Case 32: Murder On Campus

"I thought hazing was supposed to be at the beginning of the year?" JJ asked as he looked over the body of a young girl that was completely covered in ants from a near by hill. The girl, Rani Goshwalla was only in her underwear.

"Nope. Grimsborough tradition, hazing starts in February after everyone has settled in and gotten sick of studying." David shrugged as he looked around and they got to work.

David shivered as he looked at the ants making his lover snicker and take over the job of getting a sample of them while the elder collected a pile of shreds, yet again.

There was also a note and a broken trinket that they would have to put together again.

"What have you got babe?" David leaned over his shoulder as the victim was taken away.

"A Rorschach Ink Blot test." JJ was frowning, looking puzzled.

"Lets bag it, it may help it may not." David shrugged, placing his hand on his lovers shoulder and having to resist the urge to move closer as the world became bright.

JJ went into the university where they had an office set up and set out on piecing the objects together while David revealed the faded note, they'd sent the ants back with the coroners.

The torn piece of paper turned out to be 'How To Commit The Perfect Murder' by one Tess Goodwin and the broken trinket was Hindi lettering and unfortunately that wasn't his language.

"Well it looks like someone called Josh had it out for Rani. 'Rani, you talk, you die, Josh.' Original." David snorted.

JJ laughed and they both set off to the Dean, sending an officer over to the station with the evidence.

The dean was a stern woman who came off as a little obsessed with getting rid of hazing. Not a bad thing but her hate against it did make her suspicious because to be honest they would never get rid of it.

They were thinking on what to do next when JJ got a text from Alex to look on his Friendnet.

Doing just that he found a video of a young man with light brown hair and eyes of the same hue.

JJ would love to fuck that smirk off his face and David would happily slap it off as they watched the little prick brag about supposedly sleeping with victim but at least they found the girls sorority.

"I'll talk with him while you go look at the sorority house, you are not sleeping with a prick like that." David told his lover instantly.

"Maybe that's just what he needs." JJ smirked before kissing his lover and making his way to Psi Sigma Gamma sorority house.

Going in he was hit by an overwhelming wall of pink that made him want to retch.

A funnel, a phone, torn shreds and a photo of the victim with someone who could have been her sister perhaps.

"Who are you?" JJ turned around and saw a beautiful blond girl with perfect blue eyes. Only if she had more of s tab she'd of been a perfect California babe. "Oh! You're... Lieutenant James Jensen right? You must be looking into Rani's death."

"That I am Sweetheart, and you are?" He asked putting on a smile, spotting her sorority badge.

"Madison Springer, the president of Psi Sigma Gamma." She stepped closer. "What can I help you with?"

"Can you tell me about Rani and her sister?" He asked, gently leading her outside to the porch bench rather than the swarm of pink inside, Dorian decided that Madison was the perfect person to get attention from and she happily fussed over him.

"Well Rani was great, she was a shoe in to be a member of the sorority but Misha, she was close to being kicked out after drinking way to much champagne last and break a ton of rules."

JJ nodded his head slowly.

"So what about the party last night?"

"There was no party last night." Madison looked confused and earnest. "I went for frozen yogurt last night and if there had been a party I would have known." She explained and the detective laughed.

"You Madison Springer are a damn good liar but you might want to try it again." She looked at him with wide eyes, wondering how he saw through her so easily.

"Well, we may have had a bikini party and..." She trailed off at the look she was getting, green eyes cutting through her soul.

"It was hazing. But Nothing harsh! We had the rushes dress in bikinis and wrote on them, there was some drinking as well but nothing that could have hurt anyone." She told him firmly and this time he believed her.

"Okay darling just don't let it get past that." She looked at him shocked. "I was a Marine Sweetheart, we had our own version." He winked at her and left with Dorian, bags in hand ready for the lab.

He pulled out his cell and walked towards the amphitheatre that the Dean had mentioned but when he got there David had already arrived.

"Hey Doll." David turned around from picking things up and trotted down the many steps to give the taller a firm kiss.

"Watch out, you've got a fan and she is creepy as fuck. Her name is Tess Goodwin, the one from the flyer. She seems a little sociopathic." They both grimaced at that. "Anyway I'm done here so let's go."

JJ took his hand and pulled him along to where the car was parked and they drove back to the station and up to the lab, starting to sort through everything and by the end of the day they had all the results.

"So our killer eats yogurt, drinks champagne and takes Vitimin C supplements." David sighed.

"They also wear pink and a Psi Sigma Gamma badge." JJ added. "You know there is one person we haven't talked to and even between siblings, jealousy can cause a lot."

"You really think her sister would do that?" Ramirez asked, popping up at the Lieutenant's desk.

"Like we haven't had family killing each other before. Just because they're sisters doesn't mean they loved each other." The red-head shrugged, over a hundred and fifty cases under his belt and he'd seen it enough times.

"Plus, how do we know the death was intentional?" David pointed out, tapping a pen against his lovers desk from where he was perched on the end. "After all, she was killed by ants attracted by champagne. What if this was a cruel revenge that took a more drastic turn?" He shrugged but his lover nodded, agreeing that it was very possible.

They got up and went to speak with the young girl and even before she spoke they knew she was responsible. There was nothing but guilt and self pity written over her face and it all came together.

Prettier, smarter and more popular than her, Rani had to be taught her lesson and what better opportunity than to leave her passed out and tied up, fresh from a hazing ritual.

Misha hadn't even realised there were ants near by but it didn't garner her any sympathy from them as they watched her break down, she'd earned her own sorrow.

Later that night found JJ in industrial sitting in a coffee house with Rachel, catching up with each other over the chaos of the last couple of months. Relaxing and, in Rachel's case, gathering potential little stories for the past happenings page in the back of the paper.

Sometimes JJ swore she did more work than he did.

JJ was happy for it but even when he returned home, the world becoming so much bright once David was in his arms, there was something that kept nagging at him.

Tess Goodwin and her sociopathic tendencies and what ever secrets Madison Springer was hiding, it made something crawl beneath his skin that wouldn't ease, just take a back seat in his life until it all unravelled.