Burning Bright

Firefighter EMT Rafe Sanchez performed a quick double check of all lines before giving the signal that his patient was ready for transport up the steep hillside. She had taken a tumble while jogging the incline trail at North Woods Park. "Ladies first," he said with a reassuring smile. She returned it with a tired but relieved smile of her own.

"I'm never going to live this down when my family and co-workers find out."

His grin grew, he'd recognized her the minute he'd reached the bottom of the hill. Ainsley Whitley. "About that… you work for FOX5?"

A grimace replaced the tired smile as her eyes grew wary, "Why?"

"Yeah," Rafe scratched the back of his neck then cast a glance overhead to where the rest of his team waited, now accompanied by a camera man, "I'm pretty sure they know."

The journey up painfully jarred her injured leg, but Ainsley remained quiet until the litter she was in reached the trail.

"Oh," she blurted out once firmly back on solid ground.

A second EMT leaned closer while unhooking the rescue line. "What's wrong?"

She tried to glance over the edge of the litter, "My phone. I left it on the pile of rocks where I'd been sitting."

He smiled, "Not a problem. One phone rescue coming up." He fingered the call button on his shoulder, "Hey partner, the lady left her phone down there. Grab it for her, will ya'?"

"Can do," emitted back promptly.

They were close to the trailhead and an awaiting ambulance when Ainsley's rescuer's voice returned over the team's radios, "Hey Cap, we're going to need NYPD back down here and someone from the coroner's office."

The group came to an abrupt stop, "Say again?"

"Um, where her phone was resting…. It wasn't a rock," the voice paused, then added, "It's a skull."

The head of the New York Special Crimes Unit had been in his office getting ready to head home for the weekend when the call came in ruining any hope of leaving the city before rush hour traffic. Returning the phone to the cradle, Gil Arroyo cast a final resigned glance at the cleared off desk in his office before he tugged his coat from the hook on the back of the door. Detectives in the bullpen glanced up when he signaled for two to follownon his way to the elevator, "Powell. Tarmel. You're with me." No further words wasted, the pair were on their feet and joined him inside before the doors slid closed. "Burned body uncovered in North Woods Park after an EMS rescue," he explained. "We need to hustle if we want to get there before the sun goes down."

"There goes the weekend," Detective JT Tarmel groaned. "He joining us?"

Gil's phone pinged a message before he could answer, the screen displayed what appeared to be a rambling message from Bright. "He'll meet us there."

"Five bucks says he didn't text that in five words or less." JT added with a grin behind Gil's back to Dani. Most knew the large detective's animosity towards their profiler had grudgingly changed since the newcomer had proven himself during their latest cases.

"Hey," she lightly punched him in the arm, "Bright's growing on you. Admit it."

His shrug may have been nonchalant, but the quirk of a smile hinted at the truth. "Like mold on cheese."

"That's just gross."

The lift stopped on the first floor. "You two done?" Gil was out the front door, not waiting for an answer.

Activity buzzed around Gil Arroyo like a well-oiled machine. By the time his team arrived, Medical Examiner Dr. Edrisa Tanaka was already present kneeling beside the skeletal remains, her attention focused on each new bone slowly revealed. A portable lamp chased away the encroaching shadows and Gil stepped closer when she paused to push her bangs from her eyes with the back of a gloved hand before leaning in closer to peer at whatever she'd found. His gaze followed hers to what was left of a body. "What is it?" he inquired as she directed the photographer to document before she carefully removed a small metallic looking object and held it up for closer inspection with forceps.

"I'm not sure." She dropped it into a clear evidence bag, attached a label, then handed it to him to examine.

He held it up in the air, trying to catch some of the fading sunlight cutting through the thick trees for a better view. Whatever it was, it didn't look familiar.

"May I?" Malcolm Bright's distinct voice asked from behind.

