Total Drama Lab Chapter Eight: "The drum major in the fridge"
Duncan walks up to the lab table and stops to see everyone staring at him.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"I'm FBI, and these are some of the most brilliant minds in the world. Do you really think we wouldn't find out?" Booth says mysteriously.
"Yeah, I guess." Duncan rubs his head.
"We want you out of this lab immediately. Understand?" Booth says threateningly.
"I got it." Duncan nods his head and leaves the lab.
A week later in Duncan's frat house…
Duncan goes down stairs and straight to the kitchen.
"Hey Geoff, want something to drink?" he asks and grabs the fridge handle.
"Naw, I'm good bro." he says from upstairs.
Duncan opens the fridge and sees a corpse inside. "Ohhh, shit!" he yells as he backs up.
Geoff comes down. "Dude, what's wrong?" he looks in the fridge. "Ohhh, shit!" he jumps back next to Duncan.
Hours later, Duncan's grad house is a crime scene…
"Is this some sort of joke?" Booth asks Duncan.
"No, I came down and he was in the fridge. Look, I was gone for the weekend with my pal Geoff. We got back last night. Thevictim was a friend of mines, too. His name was DJ. Anyone in this house could've killed him, and let me tell you something else. I won't rest until I know who."
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"I'll help in the case. I'll be a suspect who's cooperating."
"I'm sorry, but your forensic knowledge doesn't seem high enough." Bones says.
"Look, I know I got the job by accident, but since my first time working with you guys, I felt good about myself. I started studying relentlessly on forensics and papers you, Dr. Sroyan and Hodgins wrote. I can prove it, just follow me." He leads them up to his room and opens the door.
His room is full of forensic journals, articles, papers, and textbooks. Bones raises an eyebrow.
"I might be willing to take back my opinion now. I would actually like you to assist in determining who murdered your friend. But, I'll have my intern Chris constantly looking over your shoulder." Bones says.
"Fair enough." Duncan says. "I can provide names of the other three guys who live here."
"How do you know one of your house mates did it?" Booth asks.
"Because this is a house of five guys. Things don't always go well. Sleeping with the same girl, who stole whose dru..drums, etc. DJ was actually the drum major for our university." Duncan explains.
Later, at the lab table…
Duncan walks up to the lab table where Bones, Cam, and Chris are waiting on him.
"We've already taken at a look at your friend's body and stripped it clean so you don't have to look at your friends in the face while you examine the remains. We'll compare your observations to our own." Bones says.
"Got it." Duncan says. He goes over the body. "Ok, I've noted several remodeled fractures along the tibula and femurs, occupational markers of a person who marches. In this case, a drum major. The most probable cause of death is like the several cuts in the bone along the L1 and L2 vertebrae and the ribs bones. The most likely scenario is that the victim was stabbed in those places to make it possible for the body to be bent enough to place in the fridge." Duncan turns to them.
"Impressive, Duncan." Cam says.
"Nice work, but your appearance could use some sprucing up. It's embarrassing for us beautiful doctors to be seen with you." Chris says.
"Are you serious?" Duncan asks sarcastically.
"Moving on. Hodgins swabbed the cuts on the bone and should be done with his examination any minute. After that, we can use his results to further the investigation." Bones says.
"I'm here." Hodgins appears. "There were traces of metal in the cuts, most likely from the blade used to kill the victim." Hodgins looks at Duncan who sighs. "Sorry, Duncan." Hodgins clears his throat. "I can go down to the weapons department and compare the sample to any possible murder weapons." Hodgins takes off.
"So, what now?" Duncan asks Bones.
"We wait on Booth and Sweets to finish the interrogation." She says.
Meanwhile, in the interrogation room…
The other three frat brothers are sitting across from Booth. Each of them is wearing a white beater and jeans.
"So, I'm sure you have figured out by now why you're here, right?" Booth asks. They all nod yes slowly. "Well, the thing is, we have reason to believe one of you killed DJ. Now, if one of you confesses or gives me a name, then this can end."
The three frat boys look at each other and think about it. The frat guy to the right squints at the other two, but the other two look confused.
"Booth, focus on the one to the right. His body language is different from the other two, but theirs suggest they're hiding something. Target the one to the right to put the other two at ease and then slam them with questions and catch them with a mistake in their logic. It's the best tool to confuse frat guys." Sweets says over the com-link.
"So, you, to the right, how well did you know DJ?" Booth asks.
"We were in marching band together, so we were pretty tight, until he met Geoff and Duncan. I mean, Geoff was just some party boy, and Duncan got all obsessed with his forensic bullshit. But I wouldn't kill DJ, me and him were still friends." He says.
"I see, and do you have an alibi for this weekend?"
"I was at marching band practice for most of the weekend. DJ didn't make it to the last one, and that was right before the game. You can ask the coach and other members if I was there." He says in his defense.
Booth faces the other two. "What about you guys? What are your alibis?" The two frat boys freeze for a second.
"At a party." They say at the same time.
"Well, it's just a matter of time before we figure out who's story is correct. We have a search warrant for your house, and I'm sure we'll find the murder weapon there, along with the killer's fingerprints. You're free to go." Booth says as he walks out and into the room where Sweets is.
"Nice job. They're all scared now." Sweets says.
"Yeah, and I'm sure what the killer's next move will be. I'll grab Duncan and be back later." Booth says and leaves.
Later, outside the frat house…
The frat guy from the middle is carrying a hedge trimmer to the garbage. He grabs the lid, but looks up when Booth and Duncan slam their fists on it.
"Hey, whatcha got there?" Booth asks condescendingly. "What could that possibly be, Duncan?"
"Possibly the murder weapon." Duncan puts on his gloves and snatches the hedge trimmer. He swabs it with a q-tip and dips it in a liquid solution. The solution turns blue. "It's been in contact with human blood, and I'm sure it'll match DJ's DNA."
"Tell you what, Duncan. I'll take this evidence back to the truck slowly and whatever you do until I get back will just be between you and him." Booth grabs the hedge trimmer and walks away slowly.
"I'm going to enjoy this." Duncan cracks his knuckles and approaches the frat guy.