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Post by LucianG on Apr 7, 2005 6:11:29 GMT -6
NOTE: THIS OCCURS SLIGHTLY BEFORE THE KLAXXON SOUNDED. THE WRITER JUST DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO FINISH….
Thinking he’d heard a noise in the bedroom, Urdea rose from his seat and opened the door slightly, only to see Abby lying in bed, evidently asleep, with the bedsheet pulled almost over her head. He smiled at the sleeping woman and quietly closed the door. Then, he sat back down with the lieutenant.
“Lieutenant, your statement is a bold one, and one not to be made lightly. We have what we believe is a complete list of potential suspects. Tell me, for the sake of argument, if I was Opposer Pierce, how you would convince me to actually bring Colonel Charybdis to tribunal for the murder of Elmer,” said Urdea.
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Post by LucianG on Apr 12, 2005 5:41:05 GMT -6
The lieutenant looked directly at Captain Urdea and replied, “Yes, Sir…uhm…Opposer Pierce…it’s true we started off with a fairly long list of suspects, but our investigators have been able to eliminate most of them for one reason or another. The details for each are in the file if you want to study them closely. For now, let’s look at the Colonel. As I said, he had the motive, the means, and the opportunity to commit the crime. Let’s look first at opportunity. Elmer went to the Colonel’s room, supposedly of his own volition, to confront the Colonel. We know he entered the room while the Colonel was here and that Elmer’s death occurred here. From the Colonel’s own admission, we know the time of his departure, which has been verified to within a few centons by outside sources who encountered him elsewhere on the Callisto. The estimated time of death was established at the time of the on-scene investigation, and that time was verified by the autopsy conducted by Doc BKJ—”
Urdea interrupted, “The initial estimate showed time of death to be around 15 to 20 centons before the Colonel left, plus or minus 15 centons. Doc’s investigation confirmed these times?”
A nod, “Doc BKJ’s estimate was a range, from about 30 centons before to 30 centons after his departure. She said that it’s not at all uncommon for the two estimates to vary a little, but she also confirmed that it’s likely that the initial estimate was as accurate as the time established by the lab—”
The klaxon suddenly sounded and both officers rose immediately. “To duty stations, Lieutenant. We will continue this after…whatever this crisis is…is over.”
“But what about the Colonel, Sir?” asked the Lieutenant, seeing the chance to make the arrest slipping away.
“When the crisis is over, Lieutenant,” replied Urdea firmly, guiding the Lieutenant out the door.
As they exited the room, Urdea noted that Lieutenant Magon was stationed outside his door. “Lieutenant Magon, please take up a position inside my quarters. Your duty in this current crisis is to protect Miss Abby, who is asleep in my bedroom, at all costs. Unless there is a major emergency, let her sleep. If she awakens, let her know that I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Ordering the other officer to remain outside the door, Urdea headed to his office to check orders from the Bridge and to deploy his forces accordingly….
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