Kenzie sighed as she reached up to tug at both of their necklaces. She and the team were standing in the baseball field of a high school. She gave a weird look to Patrick, who had a big smile on his face.
"High school, huh? Must bring back some memories for you. Friday nights, your friends from choir–"
"Didn't have a lot of friends, remember," said Kenzie.
"And then after rehearsals, a little spin the bottle..." Patrick started to chuckle. "...In some tiny pratice room."
Kenzie rolled her eyes and looked at Rigsby. "Hey, what've we got?"
"Jack McTierney. 28. English teacher. M.E. puts the time of death between six and nine last night," explained Rigsby. "Apparently he likes to stay late and go jogging around the campus. Cho's searching his locker now." They walked over to the body. Kenzie's nose scrunched in disgust and Patrick groaned in disgust. "Looks like it's a blunt-force trauma to the head."
"We have a murder weapon?"
"No, but the M.E. thinks it was metal. When we got here, there were bats in the equipment bins. We're testing them for blood now."
Teresa walked up to them. "Hey."
"Hey." Kenzie turned to Rigsby. "Did we contact the family?"
"Yeah, but they're all back east. He's single, lives alone."
"All right, start setting up interviews– anybody who was here between six and nine last night."
"You got it." Rigsby walked away, leaving the three of them. Patrick pointed to a bruise on the victim's eyes.
"Look at that bruising around the eye," Teresa pointed out.
Kenzie tilted her head as she looked at it. "Yeah. It's faded. Looks like it's about a week old."
"Be good to know how that happened."
"Well, let's ask the principal," suggested Patrick, pointing at a man who stood a few feet away from them.
Kenzie looked at the man in confusion. "That guy?"
"Cheap power suit, phone holster, Bluetooth, large watch. Has 'petty tyrant' written all over him."
The girls looked at each other and shrugged before walking to the man. "Excuse us! Sir?"
The man looked up at them. "Hi. I'm Agent Patterson. This is Agent Lisbon and Patrick Jane. We're with the CBI."
"Principal Carl Snyder." He shook their hands. The four of them started walking around the hallways until they reached the front of the school.
"Trouble with a student?" Kenzie asked.
"No, I don't think so," said Snyder. "He was a great teacher. He started working here right after college. Uh, bright kid. Could have made money doing so many things, but he loved teaching. We were luck to have him." The girls hummed in response. "Now I have a grief counseling session starting momnetarily, so thank–"
Patrick stood up. "Excellent. We'll come."
Kenzie sighed. "Anyway, uh, how did he get the black eye?"
"He said that he... was playing basketball with some students after school."
"You didn't believe him?" asked Teresa.
"Well, why would he lie? Of course I believed him."
"No, you didn't," said Patrick.
"Well, why would I lie?"
YOU ARE READING
I Bet on Losing Dogs - Patrick Jane
Fanfiction"I bet on losing dogs, I know they're losing, and I'll pay for my place by the ring, Where I'll be looking in their eyes when they're down, ...
