Experience Matters
Ali cautiously moved about the room, scanning it, looking for anything unusual or out of place. He had put his weapon back in his pocket. He turned his attention to the two bodies. He took a few deep breaths and said, “He was here yesterday. He stood next to this man,” said Ali, pointing at Dave Williams, “shot him first and then the other. Kelly, don’t touch anything with your hands. The soot will very easily take our fingerprints. Be extra careful.”
It was not easy for Kelly, the skeptic, to accept his theory without reasons. What was Ali’s evidence? What did he see that could tell him this information and make him so sure? She questioned Ali. “How can you tell all that?”
“The powder burn on the side of his head and the rate of decomposition of the bodies tells me all this.”
“But you didn’t examine the bodies!” she exclaimed. “You didn’t even touch them! How can you comment on the decomposition rate?”
Ali tapped his nose. “Actually, I don’t have to. I have been on enough battlefields to be able to tell at a glance—or a sniff—how old a body is. Experience matters.”
“Understood, but how do you know the order of the killings?”
“Common sense. It is how I would have done it. Kill the man closest first so that he cannot jump on you. The other man will get to his feet to run or to fight back. The moment he does this, his full body is exposed and thus makes himself a better target. Your aim would be a sure shot in that case; you have more area to shoot at.”
“Something like the story of David and Goliath,” said Kelly. She