Cheryl and Reed had a whirlwind romance. Reed swept Cheryl off of her feet. Her family and friends thought things between them were moving too fast. Did Cheryl know Reed?
How much does anyone know about a person? Especially when they only show you...
I grin and stand up. I let the coroner do his job and approached the forensic officer. "Did you get her body photographed and processed yet?"
"We got all we need from the body." He confirmed.
"Do me a favor and let the coroner know she'd good to go," I request.
"Will do," he agreed. "We'll finish processing the scene once they remove her body."
"Sounds good. I'll be back over in a minute." I leave and return to the lead officer I spoke with when I arrived. "Thank you for taking care of the spectators. Have you come across any witnesses?"
He points over to a young couple standing apart from the crowd. "Those two standing over there were the ones who called it in. Everyone else is just spectators after the fact."
"Great, thanks." I nod my appreciation.
I walk over to the couple he pointed out. "Hello, I'm Detective Mike Riggs. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
The young man speaks up. "We don't mind at all."
I smile at him to calm his nervousness, hopefully. "What time did you come across the body, and how did you find it hidden in the ravine."
The boy looks down. "Um... we were looking for somewhere to have some privacy."
I look from one witness to the other. The girl turns bright red. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen," said the boy.
"Sixteen," replied the girl shyly
I run my fingers through my hair. Babies. I have babies for witnesses.
I clear my throat, "Okay, I now know why you went down there; what was the time that you found the body."
They look at each other.
"I'm not 100% sure, around 10:00?" The boy shrugs.
"Yeah. It was a little before 10:00," the girl agrees.
"Wait... shouldn't you two be in school?" I inquire when it hits me that today is a school day.
They look at each other, and I can see the panic in their eyes.
"Listen, you're not in trouble with me. Okay?" I say in an attempt to ease their minds.
"Are you going to tell our parents?" they say in unison.
I think for a moment before answering. "Where do you live?"
"We live at Spinnaker Bay apartments," the boy answers for both of them.
These two are just a few blocks from their home.
I ignore the parent question for now. "Did you see anyone leaving the area?"
The boy looks at the girl. "I didn't see anyone; that's why I chose to go down there."
The girl blushes red again.
"Did you touch the body in any way?" I ask.
They both look disgusted. "No way!" the girl says adamantly.
The boy spoke up, "I called 911 right away. We couldn't get away from her fast enough."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the coroner and his assistant place the body in their van.
"Thank you for your help. Please give the officer your names, addresses, and phone numbers before you leave, in case I have more questions." I wave over to the officer.
"Yes, sir, we will," the boy says, and the girl nods.
The officer comes over. "Please get their information."
I look back over to them. "Then you can let the kids go."
I see the relief in their eyes. "No more skipping school, and thank you for calling us even though there was a chance of you two getting into big trouble. You did the right thing."
They nod at me, and I turn around to take a look at the crime scene once more. The forensic team is just finishing up, just like the other murders, with nothing left behind by the killer. It appears to be nothing more than a dumpsite.
*****
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