“What’s this all about?” Vero asked, tying her sleep-mussed hair back into a loose ponytail as we reached the drill field. The instructors were all there, steam on their breath as they talked amongst themselves, holding clipboards and sipping coffee from Styrofoam cups.
Nick leaned on his cane in the middle of them, entirely too bright-eyed for the hour. “Just a little role-play.”
Vero rubbed her eyes. “For the record, Detective, this is not the kind of role-play I expect when a man bangs on my door and wakes me up after midnight.”
Tyrese’s eyebrows shot up, his cup jolting to a stop halfway to his mouth and splashing coffee down the front of his coat.
Nick suppressed a wry smile as Ty used his sleeve to mop himself. “Noted, Miss Ruiz.” He raised his voice so the students in the back of the group could hear him, waiting for their hushed speculations about our reason for being there to quiet. I avoided making eye contact with Riley and Max, who were practically buzzing. “Listen up, everybody! It should come as no surprise to you that most violent crimes are committed at night. The graveyard shift is when many of those crimes are reported and detectives are woken from a nice, peaceful sleep to investigate a crime scene, like you were tonight. In order to give you the full hands-on experience, that’s precisely what you all will be doing for the next ninety minutes.” My sister began distributing hand-drawn maps to each team. “Dispatch just requested an officer to respond. A body was spotted by someone claiming to have been walking his dog in a remote wooded area. The caller did not provide his name, but he gave the approximate location of what may be an expeditious grave. Your job is to proceed to the location and investigate. The first team to locate the body—if one does indeed exist—will be awarded twenty points. They will also be responsible for securing the crime scene. The instructors will then assign various investigative tasks to the other teams. I recommend you take notes and handle your evidence carefully. Each piece of evidence you find will be used to obtain an arrest warrant and indict a suspect before the end of the week. Any questions?” Someone yawned in response.
“What time are you going to wake us up for class tomorrow?” another student asked.
“Your first classes won’t start until ten. If you all hustle through this exercise tonight, you can be back in your dorms before three and get a decent night’s rest.”
“How many points do we get if we solve the case?” Vero asked, suddenly wide awake.
Charlie and Roddy exchanged a silent high five. Joey crossed his arms, looking annoyed as the other instructors murmured in small huddles, probably adjusting their bets for the whiteboard in the faculty lounge. I looked for Wade, but he wasn’t among them.
Nick spoke over the rising chatter of the teams. “The instructors staged the crime scene while you all were at dinner tonight. Every piece of evidence, including any obtained through witness statements, has a designated number of points attached to it. Detective McDonnell and Officer Governs will be keeping score. Bonus points will be given to individual teams that follow the best practices and investigative procedures you learned in your classes today. Points will be deducted for improper searches, mishandling of evidence, and breaks in the chain of custody. Any other questions?” Nick passed his clipboard to Georgia. “Good. Please proceed to the wooded area designated on your maps. As soon as you arrive, you may begin your search. If you or your partner locates the body, call out to the nearest faculty member and we’ll provide instructions from there.”
Vero ushered me ahead of the other teams, pretending not to notice Riley and Max when they waved to get our attention. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go,” Vero said, dragging me by my coat as the instructors looked on.
“Maybe we shouldn’t seem so eager to go looking for a body.”
“Don’t be so uptight. It’s just like an Easter egg hunt, only better.”
“It’s twenty-eight degrees out here, it’s dark, and I don’t see any chocolate. Tell me how this is better.”
“Because this time, we don’t have to worry about getting caught.” She hustled farther ahead of the pack. I blew out a stream of fog as I struggled to keep up with her. “Let’s start looking there.” She pointed at the edge of a shadowy tree line and handed me the map. I drew my phone from my pocket and turned on the flashlight. She yanked it from my hand and turned it off. “What are you doing with that? You know we’re not supposed to bring our phones to class! The instructors will deduct points if they catch you with it, and I am not losing this thing to Mrs. Haggerty.” She shoved my phone back in my pocket and pulled a standard flashlight from her coat. She shone it in front of us, sweeping it in broad strokes over the ground as we walked.
“Why are we stopping to look here? The other teams are all moving deeper into the woods.” Riley and Max’s flashlight was little more than a speck through the trees. Even Mrs. Haggerty and her grandson had nearly disappeared from sight.
“Nick said we’re looking for an expeditious grave. Expeditious means quick—”
“I know what expeditious means.”
“If you were hauling around a body and you wanted to get rid of it quick, how far into the woods would you want to drag it? I say we start close to the trail.”
I didn’t argue, mostly because I didn’t feel like walking any farther. We picked our way through the brush, the beam of her light intersecting with the others in a filmy kaleidoscope of patterns as the rest of the class searched in the distance. Vero knelt beside an uneven stretch of ground, shining her light into a pile of sticks and debris.
“Look,” she said, ducking closer and angling her head. “Do you see that?” A flicker of white showed through the dead foliage. I plucked a loose branch from the pile, revealing a mannequin’s arm underneath.
“Detective, we found it!” Vero called out, hauling away another branch.
A chorus of resentful moans sounded through the woods. Footsteps crackled through the brush, beams of light converging as the other teams formed a semicircle behind us and leaned close, eager to see.
Vero and I tossed away the last of the ground cover, unveiling a shallow dip in the dirt. The plastic limbs of a CPR dummy protruded from the hole.
“Nice job,” Nick called out as he hobbled toward us. “Did anyone check to see if our victim is breathing?”
“I don’t think that’s necessary, sir,” Riley said behind me.
Nick laughed as the teams parted to let him pass. “You know what they say about assumptions. They make an ass of you and…” Nick paused in front of the gravesite. His eyes narrowed at the pile of disconnected limbs. “Very funny, guys,” he said, throwing accusing looks at each of the instructors. “Which one of you knuckleheads dismembered my mannequin?” The teachers barked out a few surprised laughs.
“Check it out, Detective.” Max circled around to the far side of the grave, aiming her flashlight at the dummy’s face. “There’s a name written on the victim’s forehead.”
“Let me see that.” Nick hobbled around the grave and reached for her flashlight. He leaned on his cane over the shallow hole. “Really hilarious, guys.” Nick’s light lifted to a group of chuckling instructors. “Apparently, the deceased has a name,” he said dryly. “Obviously, we can’t confirm the victim’s name is actually Carl without further investigation.”