A/N: trying to keep time lines straight are a bit of a pain in the butt so I made a minor adjustment.
Chapter 24
Two days earlier:
"What do we have, Don?" Mac asked as he studied the body of a white male sprawled at the bottom of a rocky ravine as he tugged on his gloves. Sheldon was already down there, studying the body.
They were at Berkley College, a prominent New York college and it was late morning on a cold day. No snow had fallen the night before but Mac knew his chances of getting good foot prints in the area were pretty much nil due to the number of people having tramped through the area where the victim had been found.
"His name is Jack Dales, goes to Berkley College and was majoring in Law Enforcement. Basically a good kid," Flack said, reading from his notes. " Couple of students spotted him, called 9-1-1, and it was his girlfriend, Judy Melandros, who identified him."
"When was the last time anyone saw him?"
"Judy said he left the library around ten p.m. after a long session of studying."
"And probably a few other things," Mac said, grinning.
"I mentioned that and she vehemently denied it. Turns out Jack was quite the serious student. He loved her but he also wanted to get his Law Enforcement degree and he was trying to keep his marks up," Flack said, also grinning.
"Bet she loved that."
"Actually, she was quite proud of him."
"Sheldon?" Mac called down as he made his way down to the CSI.
"He might be at the bottom of this ravine, Mac, but he sure as heck didn't die down here," Sheldon called back. "There are a number of bruises on the body that are not consistent with a fall." As Mac joined him, he lifted the shirt from the torso and revealed bruises in the stomach range, consistent of someone being repeatedly punched there. He also indicated bruising around the victim's face that was not consistent of a fall but rather of a vicious beating.
"So is it possible someone beat the victim to death and then threw him in the ravine to make it look like an accident?" Mac asked.
"I'd say it's very possible. Won't know for sure the extent of the beating until Sid gets his hands on him but I'm seeing a lot of rage here," Sheldon said. "Someone was not happy with this boy." Just out of curiosity, he lifted the victim's lips to reveal his teeth and shined his light. He started grinning. "Looks like our boy fought back." He got out his tweezers and pulled some black hairs from the victim's teeth. Then he took a swab and swabbed the blood from the victim's teeth as well.
Mac lifted the victim's hands and spotted bruising. "He did indeed." The knuckles got swabbed as well.
It took them several hours of painstaking work to collect the rest of the evidence before they were able to go back to the warmth of the lab.
"Looks like a simple case of a beating-turned-murder-turned-cover-up," Flack said as he watched the morgue workers bring up the body.
"Haven't you learned anything yet, Don?" Mac asked, grinning.
"What's that?"
"Murder is never simple," Mac said. He couldn't have been more right.