Toil and Trouble: (A Geeks and Things Cozy Mystery Short Story) (Geeks and Things Cozy Mysteries Book 0) by Sarah Biglow Page B

people are nuts.”
    She pointed to the young woman tied to the fence posts. “You see that girl? She’s hurt really badly. Were you sitting here before she showed up?”
    “What? No way. I showed up for my shift like a half hour ago.” He pointed to the girl. “That was already there.”
    “Aunt K., shouldn’t we get her down?”
    “No. This is a crime scene. We can’t touch anything. We wait for the police to show up and we tell them what we saw. They’ll handle it from there.”
    She knew if she told her nephew that she intended to see this through, he’d want to get just as involved and then her sister would kill her for sure. Finally, she spotted the blue and white lights of a police car and high-pitched wailing of an ambulance siren. She scooped up the phone and said, “The police are here,” and ended the call.
    “Thanks for the phone.”
    A tall, slender black man in a windbreaker and jeans approached them. He held up a badge. “I’m Sergeant Evan Whitman. You called in about an injured woman?”
    Kalina stepped up and offered her hand. “Yes, sir. My nephew and I were about to enter the maze when I noticed some blood on her neck. I felt for a pulse and it’s faint.” She hoped it would explain the blood smears on her fingertips.
    “And other than checking for a pulse you didn’t do anything else?”
    “No, sir. We waited for you to arrive.”
    “Please wait here. My associate, Officer Larkin, will take your statements.” Sergeant Whitman turned to the frat boy. “What about you?”
    “Man, I was just sitting here. I didn’t anything. She was here when I got here. I swear.”
    Sergeant Whitman didn’t seem pleased with the answer but said nothing more. Paramedics climbed out of the back of the ambulance and approached the young woman with a backboard and oxygen mask. One of the medics produced a knife and cut the rope free. His partner caught the girl’s weight as she came off the fence posts. Officer Larkin cleared his throat and motioned for Kalina and AJ to join him away from the frenzy.
    “I’m going to need your names and contact details for the report. And I’ll need you to give statements down at the station. Sorry to ruin your evening.”
    “That’s fine, Officer. We want to help. Whatever statements we need to give I’m sure we can do them here.”
    “I’ll get the forms from the car.”
    As soon as Officer Larkin was out of earshot, AJ nudged Kalina hard in the ribs. “You’re up to something, Aunt K. I can see it in your eyes. What’s going on?”
    “Nothing. Look, your mother would kill me if I let you get involved in something like this. It’s just curiosity.”
    “Please. I can help. We’d be a great team.”
    “Fine. We give our statements and then we’re going to find out if any of the volunteers tonight were from a sorority.”
    “Why would that matter?”
    “Because the victim is wearing a bracelet with Greek letters on it. I’m guessing she belongs to a sorority and if we can figure out which one, maybe we can find out who she is and, more importantly, who might want to hurt her.”
    “Won’t Sergeant Whitman get upset?”
    “He won’t know. We’ll stay out of his way and let him run his investigation. Besides, we are free to go once we give our statements and there’s so much more of the festival to see.”

CHAPTER THREE
     
    Officer Larkin returned with the paperwork and they gave their statements. Kalina kept an eye out as the paramedics put an oxygen mask over the girl’s nose and mouth and bandaged her chest and head. They loaded her onto the backboard and carted her back to the ambulance.
    “I think that does it,” Officer Larkin announced.
    “If you need anything else from us, I put my cell phone number down,” Kalina said and pointed to the spot on the form.
    “Good, thanks. I know it sounds kind of heartless but do try to enjoy the rest of the festival.”
    Kalina gave him a smile and led AJ back to the center of town. They