A week later, Jones and Marie along with Scott arrived at the Grimsborough University stadium for the football game. Jones looked at the poster with his orange and blue painted face and matching jersey and he said, "I'm so hyped for the Grimsborough Quails game!"
Scott also smiled and said, "Me too! Thanks for inviting me Inspector Jones! I love watching football as much as I love watching baseball!"
Marie giggled when she saw her brother and boyfriend interacting with each other and thought, I'm glad these two are getting along so well. Jones then bought Marie a cap that was orange and blue and placed it on her head and he winked at her and said, "A little souvenir for today." And Marie blushed and thanked him.
While they were walking to their seats, Scott looked at the two officers and asked, "By the way, did you ever figure out who sent that text to Riley Davies?"
Marie shook her head and said, "No we haven't we even asked Alex who sent him his text about me performing with the band and he has no clue."
Jones placed his arms behind his head and said, "I have a feeling that it was our hacker friend the @rtist. But we can't be too certain yet." And soon they reached their seats which had a great view of the field and soon it was game time.
During the game, the team's star quarterback Troy Takaguchi was playing wonderfully by scoring a few touchdowns, creating a few defensive strategies to get past the other team and praising his other teammates after they scored. During the second quarter of the game, Troy started to breathe heavily and he was clutching his chest. One of his teammates, Chad Baker, came up to him and asked,"Hey man, are you going to make it? Do you need to take your insulin?"
Troy shook his head and said, "I'll be fine, I took it before the game." And then the referee blew his whistle signaling the end of timeout and the game presumed.
In the announcer stand, the announcer was reporting that the Grimsborough Quails were facing the Wippeka Armadillos in the one of the toughest football games of the season. In the stands, Jones shouted out while munching on popcorn, "GO QUAILS!"
The announcer then reported that the game is particularly decisive cause the winning team will have a real shot at the end-of-season bowl. The crowd then cheered loudly when Troy took to the field again. With a first-down for the Quails, they started again, but then the announcer reported that Troy didn't pass the ball and he started to sprint towards the end zone. Scott then stood up and shouted, "Let's go Takaguchi! Get a touchdown for the team!" And Marie plugged her ears to block out the obnoxious shouting.
The whole stadium saw Troy running forty yards and then thirty and they saw him getting really close to the end zone. Getting nervous, Jones started to sweat and look down at the field while thinking, come on man! You can do it! Everyone in the stadium saw the Armadillos were all around the quarterback trying to catch him, but then everyone went hush when they saw Troy fall and he only five yards from the line. Jones then screamed in anger and threw his popcorn down which made Marie say, "I paid five bucks for that and you wasted it!"
Suddenly, everyone started to murmur and Scott looked at them and said, "Forget the popcorn guys, something else is wrong. Troy's not getting up!" And the two officers looked down to see that he was right and they watched as the referees were calling a timeout and the medics were rushing onto the field.
All three of them saw that the crowd was going wild and Jones and Marie, along with Scott, headed towards the field to make sure everything was all right. Moments later when they got to the field, Scott and Marie were waiting for Jones as he went to ask the refs and the medics what happened and they watched as the stadium was being cleared out. Soon, Jones came back and Marie asked, "Is everything okay? What happened?"
"Well for one, everyone in the stadium has been evacuated. But regrettably, I have some sad news; Troy Takaguchi is dead," Jones reported.
Shocked and surprised, Scott exclaimed, "That's unbelievable! Someone of Troy's bulk and stamina couldn't have died that easily! There has to be some sort of foul play at work here!"
Jones agreed with the boy and Marie looked at him sadly and said, "Listen Scott, why don't you go home and let me and Jones take care of things here."
Scott shook his head and said, "No way sis, I'm staying to help you guys on this one! You let baby Oliver go with you on that last case! Well this time, I'm coming too!"
Jones then thought about it carefully and said, "Okay kid, you can stay, but don't do anything to slow us down! Understood?" And Scott saluted telling him that he understood and soon the three of them started to search around the football field.
While Marie was searching, Jones and Scott approached Troy's body and Jones said sadly, "This is absolutely terrible. Troy was the hero of Grimsborough University. He was too young to die."
Scott then looked closely at Troy's arm and said, "And look at his arm, it's all swollen like a honey-baked ham! I don't think this was natural at all! I hope your friend Nathan will look at this and hopefully he'll be able to explain everything."
Marie then called out to them that she found a mouth guard and she said, "Whoever dropped this must've witnessed Troy's fall first-hand."
Jones then told Marie that they should also talk to the football team's coach Franklin Caldwell and see if he has any valuable info about their victim. Before Marie could look at the mouth guard, they decided to talk to Franklin Caldwell first and as soon as they were in front of him, Marie asked how he was doing. The coach then replied, "Not good cause this is such a mess! Losing my star quarterback at the height of the season; can thing get any worse?!"
