Something was fundamentally wrong with a society that put so much importance on the outcome of a game, Sam thought as she became increasingly infuriated by what she saw. Smoking hulks of cars, some turned on their sides, blocked her way, forcing her to take a roundabout course to her destination.

Thirty minutes after she left HQ she arrived at Independence Avenue and parked as close as she could get to the back of the National Air and Space Museum, part of the Smithsonian complex. She flashed her badge to the patrol officers guarding the scene and was waved through.

“What’ve we got?” she asked the patrol sergeant.

“A couple of my guys were dragging some crap that was blocking the street to the Dumpsters and found this.” He signaled for her to follow him to a set of garbage bins behind the hulking frame of the museum.

Sam shooed away several seagulls as she approached the most fragrant of the four bins and glanced inside to find a man, facedown. “Did you guys touch him at all?”

“Only to check for a pulse.”

Since they hadn’t identified him, Sam realized she would have to. The vic was well dressed, Sam deduced, based on the quality fabric of the gray suit he wore. From her back pocket, she tugged out a pair of latex gloves. “Did you call the M.E.?” she asked, as she looked for blood on the pavement and found none.

“On her way.”

“Good. Give me a boost.”

His brows furrowed. “Excuse me?”

“Into the Dumpster,” she said, aggravated that she had to explain herself. With her people she never had to explain. They knew. That’s why they were detectives, and this guy was still pounding the pavement in patrol. “You go like this,” she said, lacing her hands together. “Then I put my foot in, and you hoist me over. Weren’t you ever a kid, Sarge?”

“Very funny,” he grumbled. “Pardon me if I’ve never had an LT ask me to hoist her into a Dumpster before.”

“First time for everything,” she said with a big grin. “Fun never ends on this job.”

“You got a crazy idea of fun, lady.”

“I hear that a lot. Ready?”

Frowning, he laced his fingers together and bent at the waist to get low enough for Sam to put her foot into his hands. He propelled her up with more velocity than Sam was expecting, sending her flying into the Dumpster, thankfully clear of the body. She couldn’t help but wonder if the sergeant had enjoyed tossing her into the giant trash can. And they said rank had its privileges. Sure it did.

Speaking of rank...