Chapter 28U - (is for Urdea...)

[LucianG]

Urdea, as a trained professional investigator, couldn’t say that he was actually surprised that Abby showed up on the list. After all, there were several murders in the Fleet each yahren, and even more suicides; in a sealed environment where supplies were often short and tempers often flared, Urdea was glad that it wasn’t worse than it was. For a number of yahrens before transferring to the Callisto to become its Security chief, he had been one of the top death investigators in the Fleet. He’d eventually trained several other investigators, including his current aide, Lieutenant Proteus, and had overseen the Fleet’s Investigations Division. As a result of his experience, he knew the spouse was usually considered a possible suspect until something was discovered or done to remove him or her from the list.

“Yeah, this lady is somewhere on the Callisto right now,” continued Wheran without a pause. “Turns out they were supposed to take a shuttle back to the Agro Ship earlier this shift, but both of them took off from the shuttle bay, which I’ve confirmed, but I haven’t been able to track her down since then. Personnel records show that they’ve been sealed since shortly after the Exodus. I suggest that we look closely at her since she may not have an alibi.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” said Urdea, noncommittally. “What’s next?”

Wheran looked at his list and said, “Sir, the next suspect is THAT Warrior, Captain Amy."

[LucianG]

"...Captain Amy.”

Urdea was surprised at that statement. Captain Amy? In Fleet Security, EVERYONE knew about “THAT” Warrior. Most of the officers accepted, and even liked, her now, but at one time, she had been hated by the majority of the Black Shirts. Among some, the old opinions died hard. Urdea wondered if Wheran was one of those….

“I understand that she returned to the Callisto earlier this cycle, and from what I’ve heard, she and her father got along rather poorly,” said Wheran. “I haven’t had time to track her down yet, but it’s quite possible she could have sneaked up her to see her…boyfriend… and offed her father instead.”

“Lieutenant, Captain Amy has been in a coma in the Med Lab since she returned to the Callisto in a cryo-tube. You can cross her off your list.”

Wheran looked stunned, almost even hurt. “Uh, sorry Sir. We haven’t had a lot of time to check out all of these possibilities; however, the next one, while a long shot, is a real possibility based on what we’ve been able to dig up so far.”

“Okay, Lieutenant, let me have it,” ordered Urdea.

“Well, Sir. Did this guy have any enemies, maybe Organization contacts, that would have wanted him dead? He’s a frackin’ farmer, so I’d seriously doubt it. But, and this is a big BUT, there could be an Organization tie. Based on what I saw in there, this really could have been a professional hit, and in that case, who would have had something to gain? Well, my thought is that former high and mighty Major Brie was really ticked when Colonel Charybdis hung her out to dry in the Tribunal. She might have gotten someone to do it to set up Charybdis to take the fall."

[LucianG]

Wheran continued, “That’s admittedly a long shot; however, since it couldn’t be traced to this, I had Sergeant Whitcher do a computer check of her whereabouts since she’s been in custody. Surprisingly, Sir, there are some gaping holes that she could have easily used to contact, well, someone. Frack, one of her former Squadron mates even has what appears to be some type of organizational ties. She could have gotten him to contact someone for her. Now, like I said, this is a little out there, but she WAS left by herself for a few centons during the Tribunal, and then there have been several visitors while she was in the Brig, plus a couple of glitches that indicate someone was interfering with the security camera. It’s entirely possible that someone could have been visiting with her during those times. I’ve got Whitcher checking to see if any visitors were noted by the Brig staff, particularly any visitors that she shouldn’t have had. Finally, she spent some time earlier today in the SIM. Sir, she’s in there for a centar, by herself, with communications gear that, in the hands of someone with her…talents…could easily be compromised. She could have contacted someone and been back in her cell in the Brig with a perfect alibi.”

Urdea nodded. However improbable, that might have been a possible scenario for someone other than former Major Brie. Urdea knew her fairly well and didn’t think for a moment that was something she would have done. He sighed. Too many suspects that were far too long shots. He nodded, and said, “Go on,” hoping that Wheran’s laundry list of suspects would soon be done, and that he'd quickly be able to find evidence to prove that Elmer had committed suicide or find compelling evidence pointing to the real guilty party, if it was indeed murder.

