There is no one else in the Infirmary at this hour. Dr. Halsey glances up and sees Kylah through the glassteel door, and waves at her to come in.
Hsu looks curiously at Collins and says, "I didn't offer coffee."
Printable View
There is no one else in the Infirmary at this hour. Dr. Halsey glances up and sees Kylah through the glassteel door, and waves at her to come in.
Hsu looks curiously at Collins and says, "I didn't offer coffee."
Kylah walks slowly to Halsey and T'Var, staying as calm as possible. "Hello again, Dr. Halsey," she says after nodding to T'Var. "I am sorry you had to start your work with such a grim task, performing an autopsy on a colleague. I need to ask you a favor, if you would."
She quickly explains about the interview with Palver earlier this morning, and mentions his spore therapy having worn off. "Mr. Palver claims it occured while he was sleeping, which seems unusual, is it not? It might merely be a coincidence, and yet... we thought perhaps you might be willing to pay special attention to any guests who may have the same complaint. I understand there may be a confidentiality issue, but... it might help identify a murderer. Or even just a witness."
She glances behind her toward the empty infirmary, and swallows. "And--and the rest of your personnel, too... when will their shifts start?"
Rangin rolls his eyes, wondering if coffee is the only thing Collins has on her mind, or if her head can only handle one thought at a time. Time to save face once again and Rangin wonders if he should retrain as a butler.
"Sir, I'm aware its my turn to get the coffee this time round, but could I recommend waiting until we find a replicator. No disrespect intended to Mr Hsu, but having had the opportunity to sample the Security Office brew, it has a certain flavour to it, no doubt enhanced by the fact it has probably been warmed over several days and regularly refilled as the level has dropped. On the other hand if you prefer your coffee interesting, well brewed with that certain metallic tang, then I'm sure I can fetch a cup. It may be a Security Team test of courage to drink it, but as a scientist I believe I will pass, or even hesitate to call it coffee."
Rangin grins and nods at the two security officers as he over embellishes the state of their coffee machine.
He face hardens again as he turns back to the monitor, "On the other hand, I guess that Mr Wilson's apartment is somewhere we should also look over. I do have one other question I don't want to ask but I should. Amongst the staff here, including the deceased, who would have the ability, the knowledge and authority to be able to adjust the video recordings without being spotted?"
Collins realizes she was recalling a different, older conversation and tries not to look completely embarrassed. The smart thing to do, given her performance so far, is to go back to the ship and have herself relieved of duty, but that isn't the right thing to do.
"Yes, thank you Ensign. I believe I will wait then." She tries to refocus "My apologies, Mr Hsu, I'm still not quite awake, in spite of all the activity so far this morning."
Dr. Halsey replies to Kylah, "I don't know of any cases where the spores wore off during sleep. I've had no other reports of that since I started working here, and have never read of it in the research summaries. My nurse will be in at 9am. Can I do something for you?" Dr. T'Var watches but says nothing.
"Hey, I make the coffee around here!" Patel complains good-naturedly. "It's not as good as in the restaurants, but the security staff seems to like it."
"They tolerate it," Hsu says, matching his tone and smiling. "It'd be a gross exaggeration to say they like it." He grows serious and answers Rangin's question. "Director Wilson, my wife the assistant director, my assistant Mr. Patel here, and I would be the only ones who could 'adjust' the video recordings, in terms of computer access, at least. Doing it undetectably at the time, the way it was done... I don't think any of us could. And of course we'd have no motive to do so. None that I can think of, anyway."
Kylah shakes her head and keeps her face neutral. "No, thank you. Just if you could ask your nurse to be aware of anyone else who has this issue, we would appreciate it. I suppose if you can determine any reason other than emotional stress that might have caused Mr. Palver's therapy to wear off, that would also be greatly helpful. Good day, sir." She nods at both doctors and leaves the infirmary without rushing.
As soon as she is out of sight of T'Var, Kylah begins to jog, and then run, toward the exit that leads to the guest houses. Her tight throat and chest hurt as she breathes, while trying desperately not to cry. Everything seems to be working against her. She resigns herself to the lab infirmary--if they are allowed a lunch break, she will have to go then. The thought of waiting is interminable, even though it is only a few hours. She wants to forget last night ever happened, and she cannot do that until this embarrassing part is over.
She bursts out of the building into the daylight. A stitch in her side makes her bend while she recovers herself after nearly hyperventilating. During the pause, she glances over the guest cottages abutting the resort. It is not yet time for her to meet Graham, but she wants to refocus on the investigation--not just because it's her job, but it is also the only thing that can distract her from her own thoughts. Remembering the messages on Wilson's communicator, she searches for the yellow house, and then looks at her notes to see who is staying in it.
Ens. Kylah again reviews the list of guest houses:
1 - currently vacant
2 - Fellim Palver, Rhaandaran
3 - Mrs. Webb, Luna
4 - The Ettoo-Oms, a family of Aurelians (perhaps those seen last night in the lobby), Pacifica
5 - Lord Fastolfe, Proxima Centauri
6 - Samuel and Bella Gold, both businesspeople, Earth
7 - currently vacant
8 - Prolun Jaxo, a top Hwuen government official
9 - Rosemary Calvin, author
10 - currently vacant
11 - Terrance and Claire Hutchinson, retirees, Earth
12 - Sylvia Aubrey, an actress, Cochrane V
She walks slowly around the square, and sees that both houses #8 and 12 are large and yellow.
