My lips twitched. “Looks like they added the cameras too.”
“I like to think of myself as an influencer,” he said. “If we hadn’t been so bad just think where this university would be.”
“Probably a lot richer,” I said.
“We donate a sizeable amount every year,” he said. “I like to think of it as restitution. But believe me, they’re more than able to pay the bills.”
There was no telling the organizations Jack donated money to every year. He’d grown up with wealth and wore it like a second skin. It barely fazed me anymore when he made casual declarations about making donations that I knew probably totaled in the millions.
A gaggle of robed wizards passed by and Jack’s gaze followed them. “I guess some things have changed since we were here. What the hell is Campus-Con?”
“It’s like a comic convention, but it’s contained to the campus for the students instead of at one of the big convention centers in the city,” I told him. He still looked confused so I expounded. “It’s a nerd convention. Everyone dresses up like their favorite heroes and comic book characters.”
“That sounds fairly harmless,” he said. “So maybe you can explain why we’re going to an arena where a kid was killed in front of ten thousand people.”
“Arena Wars,” I said. “Think Gladiator but with elves and imps and cyborgs. They’re matched up and then they fight until a champion takes the title.”
Jack sighed. “I worry about this generation. Can you imagine that guy back there dressed in tights sitting in the Oval Office one day?”
I snorted out a laugh. “Much weirder things have happened in the Oval Office. Kids are kids. Back in our day it was Dungeons & Dragons and Space Invaders, and look at you carrying a gun and a badge now. There’s hope for everyone.”
“Excuse me,” he said with mock offense. “I have never played Dungeons & Dragons. I was a jock. I saw sunlight and got plenty of exercise. Though I did hold the high score for Space Invaders for three solid years at the Rocket Arcade. But everyone hung out at the arcade, especially the hot girls in their Guess jeans and crop top shirts. Those were good years. Kids don’t know what they’re missing nowadays with their technology and social media.”
“Are you about to tell me an old man story about how kids these days have no respect for their elders and how you had to drink out of the water hose and your mom wouldn’t let you come back home until the streetlights came on?”
Jack’s grin widened. “Shut up. And no, I’m not saying that. I’m just making the observation that trends change through the years. What was once considered the most uncool thing you could do is now the most popular.”
“Nerds rule the world,” I said. “Now we just have to figure out why one of them is dead.”
Between campus police and the sheriff’s department, they’d gotten barricades put up across the parking lot and kids were being herded in droves outside of the perimeter that had been set up.
“Where did all these kids come from?” I asked. “They’re not all KGU students.”
“I talked to Chief Slack this morning after the call came in,” Jack said. “This is a tristate event. Only students registered at participating universities can buy a ticket for Campus-Con, and it lasts for five days. Slack said they’re expecting over fifty thousand in attendance through the weekend. He gave me a heads-up last month and asked for extra deputies to patrol the area.”
Bryan Slack was the new chief of campus police. He was a retired cop out of Alabama that the university had brought in, and we hadn’t really had any reason to deal with him over the last few months since things were mostly quiet on campus.
“That’s a big influx of people,” I said. “Any problems leading up to this point?”
Jack shook his head. “Just typical college kid stuff—underage drinking, drunk and disorderly, disturbing the peace, urinating in public…”
I squenched my nose at that. “Gross,” I said. “Nothing violent?”
“Not that the sheriff’s department has been made aware of,” he said.
I nodded to the deputies standing guard outside the entrance to the arena, and we made our way inside. They’d been removing students by section to keep everyone calm and orderly, and the place was almost empty except for cops and a few shell-shocked-looking administrators.
The arena had been built a couple of years ago after a big donation, and I’d never been inside. It seemed a little overdone considering KGU only had about seven thousand enrolled students, and I was almost positive their basketball team hadn’t had a winning season in more than a decade.
The seats were a dark hunter green, and hanging on the east side of the arena were gold banners with dark green trim that displayed championship titles, the last of which was won more than two decades before. The golden oak floors of the arena were barely visible with the large boxing ring placed at center court. I was glad to see the ring was clear of people except for the crumpled form of a young man near the edge.
The closer we got to the crime scene, the worse the smell became. I noticed several of the cops on the floor had tied bandanas over their noses, and the ones who hadn’t looked like they were breathing through their mouths.
I’d had the privilege over the years of becoming mostly desensitized to the horrific odors the human body could emit during and after death. I wasn’t sure if it was because I’d truly become desensitized or because I’d damaged the lining of my nostrils. Maybe a combination of both.
A uniformed cop came toward us and extended a hand to Jack. “Bryan Slack.”
Chief Slack had a swarthy complexion and black hair that was receding on each side of his widow’s peak. He had a five o’clock shadow and black eyes, and the telltale signs of broken capillaries on either side of his nose spoke of someone who liked to drink more than a little. He was a few inches shorter than Jack, but most men were, and he had the kind of bright smile that would lend itself well to politics or selling cars.
Jack returned the handshake and said, “Nice to finally meet in person. This is Dr. Graves. She’s the county coroner.”
I nodded and also extended a hand. “Nice to meet you,” I said. “That’s not a smell that comes across my table very often.”
Slack winced. “To be honest, we’re glad you’re here to remove the body. I’m not sure anyone in this arena is going to be able to eat barbecue again. I know I just became a vegetarian.”
I appreciated his attempt to break the ice, but he was probably right. There were some smells that would stick with you forever. This was one of them.
“Anyone know what happened?” Jack asked.
Slack blew out a breath. “Everyone saw what happened. I’ve even got it on video for you to look at. But I’m not sure anyone can explain what happened. Arena Wars is one of the big draws of the conference. I don’t understand this stuff, but I know it brings in a lot of money for the university and builds relationships with other schools. Bunch of loonies in tights if you ask me. I guess this kind of stuff is why college tuition is so expensive. Why can’t kids just get a degree and a job nowadays?”