“And finally, Sir, did his wife have any boyfriends or lovers? If so, one of them might have wanted to kill this guy,” said Wheran. “I saw Elmer’s wife’s picture in the Fleet records. It’s kind of an old photo, but I suspect that, even getting close to 50 yahrens, she’s still a really good-looking lady.” Wheran said, almost conspiratorially, “That can be a very powerful motive for murder for some guys, Sir.”

Urdea felt a cold chill. Suddenly, in Wheran-logic, he was on the edge of being a suspect himself! Rather than responding to Wheran’s theories immediately, Urdea asked, “Is that it?”

“That’s all I’ve got, Sir. Want to go in and take a look around?”

“Yes, Lieutenant, much as it pains me to say it, I really, really do. After that, we’ll go through your list of suspects to see if we can...narrow it down a wee bit.” They entered the Colonel’s quarters, with Proteus and Atropas right behind them.

[LucianG]

“Colonel Charybdis,” greeted Urdea. “I apologize for the delay.” He moved close to Charybdis and said, “Sir, I’m going to observe the crime scene briefly, and then I’ll be back to speak with you. I’ll probably have a few questions for you, and then we’ll see about getting you out of here.”

* * *

The room was a mess, with blood spattered or pooled throughout much of it. Urdea stood in the doorway, taking it in, and over a couple of centons, based on the position of the body, the death implement, and the blood, he began to understand at least part of the pattern. Elmer was clearly dead, and just as clearly, the blood was from an arterial spray, from it appeared, at least one if not two cut jugular veins. The cut had been deep, almost decapitating him, allowing the blood to fly. He had probably been sitting, or perhaps kneeling, when the deed was done, and he swayed, throwing blood in a wide pattern, before hitting the floor.

Despite having seen a number of such crime scenes in the past, it still struck Urdea as gruesome. Footprints had smeared some of the spatters near the door, but the rest of the blood evidence appeared untainted. Based on what he saw, he felt there was a 95 percent or better chance that this death was a result of suicide. They would run a few tests, it would be confirmed, and the case would be closed. With that, Elmer would become another in a long line of statistics proving that running from Cylons in enclosed, crowded ships, where hope was often in short supply, was not good for one’s health.

Urdea asked for a measuring tape, and standing in the door, used it to take a few measurements from a distance, locating the body and the laser combo blade. Retracting the measurement tape, he handed it back to Atropas, and looked back at Wheran. “Lieutenant, in your review of the deceased’s records, did you discover whether he was right or left handed?”

“No Sir, that wasn’t recorded, but approximately 85 percent of the people in the Fleet are right handed.

“Have we got a body temperature yet?” asked Urdea.

Atropas stepped forward with a digital temp reader that she had attached to the side of a telescoping rod pulled from the crime scene kit. She extended it to the deceased’s ear for a few microns, and then pulled it away. She recorded the reading and put the reader back in the kit. “What’s his build classification and how much did this guy weigh?” she asked.

Urdea looked at the body and said, “Call it moderate build.” Wheran, who had researched Fleet records, gave her the man’s weight. Urdea and Proteus looked at each other questioningly for a moment and both nodded. Urdea said, “That’s old. Better add about five to seven kilograms to that. He put on a little weight since that was recorded.”

Atropas did the math, consulted the chart, and established an estimated time of death, plus or minus about 15 centons. Urdea was quite disappointed to learn that the entire period was before Abby had arrived in the Security Office. Despite his disbelief, it was technically possible she could have done something here, and then made it from here to Security Office within the allotted time. Though he knew in his heart that she had nothing to do with this, he could not legally dismiss her as a suspect!

[Amy81]

Back in medlab, Lorna got something for Abby to drink and brought it into Captain Amy's room. She found Abby hunched over the life support unit, holding her daughter's hand and whispering to her.

Abby heard footsteps and turned as Lorna got close. "It's like she's asleep" Abby said. "I feel she's going to wake up any micron."

Lorna just nodded, then offered Abby the glass. "You should take a moment and have something to drink."