"Coach, I understand that this is bad for the team, but shouldn't the death of a player be more important than the loss of a football season?" Jones asked.
Coach Franklin cleared his throat and said to the officers and teen before him, "You'll have to excuse me, we all have our own way of dealing with grief. I am deeply saddened by Troy's death and no man this young and full of promise should die like that."
Marie looked at the coach curiously and asked, "Was there anything wrong with Troy? Anything that could explain what happened to him?"
Coach Franklin shrugged and said, "I don't think he did much besides training for the games. You see, entering the major league was his dream and he put everything into training. Now if you'll excuse me folks, I've got a team of traumatized players to get back to."
As soon as the coach walked away, Jones Marie and Scott exited the stadium and headed towards the car when Marie said, "That guy sounds pretty harsh!"
"I know Coach Caldwell may seem harsh, but he's actually a great coach. He's always putting his players' best interests at heart and it pays off. Now the victim may have been a football player, but he was also a student at Grimsborough University too. And if I remember correctly, all the football players are housed in the same dorm to enhance team-building," Jones explained and suggested that they check the victim's room out and Marie and Scott agreed.
Before they could check out the victim's room, the three of them went back to the station to examine the mouth guard. Once they got back, Marie took a DNA sample off of it and she sent it to Grace to be analyzed. After Marie sent the sample to Grace, the three of them headed back to the campus to the dorm where their victim stayed in. As soon as they arrived, Jones, Scott and Marie looked around until Marie found an overloaded laundry basket and Jones smirked and thought, if she wants to look through it, she better plug her nose. Marie also found the victim's laptop and she booted it up to see what was on it.
The first thing Marie looked through was the laundry basket and after she rummaged through the dirty clothes, she pulled out a football jersey, but it didn't have their victim's name on the back. Jones, Scott and Marie got curious and wondered how it ended up in Troy's room. After looking at it closely, Jones saw that the jersey belonged to Chad Baker, the Quails' reserve quarterback. Jones knew that Troy is the star quarterback and he always came to play at the key moments for the team, which meant Chad spent a lot of time sitting on the bench during the games.
Marie then looked at Jones and said, "I think being on the sidelines for so long could drive a guy to the extreme. I'd say we talk to Chad and see what his story is." And both of them agreed and left the room to talk to Chad Baker.
As soon as they were in front of him, Marie showed Chad the jersey they found and told him where they found it. Chad then rolled his eyes and said, "Well of course you're gonna find one of my jersey's in Troy's room; we were roommates!"
"So, you must've been pretty close," Jones said and Chad shook his head.
Chad then told the officers and teen, "We weren't best buddies or anything and coach thought it would be good for us to room together."
"Troy was way ahead of you wasn't he? I just learned that you were a substitute quarterback and he was getting all the glory. That must've been pretty frustrating for you Chad," Marie said in theory.
Chad squinted his eyes and said, "Rivalry is all apart if the game. So don't you go a say anything weird about it! Me and Troy have always put the team first!"
Soon, Scott stepped in and said, "But his tragic death means that you'll finally be able to play quarterback in the big games. A nice opportunity to finally shine!"
Chad looked at Scott with a questionable face and asked, "Who the hell are you kid?"
Scott looked at the football player nervously and answered, "I-I'm Scott. Scott Greene."
After hearing his last name, Chad went cross and shouted, "Greene?! Then you must be related to Alden Greene! Because of that bastard, my family lost our deli which we owned for generations ever since my great-grandfather opened it! It went out of business a few years ago before I graduated high school and you know who we got our finances from?! Greene Holding! Next time you see your asshole grandfather kid, tell him my great-grandfather will kick his ass all the way to hell!"
After Chad's rant, Marie grabbed Scott's hand dragged him out of the dorm building before anything else could happen. As soon as they were outside, Scott looked at the building behind him and said, "I never knew gramps did that. I mean, I know he manipulates people and their minds, but I never knew he could pull money out of other people's accounts if business was going good for them."
Marie placed a kind hand on his shoulder and said, "You were a few years younger when he did that so there was no way you could've known. Be glad you know the truth now." And Scott looked at Marie and told her she was right.
Soon, the three of them returned to the station, Marie opened the laptop they got from Troy's room, booted it up and started to find the right password to get in. While Marie was figuring it out, Jones started to figure it out on his own too by thinking that it's either 1-2-3-4 or A-B-C-D until he got fed up and let Marie handle it. Soon, Marie found out the lengthy password and Scott watched wide-eyed as she solved it and he thought, how does she do that?!
As soon as Marie solved the password, she sent it to Alex so he can retrieve the relevant data for them. After Marie gave Alex the laptop, the three of them headed to the forensics lab to here what Grace got from the DNA sample. Once they were in front of her, Marie asked, "So, what did you get from the DNA sample Grace?"