Gil hadn't heard the young man's approach and turned to find his profiler dressed as though he'd stepped out of an LL Bean catalog. "Bright," he acknowledged while his profiler unhooked the safety line with practiced ease before jutting out his hand in gimme' expectation. "How's Ainsley?" Gil asked, passing the evidence bag.

"Fractured tibia. Tried to get released AMA to come back and cover 'her story' but the doctor and Mother weren't about to let that happen. She's in surgery now." Malcolm studied the bag's content one way and then the other before his piercing gaze shifted to meet Gil's.

"It's a quarrel."

"A quarrel?"

Bright nods to himself, his focus back on the object in hand. "Yes. See here the four corners," his index finger traced over an edge, "this is where it connects to a shaft."

"Shaft? Like a crossbow?"

"Yes, a crossbow bolt is similar to an arrow for a bow. Standard bolts come in various types of heads. And this," Bright adds, passing the bag back to his boss, "is definitely a Quarrel which comes from the French word carrʹe meaning square for the typically squared head."

"You think our vic was killed with a crossbow?" JT stepped over a large fallen branch to get a better view of the small projectile. "Where's the rest of it?"

Dr. Tanaka stood to join the small group, but her focus remained on Malcolm until he passed her a wrapped candy which she promptly pocketed. Caught once again by the others of her staring in awe at his knowledge, she coughed lightly to hide her slip. "I won't be able to confirm a possible cause of death until I get the victim back to my lab."

"Anything else you can tell us about the body?" Gil asked.

"Not at the moment other than it's a male in his late 20s to early 30s. There appears to be nothing here but burned bones. I'll know more after I do my examination."

"What about you, JT? Did either you or Dani find anything to add?"

"I didn't. Powell is still up on the walking trail but last I heard from her there's no sign of an event. The past few days of rain hasn't helped the crime scene crew, that's for sure. Who knows how long this guy has been out here."

Malcolm moved past the pair to hunker down beside Edrisa and watched intently while the bones were packed for transport. He scratched the revealed bare ground when she was finished and sniffed the soil on his fingertips. "No signs of animal damage or cadaver bugs, and the ground doesn't smell of accelerant. Our victim couldn't have been here very long." She nodded in agreement and accepted his hand up before leaving with her team. He then surveyed the surrounding area which had grown dark outside of the search lights. "The bones were brought here," he murmured more so to himself, "meticulously placed in order, not carelessly dumped over the hill side. That means 206 bones of an average sized male of at least 160 pounds equates to 22 pounds of bones, give or take, carried through a public park by someone who spent a good deal of time on placement."

He turned back to find Gil and JT waiting. "Whoever did this obviously has knowledge of skeletal anatomy and of the park."

"Also, the quarrel may not have been placed with the bones. New York does permit crossbows during specified hunting seasons." He splayed his open palms up, "Although this is a public park…. So, no hunting. And this is a burial site of sorts. If it hadn't been for Ainsley falling, I doubt the person who brought the bones here imagined the body would've ever been found."

Gil's dark brown eyes narrowed on Malcolm when the younger man grew quiet. He didn't miss the deep calming breaths and clenched fists. "Bright, what is it?"

"Something. Nothing. Just... thinking." He spun with a finger in the air, then paused, "If this is a murder... The burnt body, the quarrel, even the organized disposal of the bones. A possible killer this meticulous demonstrates skill. Planning."

"So this is most likely not the first body, but an addition to a practiced killer's repertoire," Gil finished.

Malcolm brushed past Gil and JT, "I need to work on my profile. " Hooked to one of the lines used by the police presence he climbed up to the path. Dani passed him on her way down.

"Bright." He didn't answer her greeting and was gone without a backward glance. "What'd I miss?" she asked, casting a glance between the two remaining men, then followed their gaze back up the now darkened hill side. "Oh."

Author's Note: Great Geezers Ghost, the rust on my writing muse is wicked. It's been 10 years so this may not be quick like the good ol' days, but it's fun to be posting once more. See you soon.