The Competition - страница 13

When Bailey joined me, she scanned the hushed room. “What’s going on?”

I filled her in and asked her about the cell phones. “Still checking,” she whispered.

A burly SWAT officer dressed all in black clomped into the room. He faced the coroner with a clenched jaw. “I was the first officer on scene in the library. What can I do for you?”

Dr. Shoe, who’d been directing Scott’s photography, peered closely at the officer. “You can answer a question. I need that answer to be completely and perfectly accurate. Did you touch these bodies?”

“Yes. I put two fingers to each of their wrists to check for a pulse. I didn’t want to touch the neck because…”

“Yes, I know, I know, too much blood and it was obvious they were dead.” He waved an impatient hand. “Last question: did you move any part of them in any way, no matter how slight?”

“Absolutely not. As soon as I confirmed they were dead, I taped off the perimeter.” The SWAT officer looked around the room. “After that I believe an officer was posted here to make sure nothing got disturbed. But that was out of my purview.”

The police officer who’d offered to help earlier now spoke up. “I’m pretty sure someone was continually posted because I relieved the officer who’d been standing guard before me.”

“I’ll need a list of all the officers who got posted here,” Dr. Shoe said. “Who’s the investigating officer in charge?”

Bailey stepped forward and introduced herself, but they didn’t shake hands.

“I’d like to talk to you privately,” the doctor said. He led Bailey out of the room, and I fell in behind them. When we got to the elevator, he frowned at me. “This is a private discussion.”

Again? Now he was going to throw me out? “I’m the prosecutor on the case. Whatever you have to say, I need to hear it.”

Dr. Shoe looked at Bailey for confirmation, and she nodded. “Yeah, she’s okay.”

We exited the school and headed for the area at the back. It was the only spot that was safe from prying microphones and cameras. Dr. Shoe motioned for us to sit down on a stone bench.

“I suppose you’re here to prepare this case for trial?” he asked me.

“Usually I would be,” I said. “But in this case…well, obviously, there isn’t going to be a trial.”

“You’re the lawyer so I won’t presume to tell you your job. But I am the pathologist, and I will presume to tell you this: the position of the bodies in that library does not fit with the scenario everyone seems to have accepted.”

Bailey and I shared a look. “You’re saying they didn’t shoot each other?” I asked. “So, what? They shot themselves?”

“I’m saying neither. The angles are way off-for everything. The bodies wouldn’t have fallen in those positions. The handguns wouldn’t have landed where they did. And I thought I saw a faint blood trail on the carpet leading up to the bodies. You’ll need a good tech to test that carpet to make sure-”

“We’ve got one,” I said. “But what-”

Dr. Shoe raised his hand, cutting me off. “Even the balaclavas seem…oddly placed. Too close to the bodies. If you pull off an item like that-especially if your intent is to shuffle off this mortal coil-you toss it away. Those balaclavas were right next to their heads. One body might coincidentally land with the head near the balaclava, but two? No. Everything about this is wrong.”

“Then…what’s your theory?” I asked.

“Just between us, understood?” We nodded. “I need to check lividity, get a better look at the wounds, get the gunshot residue test results, and obviously the luminal results on the carpet. But if that all pans out as I expect, my conclusion will be that a person or persons shot these kids, dragged their bodies into position, and staged it to look like a mutual suicide.”

“Then if you’re right, those bodies in the library-” Bailey said.

“Are not the killers,” I finished.

Dr. Shoe looked up in the direction of the library. “They most certainly are not,” he said.

His words hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. The killers were still at large. I could feel my breath getting shorter as the implications sank in.

“Thank you, Dr. Shoe,” I said. “And you’re right. We need to keep this theory quiet until we’re absolutely sure. So watch out for those parabolic mics…” I shifted my eyes to the throng of reporters in front of the school. Backup in the form of a flotilla of satellite trucks had now arrived to clog the street. “The sooner we can get final confirmation from you, the better.”