“Right,” Sheldon said. “It’s just…he looks so authentic. Look at the stitching on that cape. Fit for a king.” Sheldon placed his fist over his heart.
“He’s trippin’,” Blake said, looking at Sheldon like he was from another planet.
“Let’s get him bagged and back to the lab,” I said before Sheldon could go into a full tribute for his fallen hero. “Go ahead and put him in the cooler. It’s going to be a couple of hours before I get back. You can show Blake the protocols for transporting the body.”
“I’m a fast learner, Doc,” Blake said, giving me a blindingly white smile and a wink. “I’m number two in my class. I was hoping to get to shadow you so I could get a better feel for the full scope of the job. Maybe you and I can grab a cup of coffee later and I can show you some of my autopsy techniques.”
Jack leaned his head toward me and said, “Is that today’s version of showing someone your etchings?”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing and was really at a loss. I didn’t want to crush the kid’s ego, but I didn’t have the time or inclination to deal with him.
“I’ll get plenty of chances to see your techniques while you’re interning,” I said. “We’re going to be very busy until we close this case. No one has a lot of time for coffee breaks when there’s a body on the table.”
Sheldon looked at me, confused. “You drink coffee all the time,” he said. “Especially when you’ve got bodies on the tables. Emmy Lu got you that fancy new espresso machine for Christmas so you can work late at night.” Then he turned to Blake and said, “She really drinks too much of the stuff. I don’t think those levels of caffeine are healthy for anyone. Did you know that Americans drink a hundred and forty-six billion cups of coffee per year?”
“Really?” Blake asked, and Sheldon nodded like an eager puppy.
It was rare anyone showed interest when Sheldon spouted the endless facts stored in his brain, and I could tell he was about to start a long-winded conversation about all things coffee.
“Coffee talk later,” I said and looked directly at Blake. “Sheriff Lawson and I have time for coffee breaks because it’s what will keep us awake for the next forty-eight hours while we work this thing. Emmy Lu will show you where the coffeepot is back at the funeral home. Feel free to grab a cup during your break.”
“Huh,” Blake said, giving Jack a disapproving glare. “I don’t know about that, Dr. Graves. He looks dangerous.”
“He is,” I said. “That’s why I married him. Now if you want to stay an intern, you and Sheldon need to get this body back to the lab.” I ignored the surprised look in his eyes when he realized Jack was my husband and plowed ahead before there were any more delays. “Everything inside the body bag is evidence. Don’t open it to look or touch once it’s sealed. Sheldon will show you how to fill out and process the paperwork. Got it?”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” Blake said eagerly. “I’m ready to get my hands dirty. I’ll be the best intern you’ve ever had.”
“Good,” I told him. “Start with the paperwork and then let Sheldon and Emmy Lu show you around and go through the protocols. You need to be familiar with the rules of handling a victim before you can put your hands on him. And then go home and get a good night’s sleep because our jobs are twenty-four seven until we find justice for the victim.”
His smile deflated a bit. “I thought you already knew who killed him?”
“One of the first things you’ll learn in this business is that nothing is ever as it seems.”
I decided it was probably better to bag the victim myself. Sheldon had a look in his eyes that made me think he’d try to steal Kevin’s costume if given the chance, and Blake was so eager to please there was no telling what he might do that could potentially compromise any evidence on the body. I really missed Lily. Her level of competence was hard to come by.
“Sheldon Durkus and Blake Steed, riding off into the sunset,” I said once they’d rolled the victim to the Suburban waiting outside the doors of the arena.
“His name is Blake Steed?” Jack asked, giving me the side-eye. “No way someone named their kid that.”
“Apparently, they did,” I said.
“I’m suddenly a lot more worried about him being able to seduce you. A name like that has had some experience with the ladies.”
“I’m fairly confident in my ability to ward off his advances,” I said wryly.
“I’m going to run a background check on him,” Jack said. “I don’t trust him.”
“Already done before he showed up on the crime scene,” I said. “Let’s go talk to Dwight Parr.”
Jack held up the rope for me to crawl through and he followed me down the short steps to the basketball court floor.
“We’ll keep you updated,” Jack said to Chief Slack.
“I’d appreciate it,” Slack said. “How do you want to handle the notification to the parents?”
Jack thought about it for a second. “I’ll take care of it. Maybe they’ve got some information about Parr if he and Kevin were friends.”
Slack nodded. “You’re welcome to it,” he said. “I hadn’t planned on making any more death notifications since I retired. I’d like to keep it that way. Y’all stay out of trouble.”
We waved goodbye and made our way toward the athletic director’s office.
“I’m going to have Carver run a deep check on your new intern,” Jack said. “That kid has juvie written all over him.”
“No way,” I said. “He’s all smarmy and entitled, but I don’t see juvie.”
“It’s there,” Jack said. “Want to put a wager on it? How about a hundred bucks?”
“A hundred bucks? That’s a lot of money.”
Jack’s lips twitched. “I think you’re good for it. What do you say? The kid’s Eddie Haskell with a porn star’s name. Do you know how dangerous that combination is?”
I stopped walking and stared at him. “First of all, no one Blake’s age will have any clue who Eddie Haskell is. Second of all, are you jealous of a twenty-two-year-old entitled brat?”
“I’ve never been jealous of anyone in my life,” he said. And I believed it. Jack had never had a self-esteem problem, and he’d never had to work very hard at getting or keeping a woman’s attention.
“You don’t have anything to worry about,” I reassured him, finding the whole exchange amusing. “You keep doing that thing you did this morning and you’re going to have me around another fifty or sixty years.”
“On second thought, maybe I need to see if the kid will pitch in,” he said. “You’re wearing me out.
I elbowed him in the side and said, “Let’s make it two hundred. A kid like Blake just needs a firm hand and direction.”
“If you say so,” Jack said. “But I’m having Carver run the deep check anyway.”
The athletic director’s office was in a corridor off the main entryway, past the ticket booths and turnstiles. Officer Plank had been assigned guard duty outside the door, and he was buttoned up in full uniform, not a wrinkle in sight.