“There’s got to be something left behind. Look at his knuckles. He got in a hit.” Kobe motioned to the man’s other hand. “This could be from a tooth. Maybe he swung his arm backward, trying to dislodge the attacker, and caught them in the mouth. The shape is almost right.” Kobe mimicked how he thought it might have happened, as though I wasn’t following.
When I still didn’t offer commentary, he shifted, glancing up from his position squatting by the body. “Are you not talking to me now?”
I swallowed my anger and offered a tight smile. “Your theories are good. He fought back. Once he’s on the table, I can take samples.” I paused, then purposefully added, “You needed more evidence. It looks like you might have gotten your wish. Does that please you?”
Kobe frowned and stood. He approached, lowering his voice. “You’re mad at me.”
“No.”
“That’s a lie. I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”
“If you compromise the scene, you compromise the investigation.”Is that what you want?I didn’t say.
Kobe studied me for a long time, then looked away. “You’re right. I’m impulsive, and this one is hot. I just… I got excited. I’m sorry.”
We stared at each other for a beat. Kobe’s wounded expression softened me. “I shouldn’t have snapped.” Glancing around, it dawned on me that his partner wasn’t present. “Where’s Detective Hayashi? Are you alone?”
“I am. Apparently, she’s been throwing up nonstop since last night. I guess her whole family ended up with a wretched case of food poisoning, and everyone is hugging a toilet. I told her I could handle it and I would call her later.”
I nodded sympathetically. “Finish up. It’s cold, and I want to get the body to the lab. He’ll need a few hours to thaw before I can properly examine him.”
Kobe returned to the dead man, taking stock of every detail. When he got to the clothes, he narrowed his eyes contemplatively. “Our perp stripped this guy and didn’t bother folding his clothes. Yet, it’s the most secluded location they’ve used for a kill. Especially around the holiday. It’s like they couldn’t leave fast enough or was interrupted.”
He crouched and tipped his head to the side. “Fancy clothes, too. When do you think he died?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“How long does it take a body to freeze solid?”
“It depends on many factors.”
“Like?”
“The temperature of the environment. How protected he was.”
“Not very,” Kobe mused, glancing at the water in the distance. “He’s naked, and the wind off the lake is chilling. Best guess?”
“As little as eight to ten hours, likely longer.”
“He looks like he came from a party. Last night, maybe?”
“I couldn’t say precisely.”
Kobe retrieved the wallet and opened it, locating the driver’s license. “Malik Quinn.” Kobe huffed a humorless laugh. “Shocking. He’s another one of Jesse’s cohorts. Twenty… three, I think. Born in 2002. Does that math right?”
“Yes.” I almost smiled. A mathematician, Kobe was not.
“Detective,” a uniformed constable shouted from across the field. “We found an abandoned car registered to a—”
Kobe waved the wallet in the air, interrupting. “Malik Quinn. Yeah, thanks. Consider it evidence. Process the vehicle.”
“Yes, sir.”
To me, he asked, “Did we bag a phone?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Kobe tucked the ID card back into the wallet and set it down where he’d found it. CSIs would bag and tag everything once Kobe left.
