“Inmate Loften was working in Sanitation,” Johnson said. “That’s a volunteer detail of inmates who collect all trash from the facility. It appears that when Loften emptied a container into the compactor, he slipped, fell in and was subsequently crushed.”

Reddick winced.

“When did this happen?” Cruz asked.

Johnson consulted his phone. “This morning.”

“Has his death been confirmed?” Morrow asked.

“We’re in the process of recovering his body from the compactor. We’re working with the company, and we’re investigating the incident,” Johnson said.

“How are you investigating?” Morrow asked.

“We’re working with Miami-Dade police and the medical examiner, in keeping with protocol, reviewing security cameras and questioning all facilities and management personnel.”

“Can I observe the review of the security cameras?” Morrow asked. “Because there was a case in Texas—”

“Agent Morrow,” Captain Smith’s demeanor cooled, and he removed his glasses. “Inmate Loften’s death was a tragic accident. He slipped on a substance on the dock, which resulted in his fall,” Smith said as he assessed Morrow, then the detectives. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that the FBI has no jurisdiction in this immediate ongoing matter. Now, I assure you that our investigation will be thorough, and when it’s concluded, we’ll let you know.”

“That would be appreciated,” Morrow said.

Reddick gave Morrow a little smile as they left the jail.

“You got balls, Morrow,” he said.

Officers and medical-examiner staff worked in protective suits, with gloves, boots, goggles and masks, as sanitation-company experts went through the meticulous process of dismantling the compactor at the dock where Loften was seen falling into the chute.

The daily load from the unit had not yet been removed, but it was nearly full. The slow, careful work by the sanitation people allowed investigators access to the stinking, crushed garbage so they could use poles to probe it for Loften’s corpse.

It was a drawn-out, stomach-churning process that would take several more hours.

Inside the institution at one of the jail’s main security-camera hubs, Miami-Dade detective Frank Tester led the review of surveillance footage of the dock. He worked with correctional officers at the vast console of panels and monitors in the control room. They needed to ensure that Loften’s death was an accident: that he was not pushed, and that his fall wasn’t the result of an altercation.

“One more time,” Tester said.

They reviewed the footage showing Loften’s first trip to the dock, losing the bin in the chute, hopping in to retrieve it, then hopping out. On his second visit, footage showed him dumping his bin and slipping and falling into the chute without exiting. There were over a hundred cameras to monitor the entire institution, but no one actually had witnessed Loften’s fall at the time it took place.