He shook his head.

“Did you touch the body?”

He closed his eyes and swallowed. “God. No.”

“Where are the rest of the kids?” she asked. The only nonemergency vehicle in view was Taggert’s minivan.

“I called everyone and canceled tonight’s practice right after I called nine-one-one.” He drank from the water bottle.

Stella scanned the empty fields. “Do you know when this field was used last?”

“Games usually run until nine or ten Saturday night. Yesterday was a washout.” Taggert screwed the cap back on.

But the facility wasn’t fenced. Anyone could have wandered in.

“Did you see any other people or vehicles in the area?” Stella asked.

“No.”

Stella considered the wet ground. “We’ll need to borrow your shoes.”

Mr. Taggert followed her gaze and began unlacing his muddy cleats. “Sure. I have my work boots in the car.”

“Thanks for your help. We’ll call you if we have any further questions.” Stella led the way toward the ball field. Brody followed.

A tall chain-link fence ran behind home plate and angled off toward first and third bases. Bleachers fanned out on either side. They turned toward the yellow crime scene tape that fluttered around one of the dugouts. Mud sucked at their shoes as they walked across ten feet of sopping grass.

Stella studied the spongy ground between the parking area and the field. “Two sets of footprints. Forensics will have to match the treads, but let’s assume those are Taggert’s.” She pointed to a line of footprints that ended next to the vomit. The second set stopped a few feet earlier. “And those belong to the uniform.”

Brody studied the ground. “If the victim or anyone else walked back here after yesterday’s storms, we’d definitely see footprints.”

“So she’s been here since before the rain,” Stella said. “But probably not until late Saturday night, after the games were finished.”

The thick, humid air intensified the odor as they neared the entrance to the dugout. The almost sweet, metallic scent seeped past Stella’s sinuses and penetrated her taste buds. She clamped her mouth closed and breathed through her nose. Didn’t help much. Next to her, Brody exhaled as they faced the body.

In damp jeans and a long-sleeved blouse, a woman was sprawled on the aluminum bench. Long hair spilled across her face in a brown curtain, and a pale blue silk scarf was knotted loosely around her neck. Flies buzzed around her head. One hand trailed off into a mud puddle, and animals had found the corpse. Stella spotted a hypodermic needle in the mud under the bench and a brown leather purse on the bench.

She turned in a circle. “The back of the dugout shielded her from view of the street or parking lot.”

Frank came around the dugout and stood next to Stella. He put on gloves as he scanned the scene. “What do we know?”