true that I have been involved in a number of important student strikes. But those were different. We were protesting possible tuition hikes. Look, I’ll even admit that the police picked me up one night for defacing university property—but that was two years ago. I’m through with that kind of stuff. I swear I am.”
The same woman’s voice we heard before asks Jonah whether he eats meat and fish.
“Absolutely not!” Jonah sounds insulted, “I’m vegan.”
The woman asks whether Jonah has any problem with other people eating meat and fish and whether he thinks the university cafeteria should have more vegetarian options.
“Now that you mention it,” Jonah says, “more vegetarian and vegan options would be cool.”
“I hope you guys took notes,” Lloyd tells us when the video is over.
Stacey looks up. “I made a list of everything they said.”
“You’ve just met your four suspects,” Samantha tells us. “I think you’ll agree that each one has a plausible motive for vandalizing the cafeteria.”
Lloyd needs Samantha’s help to get supplies for our next activity, and so for a few minutes it is just the six of us at the conference table.
Nico does a double swivel in his chair. “I still think Mrs. Lu did it.”
“Even if she feels frustrated, I don’t think Mrs. Lu would risk losing her job. Not when she has a family to support,” I say.
Mason grins at me from across the table. “Now who’s talking about forensics camp as if it’s real?”
NINE
When the counselors get back, they are each carrying a long tub with sand in it. Lloyd arranges the two tubs side by side on the floor. “Most people don’t realize how much information footwear evidence can provide. I need two volunteers for our next activity. How ’bout Mason and Tabitha?”
“Sure!” I say. I want to learn everything I can about footwear evidence. And not just because no one took footwear impressions at the scene of our break-and-enter.
Lloyd asks us to walk on the sand. “Just the way you’d normally walk. Without thinking about it.”
Mason and I walk through the sand, and then we all gather to examine the evidence.
We can see right away that my feet are smaller than Mason’s, but Lloyd also shows us how the tracks in the sand reveal that Mason is wearing runners and I have sandals on.
“What else do you see?” Lloyd watches for our reactions. He obviously takes being FIG seriously.
Nico raises his hand. “I see two tubs of sand!”
Lloyd ignores Nico. “I want you guys to think about the different ways people walk. A person’s walk is kind of like their signature. For example, I’ve noticed that Tabitha walks quickly, with her chin leading the way.”
I do? That’s news to me. I pat my chin. Maybe observing other people is easier than observing ourselves.
“Now, Mason takes his time when he walks.”
That, on the other hand, is definitely not news. How many hours of my life have I spent waiting for Mason to catch up to me? “I want you to look carefully. Can you find evidence of those habits in their footwear impressions?”
When Lloyd asks that question, it’s like a lightbulb goes on over my head—just like in a cartoon. When I look at my footwear impressions, I see the indentations are deeper at the toe than at the sole. Mason’s indentations are more even. How cool is that!
“There’s more,” Lloyd says. “Every shoe has unique wear indentations.” He points to a fan-shaped spot at the bottom of my left impression. “I’d say the heel of Tabatha’s left sandal is coming loose.” I kick off the sandal and turn it over. Lloyd is right. I am going to have to take my sandals to the shoe-repair guy.
Nathaniel leans over to get a closer look at the bottom of my sandal. “Wow!” he says.
Lloyd tugs on the bottom of his earlobe. “I must be hearing things—because I thought I heard Nathaniel use the word wow ,” he says.
Samantha has been taking photographs of both sets of
The same woman’s voice we heard before asks Jonah whether he eats meat and fish.
“Absolutely not!” Jonah sounds insulted, “I’m vegan.”
The woman asks whether Jonah has any problem with other people eating meat and fish and whether he thinks the university cafeteria should have more vegetarian options.
“Now that you mention it,” Jonah says, “more vegetarian and vegan options would be cool.”
“I hope you guys took notes,” Lloyd tells us when the video is over.
Stacey looks up. “I made a list of everything they said.”
“You’ve just met your four suspects,” Samantha tells us. “I think you’ll agree that each one has a plausible motive for vandalizing the cafeteria.”
Lloyd needs Samantha’s help to get supplies for our next activity, and so for a few minutes it is just the six of us at the conference table.
Nico does a double swivel in his chair. “I still think Mrs. Lu did it.”
“Even if she feels frustrated, I don’t think Mrs. Lu would risk losing her job. Not when she has a family to support,” I say.
Mason grins at me from across the table. “Now who’s talking about forensics camp as if it’s real?”
NINE
When the counselors get back, they are each carrying a long tub with sand in it. Lloyd arranges the two tubs side by side on the floor. “Most people don’t realize how much information footwear evidence can provide. I need two volunteers for our next activity. How ’bout Mason and Tabitha?”
“Sure!” I say. I want to learn everything I can about footwear evidence. And not just because no one took footwear impressions at the scene of our break-and-enter.
Lloyd asks us to walk on the sand. “Just the way you’d normally walk. Without thinking about it.”
Mason and I walk through the sand, and then we all gather to examine the evidence.
We can see right away that my feet are smaller than Mason’s, but Lloyd also shows us how the tracks in the sand reveal that Mason is wearing runners and I have sandals on.
“What else do you see?” Lloyd watches for our reactions. He obviously takes being FIG seriously.
Nico raises his hand. “I see two tubs of sand!”
Lloyd ignores Nico. “I want you guys to think about the different ways people walk. A person’s walk is kind of like their signature. For example, I’ve noticed that Tabitha walks quickly, with her chin leading the way.”
I do? That’s news to me. I pat my chin. Maybe observing other people is easier than observing ourselves.
“Now, Mason takes his time when he walks.”
That, on the other hand, is definitely not news. How many hours of my life have I spent waiting for Mason to catch up to me? “I want you to look carefully. Can you find evidence of those habits in their footwear impressions?”
When Lloyd asks that question, it’s like a lightbulb goes on over my head—just like in a cartoon. When I look at my footwear impressions, I see the indentations are deeper at the toe than at the sole. Mason’s indentations are more even. How cool is that!
“There’s more,” Lloyd says. “Every shoe has unique wear indentations.” He points to a fan-shaped spot at the bottom of my left impression. “I’d say the heel of Tabatha’s left sandal is coming loose.” I kick off the sandal and turn it over. Lloyd is right. I am going to have to take my sandals to the shoe-repair guy.
Nathaniel leans over to get a closer look at the bottom of my sandal. “Wow!” he says.
Lloyd tugs on the bottom of his earlobe. “I must be hearing things—because I thought I heard Nathaniel use the word wow ,” he says.
Samantha has been taking photographs of both sets of
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