Miguel received it with a look of gratitude. “Thanks.” He surveyed the platform as Rosa filled him in on what she knew.
“The body is as I found it. As you can see, there aren’t any signs of blood, only some bodily fluid issues.” Rosa pointed to the wet spots she had just noticed on Victor’s jeans. These reactions were common in the recently deceased. “There appear to be burn marks on the fingers of the right hand.”
Miguel glanced up. “Electrocution?”
“That would be my guess,” Rosa said. “Skip, a carnie who arrived on the scene at the same time as I did, noticed some blackened marks on the control panel.” Rosa pointed to the areas. “And also mentioned the levers are usually covered in rubber for safety.”
Only now did Rosa grasp that if Skip hadn’t been there to help, she could have quite possibly electrocuted herself. She needed to read up on the technicalities of electricity and electrical engineering.
Miguel glanced up from his notes. “Did you happen to notice the time?”
Rosa tapped her wristwatch. “I found him like this at sixteen forty-eight.”
Their gazes locked, and a moment of silence stretched between them. When they had police business to discuss, they were great together, Rosa mused, but then out of nowhere, her heart interfered in the most juvenile way, and, quite inappropriately, she was contemplating how attractive Miguel was when in take-charge mode.
“Rosa?”
“Oh, yes, sorry, my mind drifted.” Rosa had to rein in her thoughts! Best to get back to business and the seriousness of the current situation. “What can I do to help?”
“Would you mind going to the bandstand to let my piano player, Terence, know what’s happened? My partner, Detective Sanchez, is here somewhere. Ask Terence to find him and send him my way. The band can go on without me or bow out of the second set.
“Would you mind watching Diego? It’ll be easier for me to run.”
Miguel looked up in surprise. “You brought your cat to the fair?”
Rosa flashed him a wry smile over her shoulder as she rushed away.
5
By the time Rosa had returned to the scene at the roller coaster, yellow rope had been strung up by the police, blocking off the area. People stood in groups, staring and pointing, curious as to why the roller coaster had stopped, some expressing outrage at having paid good money to come to the fair, and how disappointing it was!
Pushing past them, Rosa wondered if Miguel had discovered anything new while she was gone. But Marjorie and her group, who were laughing and obviously not aware of the emergency, intercepted her.
“You missed a neato keeno ride, Rosa!” Marjorie stood between Rosa and Rosa’s view of Miguel.
“Oh. Yes. Well . . .” Rosa ducked her head to the side, feeling caught between the need to explain herself to her group of friends and the urge to return to Miguel and the scene.
Nancy followed Rosa’s gaze. “What’s going on over there?”
Mr. Henderson, marching in his ox-like fashion, was bearing toward Miguel, and Rosa didn’t want to miss what the manager had to say. Even though she wasn’t officially working with the police department on this case, she was a material witness and couldn’t help but feel invested.
“Excuse me,” she told Marjorie and Nancy, slipping between them and Pauline.
It occurred to Rosa that while her Aunt Louisa would always introduce Rosa as a police officer, Gloria usually introduced her as her cousin from London. As far as Rosa knew, even Nancy was unaware of Rosa’s chosen vocation as they’d stopped writing by the time Rosa had decided to join the force. She left confused whispers in her wake as she rushed toward the yellow rope.
Miguel regarded Rosa with interest as she approached, his warm eyes never failing to cause her heart to flutter. She gritted her teeth, determined to remain professional.
“Detective Sanchez is informing the Chief Medical Examiner and will join us shortly,” Rosa said.
Despite Miguel’s firm grip, Diego squirmed out of his big hands. “He kept crawling out of your bag.”
Rosa grabbed the kitten before he could scurry away, and after a soft reprimand, tucked him back into her satchel. “What have you figured out?” she asked.
“I don’t think this death was natural,” Miguel said, looking relieved to be off kitten duty. “And I’m not sure it was an accident.”
Since Skip had mentioned the missing rubber on the control lever, Rosa’s intuition had been the same. “His name is Victor Boyd.”
Miguel raised a brow. “I didn’t find a name tag or any identification.”
“I remember him from school.”
The reference to Rosa’s time in Santa Bonita during the war was like a shock of electricity between them. Those were the days when Rosa and Miguel had been desperately in love.
Miguel looked away, but Rosa didn’t miss how he swallowed.
A flurry of murmurs erupted behind Rosa, and her memories slammed back to the present. By the look on Miguel’s face, he seemed back as well. She supposed the onlookers were bound to figure it out soon enough. She just hoped they would keep their voices low so as not to draw too much of a crowd.
“His fingers and hands show signs of burns,” Rosa said.
Miguel nodded. “I noticed that too. Fingers blackened and blistered.” He called on Mr. Henderson. “Sir, when was the last time you had this equipment inspected?”
“Two days ago!” The manager who had held no variance in expression before this, reddened suddenly. The creases in his forehead deepened. “I get this equipment checked every week, without fail.”
Rosa felt Diego moving around in her satchel, sparking a memory. She still hadn’t gotten her kitty a drink of water, but more importantly, she wondered if Miguel had seen any signs of the water Diego had led her to earlier. “Miguel, did you notice any water on the platform?”
Miguel’s bottom lip protruded as he shook his head.
Rosa pointed behind the platform. “It looks like it may have leaked out from somewhere inside.”
Miguel and Mr. Henderson both