Abby just looked at the nurse. It was hard to tell by her expression if she'd even heard Lorna's words. Her eyes seemed fixed on something far, far away. After a moment she turned back to her daughter.

"It looks like something's happened to her" Abby said with concern, gently touching near the bruises around Amy's neck. "That doesn't look good at all." She softly touched Amy's hair, smoothing it back. "I suppose a little concealer would hide the marks. Amy's so particular about her appearance, aren't you sweetheart?"

Lorna set the glass aside, concern growing for Abby's state of mind.

[LucianG]

“Go though the crime scene procedure, finger prints, test lights, monitors, all of it,” said Urdea sadly. “Make sure there’s no evidence of wiping, with a chemical residue check, too.”

Wheran looked excited that Urdea wasn’t ruling it a suicide right out of hand. He was, for a couple of reasons. One, he’d be able to assist in the investigation, and two, that investigation might actually prove that one of the mighty Warriors had had something to do with it. That, thought Wheran, might make some of the Warriors that ruled the Callisto a little less cocky.

“Think that’s really necessary, Captain?” asked Proteus. “Looks pretty cut and dried to me, if you pardon the pun.”

“I agree, Proteus, but there are a few unanswered questions that need to be resolved before we get to make that call. We’ve got to be really careful now in case something does turn up that disproves our suicide theory. Get good photos of everything, but don’t touch anything yet,” ordered Urdea. “Take samples of all that blood on the floor, and samples of any other fluids found by eye or with the test lights. We want to make sure that, if we do have a perpetrator, that we don’t obliterate any other evidence, including blood or other DNA factors that he or she might have left behind.”

Proteus agreed. He, Atropas, and Wheran donned white robes, masks, and gloves to prevent crime scene contamination. Atropas started taking photos, many with the camera on the end of the telescoping rod, while Proteus started taking the first of a great many blood samples. With Wheran assisting them, Urdea went to see the Colonel.

[Col. Charybdis]

I was now over at my computer screen checking in with the duty station. I was on duty after all and this was taking a long time...

Chief Urdea came out of the turboflush and approached. "Urdea, how much longer is this going to take? When are you going to have his body removed?"

"Well, Colonel, we are in the process of collecting data samples. It won't take too long. But before we finish that, I would like to ask you several questions if you don't mind." He pulled up a chair and sat down. He removed a small data recorder and set it down on the desk in front of me.

I rubbed my forehead. "Yes, of course. What do you need?"

Urdea began, "You obviously were meeting with Elmer here in your quarters. Can you describe the nature of your conversation with him?"

It wasn't going to look good, but I was going to tell the whole truth since I had truth on my side in this. "Elmer came to see me and he was upset about Amy's death. He was looking for someone to blame and I guess, he blamed me."

Urdea was making some notes in a notepad. "Colonel, did anything of a physical nature happen between you two?" he asked.

"Before I could hardly tell who it was at my door, he swung and hit me in the chin, knocking me back toward the seat there." I pointed toward the couch. "I struggled with him to control him, but I did not hit him back. He began to cry at the end once he realized that attacking me was going to do no good."

Urdea continued, "When did you leave your quarters?"

"While we were talking, I received a call to report back to duty. Here's my comm unit, you can check the time yourself." I handed him my personal comm unit which kept track of messages entered into the system. "I left at that moment and he stayed in my quarters to compose himself. That's the last I saw him."

"So you left him in here by himself?" Urdea confirmed. "Yes."

"What was your relationship with Elmer? How did you get along?"

I thought the answer was pretty obvious, but I didn't want to leave any stone unturned. "He never liked me. Thought that Amy should have been an agro farmer. I had only met him once, but he never supported Amy's decision to become a warrior nor her decision to be with me."

"Had you had any physical confrontations with him before?" "No." I replied.

"What frame of mind was he in when you left your quarters?"

"He was upset, he had just found out his daughter was dead. Brie was sent to the brig. I was next in line, I guess. He never liked that Amy got involved with me. He thought I was just using her as a play toy. But I assured him that was not the case. I asked her to take the seal, for Sagan's sake! I was serious. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her as my wife. I lost her too! I tried to get him to see that, and that's when I got called to duty. He was sitting there on the seat when I left."