"All I can say is that I should be doing a celebration dance Marie cause you never send me DNA," Grace said with glee.
Jones rolled his eyes sarcastically and said, "Very funny Grace! So, did you find the owner to the mouth guard that Marie found by the victim's body?"
Grace nodded and told him that she did and she explained, "All football players have files, so when the recruiters check them they'll see if they have a clean file. The mouth guard happens to belong to Thomas Boedeker."
Surprised by what he heard, Scott exclaimed, "I remember him! He's the quarterback for the Wippeka Armadillos!"
"You're right Scott. The Armadillos are the Quails' rival team and I remember that Troy was playing against him on the field today," Jones mentioned in theory and soon they left to talk to Thomas Boedeker.
Once they returned to the stadium, Marie saw the Armadillos practicing on the field and asked one of the players where Thomas was and he showed them where he was. As soon as the three of them approached the football player, Marie showed him the mouthguard and told him where they found it. Thomas then smirked and said, "So, you found my mouth guard next to Takaguchi's body huh? Well the reason you did was because I was hot on his heels after he managed to slip past my entire team. He had more speed and energy than any human, but I realized something was wrong; his arm was bulging like crazy! I rushed to him as soon as he fell, but it seemed pretty obvious that he wasn't gonna make it. I don't think I'll ever forget the look on his face."
Jones squinted his eyes and said, "You and Troy were rival quarterbacks and I'm guessing the antagonism between you two was pretty high and having a rival fall dead before you during the biggest game of the season, it must've been a blessing for you."
Thomas rolled his eyes and exclaimed, "Yeah right! As if I would risk my whole career just to get rid of another player! I know what I'm worth and I could've crushed Troy without cheating! Listen man, I had respect for Takaguchi; he was my only equal. If I killed him, where would the glory be in that?!"
Marie smirked and told the football player, "I guess you're right. Stick around for a while and we'll be in touch." And soon they left the field.
As soon as they got back to the station, Alex called Jones, Marie and Scott to the tech lab to tell them what he got from the laptop. Once they were in front of him, Marie asked Alex what he found and he told the three of them, "Nothing much. Your victim's laptop was a pretty bundle of boring information unless you like football. I couldn't see nothing illegal and there were no threatening messages in his mailbox, but I found out that the most noteworthy things are in the photo albums. There are a lot of pictures of your victim hanging out with Madison Springer at parties, at picnics, after matches, etc."
Surprised by what he heard, Hones exclaimed, "Madison Springer?! The head of the Psi Sigma Gamma sorority?!"
Alex nodded and told them that Madison is also the leader of the Quails' cheerleading squad. Marie rolled her eyes and began to think about how cliche it is for a cheerleader and a quarterback to be together; like a plot to a cheesy teen romance novel. After they thanked Alex, Jones, Scott and Marie set out to talk to Madison. Once they got back to campus, the three of them found Madison in her cheerleading outfit and Marie approached her and said, "Hey there Madison. We were wondering if you can tell us more about the pictures we found of you and Troy Takiguchi?"
"Well isn't it obvious Major? Troy and I were dating," Madison answered the female officer.
Jones looked at Madison and asked in a consoling voice, "We're really sorry for your loss. Have you and Troy been dating long?"
Madison began to think and then she looked at the officers and Scott and explained, "It was about six months I guess. Troy and I hooked up after the last match of the season last year. But I didn't see much of him during the summer. With Troy, it was always football this and football that before anything else. He spent his days training to be the best and now look where it's led him. But worst of all, we were supposed to go to the prom ball together! We would've looked so dashing and now I'm dateless!"
Jones crossed his arms and asked, "And this is what's bothering you the most?"
Madison ignored Jones' question and took Marie's hands and said to her, "I'm sorry for acting like this Major Marie. I'm still under a lot of shock that's all. It's just that Troy was a really nice guy and I miss him a lot."
Suddenly, Jones imagined something in his mind when he saw Madison and Marie together. In his fantasy, he saw Marie and Madison wearing flowing ball gowns and Madison saying to Marie sweetly, "Marie, I feel so lonely without Troy by my side. Will you comfort me?"
"Madison, of course I will comfort you. A sweet girl like you deserves to have someone to live and comfort you," Marie told the girl in a sweet voice and soon they leaned in and kissed.
Suddenly, Jones heard his name and someone snapped their fingers in front of his face and soon he was brought back to reality. Jones looked beside him and saw that it was Scott who snapped him out of it and Marie and Madison looking at him with skeptic looks on their faces. Madison then placed her hands on her hips and said, "Are you thinking dirty thoughts of me, you perv?!"
Jones placed his hands in front of him as if he was going to defend himself and said, "No! Of course I wasn't! I'm not that sick minded!"
