it to look like an accident by throwing her body in the ocean. He had a motive, he had the opportunity and he lied about the ring. Face it, James."

"Stop it," she began to cry.

"I was on his side and I'm still on yours but our side is the right side of the law. I didn't want to believe it either but now it all makes sense. In a few days, Bailey will be expecting your prepared arrest warrant. I know you don't want to believe it but it's true. Nathan Scott is guilty."