Finding the Proof
Month 11 Day 3
1020 Hours
Lt Tall Bear
There were 2 guards outside Quarters 42 of deck 4; one at each door. Tall Bear carried a large kit, which he sat down outside the bedroom door, where the captain had stopped. “Document everything,” the captain instructed him. “This could easily become a case of ‘he said, she said,’ so we need to be able to reconstruct what happened when. The fact that a book was under a computer screen may be important. So document everything before you move anything, and again every time you move some thing.”
“Yes, captain,” he agreed. “That’s how we were taught to do
it.”
She hesitated and then sighed. “Look at me, trying to tell
you how to do your job. Do we know which side of the bedroom is MacDowell’s?”
“I can figure it out,” he returned. “She’s the only person
with variable gravity on her bed.”
“That’s right, she is. Well, as soon as you get the bedroom
documented, send a fresh uniform down to the brig for her. And then, as soon as
you get the living room thoroughly documented, inform fabrication so they can
get in and fix things.”
“Yes, Captain.”
She hesitated half a moment. “I haven’t seen the living room.
Any of it, really. But I get the idea that all sorts of things were tossed
about, knocked to the floor and so on. Would that include the computers?”
“The computers were smashed up pretty badly.”
“Then when you are done, also inform Oakhurst. It’s my
understanding MacDowell had several projects she had her computer working on,
and I haven’t heard that she had finished any of them. See what Oakhurst can
save for her.”
“She’ll appreciate that, captain.”
“Well, you know what you need to do, so I’ll let you do it.”
She started to turn away, then turned back again. “Let me know when you’re
done, too. So I know if I need to find temporary quarters for MacDowell’s roommate.”
“Captain, you’ll be the first to know,” he promised. As the
captain moved away, he opened the kit and pulled out the hologram recorder and
its tripod.
Ingersol opened the bedroom door, and they looked inside.
Both beds were made, everything looked to be in place. “Doesn’t look like the
fight got this far,” Ingersol stated.
“I agree, it doesn’t look like it.” Tall Bear stepped to the
middle of the room and set up the recorder, then stepped back out of the room
and gave the command for the machine to record. Afterwards, he took a careful
look around, to make sure nothing had actually been tossed around. It still
didn’t look like any part of the fight had progressed to this room. “Okay, I
guess we can take a fresh uniform to Mac. Computer,” he started, but Ingersol
stepped over to one of the closets and took out a uniform without hesitation.
“How do you know that’s Mac’s uniform?”
“Because I know which side of the bedroom is Della’s.”
Ingersol grinned.
Tall Bear grunted, then opened a couple drawers, found
underwear for Mac, which he handed the other man. “I’m surprised you didn’t
notice, she’s going to need a full set of clothes.” He found a pair of
pantyhose and added those to what the man held. “Okay, go ahead. Give those to
one of the ladies to give to Mac. Mac is still plenty upset.”
“One of the-- Zhang is still active? She works C shift.”
“That’s right. Relieve her when you get there. Tell her I may
need her to work a 12-hour shift when she reports this evening. Depends how
long we hold Mac. Now, get going.”
As Ingersol left, Tall Bear took the hologram recorder into
the living room and set it up. This room was a complete mess, with broken
shards of computer screens, broken chairs and desks. Even the sofa was out of
place. If it were up to me, I’d let her
go as soon as she calmed down. On the other hand, after what she’s been
through, and considering her upbringing, that could take a while.
Aftereffects
Month 11 Day 3
1030 Hours
Capt Jane Burke
“Yes, captain.”
Jane proceeded to her desk and sat down. This is where other captains would probably turn the details over to
someone else, perhaps their yeoman. Why do I feel the need to handle things
myself? Is it just because I’m a woman, and I think I can imagine what
MacDowell is going through? Or do I feel some guilt for not having found some
way to get rid of Winthrop long before
this? Maybe some of both. I’ve been afraid something like this would happen
eventually, and I didn’t even know he was using a black market drug.
“Captain, the ship’s tailor is on line 1,” Blossom announced.
Jane hit the button, and Lt Postern’s face appeared on her computer
screen. “Lieutenant, I need a rush job on a Class C and a Class D uniform for
Lt MacDowell.”
The older man frowned and mumbled the name a couple times
before he could recognize who that was. “Captain, I haven’t started the new uniforms
for lieutenants yet.” That much was obvious, because he wasn’t wearing a new uniform
himself.
“I don’t care. Do these uniforms for this lieutenant, and put
a rush on it. When you get them done, track her down and give them to her
directly. Any questions?”
“She’ll look out of place. And she hasn’t got the seniority
to be the first lieutenant in new uniforms.”
“Never-the-less, one of her C uniforms has been damaged beyond
repair, and it doesn’t make sense for you to make her a replacement of the old
design.”
“Beyond repair?” Postern sighed. “Very well, I’ll get right
on it.”
“Fabrication on line 2,” Blossom said.
Jane punched the button, and Lt Eckleson replaced Postern on
her computer screen. “Yes, captain?”
“Deck 4, Quarters 42 has sustained substantial damage,” she
told him. “As soon as Security is done gathering evidence, you’ll need to get
in there and put it back together. But I want it to look different.”
“Different, captain?”
“Yes, different. It seems one of the occupants was attacked
in that quarters, and I don’t want her to have to come back to something that
looks the same. Move the furniture, use a different color scheme, put some kind
of pattern on the sofa. Make it so she isn’t reminded of that attack every time
she enters. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Mr Smythe is on line one.”
“Smitty, I need a variable gravity field placed on the bed in
one of the brig cells.”
“What in space for?” Must
have caught him by surprise.
“Well, as best I can figure, this the time she would normally
be sleeping.”
All the color drained from Smitty’s face. “Oh, no.” he shook
his head sadly. “I told her to keep that temper in check.”
Yes, he immediately
assumes she’s guilty. “We don’t know that she
initiated the altercation,” Jane told him. “But the other party is in sick bay,
so she’s in the brig at least until all the evidence is gathered.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All right,
Captain. I’ll get on it right away.”
“Send the Harris woman,” Jane suggested. “MacDowell might
appreciate seeing a friendly face. Burke out.” She broke the connection and sat
back. Is that all? Is there anything else
to be done? I can’t think of anything else. 4 hours to get that drug out of
Winthrop’s blood. And then I shouldn’t intrude into the interview. That’s up to
Tall Bear.
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