The Case of The Criminal

Dead Man Running

"Jones quit hogging all the popcorn!" Adalet yells trying to swipe a handful from the bowl.

Jones held it tightly, "get your own!"

"And we're back, folks," the sports announcers booms over the speakers, "the Grimsborough Quails are facing the Wippeka Armadillos today in one of the toughest games this football season."

"GO QUAILS!" Jones yells waving his flag.

"This game is particularly decisive. The winning team will have a real shot at the end-of-season bowl. Oh, here he is, Grim College's star quarterback: Troy Takiguchi!" the announcer went on as the quarterback got ready for the start, "first down for the Quails. And they're off! Wait! Takiguchi hasn't passed the ball! He's running straight for the end zone!"

"Come on, Takiguchi!" Jones shouted even though there was no way he could be heard, "you're the best!"

"I can't believe what I'm seeing! Forty yards! Thirty!" the announcer cried with a laugh, "Takiguchi is actually getting close! Look at him go!"

"Come on! You can do it!"

"I've never seen someone run so fast, not even at the Olympics," Adalet muses as the athlete neared the line.

"The Armadillos are all around, rushing to catch him before the touchdown . . ." the announcer narrator, "but wait! No! Troy Takiguchi has fallen, only five yards from the line!"

"Ahhh, no!" Jones shrieked.

"He isn't even getting up . . . Nobody even touched him! " he sounded worried as a murmur spread through the crowd, "the referees are calling a time-out. Medics are rushing to Takiguchi!"

"What's going on here?" Jones wonders setting his popcorn down, "Adalet, the crowd is going wild. Let's get down to the field, we need to make sure everyone is safe."

They pushed their way down to the front row and hopped over the ledge to the ground. They flashed their badges as they neared the scene but one of the medics shook their head. Jones ordered the security to clear the stadium as orderly as they could. Once the field had been cleared and the team called in, Jones and Adalet stood over the quarterback's dead body.

"The stadium has been evacuated, Adalet," Jones reported mournfully, "regrettably, we have confirmation that Troy Takiguchi is dead! This is unbelievable. Someone of Troy's stamina and bulk . . ."

"Some foul play is at work here!" Adalet agreed, "I'll gather some clues on the football field, Jones!"

Adalet neared the place where Troy's body had been placed on a stretcher, she looked around at all the equipment the medics had been ordered to leave. She saw a red mouth guard near the body and picked it up for a closer look.

"This is terrible . . . Takiguchi was a hero for the students of Grimsborough University. He was too young to die," Jones sighs as she examined the mouthguard, "and have you seen his arm? It's completely swollen, about as wide around as a honey-baked ham!"

"Did you not have breakfast?" Adalet asked swabbing the plastic.

He flushed, "this can't be natural! Let's send Takiguchi's body over to Nathan. Hopefully, he'll be able to explain everything."

"And whoever dropped this mouth guard must have witnessed Troy's fall first-hand!" she reasons collecting some saliva, "let's give this DNA to Grace straight away!"

"We should also go talk to Franklin Caldwell. He's the Grimsborough Quails' coach," he adds, "he may have valuable info about our victim."

Once the team had arrived to collect the body and DNA sample, Jones and Adalet excused themselves to find the coach. They entered the Quill's locker room and found Franklin dismissing the last of his players for the day.