Urdea was busy making notes. "Who else has access to your quarters?"

I thought a moment. "Well, besides urgent security personnel and the most high-ranking officers, just Amy."

"Where did you go from your quarters?" Urdea asked.

"I went to the bridge to check in and that's when I was told of the news. The Cylon cruiser had just landed and onboard were Captains Lazant and Amy."

"And after that?" Urdea pressed.

"I immediately went to the landing bay only to find out that Amy had already been taken to the Med Lab. I then went to the Lab to check on Amy. Nurse Holodoc would not let me in to see her and it was at that moment when I was asked to report to the Security department to meet with...the other person brought onboard." My thoughts suddenly returned to Astraea. What a mess! "You can check with any of the aforementioned duty stations to record my whereabouts."

"Do you own a laser combo blade?" Urdea asked. "Yes, I do. I use it to shave every duty cycle."

"Is it in good working order?" "yes."

"Is the screen kept attached to the device?" "Yes, of course, if not, it would cut me..." I stopped quickly, taking note of how Elmer just died.

[LucianG]

Urdea said, “Colonel, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, but we’re going to be here for quite some time.” He lowered his voice where only the Colonel could hear him, “We want to make sure we have every scrap of evidence there is so we can declare this what it really is without some two-bit Opposer coming in here making…more…groundless charges against you or anyone else.” He looked directly into Charybdis’s eyes and cocked an eyebrow, tellingly. Speaking in a normal tone again, he continued, “You’re free to go for now, but you’ll need to stay elsewhere tonight. If you’ll make a list of essential things you’ll need, I’ll have it brought to you if it’s not considered evidence. Just let me know where you’re staying. I’ll contact you personally when you are free to return to your quarters.”

[Col. Charybdis]

"Very well, Urdea. I'm going to return to the bridge after I stop by Med Lab. It's just a fracking shame Elmer had to die right at the exact micron that Amy was found alive." I shook my head at that irony. "What a damn shame."

I turned and walked out of my quarters. I wanted to see how Amy was doing and if they might let me in to see her now...

[LucianG]

After the Colonel left, Urdea donned a pair of gloves as a precaution, and then slowly walked around the Colonel’s quarters, looking at everything exactly as it was, touching nothing. He made a few more notes as he walked. Then, he did the same thing on his hands and knees. Again seeing nothing, he had a couple of his other officers dust everything for prints, and utilize the crime light to see if there were any hidden stains or evidence of tampering. Urdea supervised the work, making sure everyone was on task and being accurate. Working in the Colonel’s quarters with the Colonel being a potential suspect, there could be absolutely no mistakes.

Some time later, Proteus entered the room and asked to speak privately to Urdea. They walked down the corridor a short distance. “Captain, we’ve finished just about everything, and the body is ready to be transported to the Med Lab. One thing, though, I think we both know…”

Proteus paused, with a questioning look. Urdea looked intently at him, and said, “It was suicide?”

“Yes, Sir,” continued Proteus. “Right now, there is just one thing that keeps me from saying it. The laser combo blade screen is just not in there. We’ve searched every square centimeter of that room three times now, and it’s just not present. It’s possible that it was sent down the turboflush, but that’s extremely doubtful. Someone committing suicide isn’t going to do that, and it’s highly unlikely that a murderer would want to. I’ve contacted the Sanitation Department, and they’re doing a full waste screening to see if they can find it, though they’re complaining so loudly you can probably hear it out in the corridor without a comm unit! Like I said, though, I don’t think we’ll find it there. Therefore, we need to search the rest of these quarters to see if we can find it.”

“That’s already done, and it’s not out there either, nor is any other significant evidence,” replied Urdea. “We’ve got to find that thing, wherever it is. We also have to do a complete timeline reconstruction. According to the Colonel’s statement, Elmer was alive when he left, but according to the calculated time of death, he had to have already been dead by then. Let's get that body to the Med Lab to see if Doc BKJ can get a more accurate time of death.”