Plotline #2: Erwin Grueber

You head into town, driving along as the boys talk to themselves about what to expect at the crime scene. "So, was it like a shooting or something?" asks Chuck, his curiosity rising. "Like, what sort of weapon did the killer use?"

"We're not sure," says Desmond quietly, eyes on the road as he mulls over the events. "They'll release more details to us once we arrive."

Soon enough, you pull up at an area cordoned off by yellow tape. You park the car and let everyone out, and the four of you approach the line. A police officer holds up one hand to stop you, but he's cut off by another man, who you recognize as Officer Michaels. "Afternoon," he says, greeting you. "In case you're wondering, thanks to your bit of help last month at the motel, I got promoted to homicide." He jerks his thumb up over his shoulder. "Come on in, the commissioner's willing to have your input for this case. I should warn you," he says, eyes trailing over the boys, "the details are a bit graphic."

The four of you step under the tape before Michaels hands you each plastic ID tags and sets of blue disposable gloves. "Security regulations," he explains as you pull on the gloves and proceed down the alleyway. The buildings rise up around you as numerous officers and investigators take photographs of the area, writing down details with blue-gloved hands. Michaels leads you over to a tall man with a head of jerry curls and a beaky nose. "This is Ennis," Michaels says, "he's in charge of the autopsy reports."

The man named Ennis nods at you and your students. "So you're the kids I've heard about," he says, eyes trailing over the kids before returning to you. "If you think you can help, that's fine, but we've already got quite a few details. This whole thing occurred a couple of weeks ago, so what was left of the body has already been taken in for samples. This is just a follow-up investigation, the seventh we've done." He grimaces at this. "Pardon my french, but the whole thing has been a giant clusterfuck. Three weeks in, and we're covering the same ground, over and over again, thanks to the fact that we have no leads. No eyewitnesses, and barely a corpse to go with."

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "So, do you have any questions about the case? I'll answer what I can."