Marie then rolled her eyes and told Madison that they'll keep in touch and soon they headed back to the station. While they were waiting for the autopsy after they returned, Jones started to ponder about what he just imagined a few minutes ago. He then sat back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling and thought, why would I have that lesbian vision of Marie with Madison? Could it be that I imagine what Marie would be like if she was a lesbian or was it those lesbians I met during our cases? While Jones was thinking that, he couldn't hear Daniel the intern calling his name until Daniel called him again in a louder voice.
Jones then shook the thought out and looked at the boy and asked him, "What do you want?"
Daniel then shows him a foam cup and said, "I was trying to tell you that I got you a coffee Inspector." And Jones thanked the boy and accepted it by taking a big swig.
Meanwhile, Scott and Marie were by the vending machines clutching a couple drinks that they bought and Scott asked, "I wonder what happened to your partner/boyfriend/lover? He didn't seem like himself and he had this weird daydreaming look on his face?"
Marie shrugged and said, "Who knows, but what I do know is he was probably imagining something that involves me and Madison. I mean, he saw me kiss one of our suspects a few months ago, he heard me and Rachel having sex in the bunks and when Tess Goodwin bumped into us, me and Madison wound up in an unexpected position."
Just then, Marie and Scott heard a boastful laugh and she looked and saw that it was Olivia who did it. Olivia smirked and said, "Well that's what you get for being around a perverted, lovesick fool Marie. Men like him always think of dirty things around us women!"
Marie glared at her rival and said, "Back off Detective Rosa! You're just saying that cause Jones used to be your partner first."
Olivia glared back at her and said, "Well he would've been by partner if that old croanie chief of ours wasn't such a lazy ass and picked our recruits better instead of children!"
Marie got straight to her face and exclaimed, "I may be three years younger than you and I may let you get away with insulting my partner, but don't you ever go and insult my grandfather like that!"
"Well maybe your grandmother should've stuck around instead of running away! Then the chief's heart wouldn't be so blackened by the past," Olivia retorted and the two of them bickered back and forth while Scott stood there watching everything.
After a few minutes of bickering, both women stopped when they heard a sharp whistle and they looked and saw that it was Nathan who did it. Nathan then said to Marie, "I've been calling you for the last few minutes Marie to tell you I'm done with the autopsy."
Marie then told Nathan that she'll be there and soon she and Scott threw their cans in recycling and headed to the lab. As they were walking Olivia called out, "And by the way Mare dear, those two different colored eyes of yours make you look like an extraterrestrial!"
Marie then retorted back, "Oh yeah! Well, your hair looks like someone spilled a murder victim's blood all over it!" And Scott pushed her towards the lab before they could say anything else.
As soon they got to the lab, Jones looked at Marie and asked, "Detective Rosa again?"
Marie shook her head and told him, "I just can't stand her!"
Soon, Nathan started to explain to them what he got from the autopsy. He told the two officers and the teen, "Well I can tell you this, Troy Takaguchi's death on the football field was definitely not natural."
Scott crossed his arms and said, "No kidding! I don't think a human arm could ever get that big!"
"That got me curious too, especially when I noticed a needle mark in Troy's arm. So I had a look at your victim's medical file and I found out that your victim was a type 1 diabetic and he injected himself with insulin daily. Except for today cause there was a secret ingredient on top of that insulin; a massive dose if Erythropoietin, also known as EPO," Nathan explained.
Shocked and surprised, Jones exclaimed, "You mean doping hormones?!"
Nathan nodded and continued telling them, "I'm positive that Troy didn't know about the EPO in his insulin and the tests are perfectly clear; he'd never taken EPO before and for a good reason. You see, EPO and insulin don't mix well like oil and water. The last injection, created a blood clot which traveled through the victim's arm and up to his heart and the resulting heart attack was fatal."
After hearing that their victim was killed by EPO, Jones thought, that sounds a bit ironic fir a professional sportsman. A while later at the police station, Jones, Scott and Marie were sitting in the office when Nathan approached them. Nathan looked at Marie and said, "Hey Marie, I've got good news! Do you remember that needle mark I found in your victim's arm? Well, I had a closer look at it and the area around it was a bit reddish which didn't make any sense. After all, your victim was used to injecting himself with insulin daily. It turns out Troy's skin got red because of the traces of capsaicin, the substance in chili peppers that make them so deliciously spicy. It was obvious that he was allergic to it.
"Which can only mean that the killer left capsaicin on the syringe when they handled it. Which can also mean that your killer eats spicy food!"
Suddenly, Ramirez ran up to them breathing heavily and Marie asked him, "What's wrong Ramirez?"
Ramirez then looked at the female officer while catching his breath and told her, "I'm sorry...to interrupt...but something...has happened...at the university!"
Jones told Ramirez to calm down and asked what was going on, but Ramirez told him that he needed to catch his breath. After he did, Ramirez looked at Marie again and exclaimed, "The university is calling for you Major! There's been a break-in!"