Rangin can't say it, the possibility that Mr Wilson was tampering with the cameras to carry on his affair, not here, not now. Perhaps another tack would be useful.
"Let me put this to you", Rangin straightens up and moves away from the screen keeping his eyes fixed on it. "If this was an outside job, then someone got in without raising a problem, screwed around with the video and audio and then just decided to leave without fixing it. No, why leave a trace and leave everyone wondering what happened to apparently good audio and video. Which leaves the four people you mentioned. If you consider that should any of you go ahead and actually tamper then you would all be intelligent enough to ensure that it was fixed and unseen once whatever occurred had occurred. So the question is: who, out of the four of you, is the only person who would not have been able to fix the tapes if they had been tampered with."
Rangin turns and looks at the Security officers and with a completely straight face, "I cannot think of a motive, but you might want to check on Mr Wilson's background or possibly his computer access last night", then he turns to Collins, "and we might really want to have a look at his quarters."
Kylah's brow lowers in thought. She has never heard of Hwuen before. Walking toward the houses, she peeks into the windows of #8, hoping to see if this is a particularly grand house--at least, compared to the one Palver was in, which is her only point of comparison.
Does she see Graham anywhere?
Collins nods. "That will be our next stop," she responds to Rangin, "after coffee." she adds with a smile.
Graham nods to the security officers. He looks around at the scene and shakes his head while asking "what's the word around the station house about all this?"
"I was supposed to be checking on the level of spores in the plants to make sure none of them had been reused, but this might be a little more important. Would it be possible to gain access to those rooms, Mr Hsu?", Rangin asks the Security Officer.
The lights of house #8 are all turned off. Kylah sees nothing inside other than the vague outlines of furniture. It is a bigger but not necessarily nicer house than Palver's; all of the guest houses appear attractive, clean and well-kept from the outside, at least. When she looks around, she can see Graham talking to a Human female in WR&R security uniform down at a corner of the park. Another guard, apparently an Andorian male, is standing alone at the next corner.
The security officer to whom Graham is speaking says, a little reluctantly, "Uh, well, there are all kinds of rumors flying around, sir. Hard to know what's up."
Hsu frowns at Rangin's comments about suspects, and then clears his throat and asks, "Which rooms - you mean Mr. Wilson's suite?"
Kylah bites her lip in thought, then walks closer to Mr. Graham. She does not interrupt his conversation, just listens quietly.
"Heh," Graham nods. "No doubt about that, officer. Anything...interesting in the rumor mill?" He smiles. "We have a story passed down from my great-to-the-nth grandfather, back on Earth, he used to say the only place he could hear more gossip than my grandma's sewing circle was in the Boston P.D. station house." He shrugs. "Don't think gossip and rumors ever lead to solving many crimes, but some of them can be good for a laugh or two sometimes."
Hearing Graham's words, Kylah beats a hasty retreat from the security officers. She knows they will be more likely to perform the usual male bonding ritual of salacious tales--clearly the angle Graham is looking for--without her presence.
Unwilling to waste time, she walks back to the houses and this time checks one of the empty cottages--#10--to see if the door will open. If it does not, Kylah will ask one of the guards who is not in Graham's group to open it for her.
They had to meet somewhere, she thinks.
The female guard laughs a little self-consciously at Graham's anecdote and says, "Well... I can't vouch for any of this, but there's a story going around that Mr. Wilson was having an affair with a rich guest, and might even have done so before. I also heard he was about to be fired by WR&R and was dejected."
Guest house #10, which is green with white and yellow trim and one of the smaller buildings, is locked. The Andorian guard opens it for Kylah. "Would you like me to come in with you, ma'am?" he asks.
"Yes, the whole suite, please, including the back hallway you mentioned." Collins answers Mr. Hsu.
Kylah pulls out her phaser. "Yes, please. I doubt there will be any need as the house is empty, but I would rather display too much caution than too little." The bitter irony of her words does not escape her. She waits and, closing her eyes, concentrates on the house's interior, trying to sense if anyone is inside.
Graham whistles softly. "Well...that is a hell of a rumor." He shakes his head. "I guess I could see how that could play out..." He raises and lowers his hands as if weighing out two different things. "On the one hand, he has a sweet gig here...on the other, I guess you get a lot of he creme de la creme through here..." He shakes his head. "Of course it's just a rumor...but if you hear any other scuttlebutt like this I'd appreciate you letting me know, Officer...?"
He holds up one finger. "Oh, ah, and by the way, for the record, the family stories also say that his daughter--one of the first women they let actually have a shot at doing the job--was a hell of a better cop than he was." He shrugs and smiles. "Whether she stilled sewed too, I don't know."
He looks around to see where Kylah went.
"Adams is my name, sir," the woman says. "Glad to help."
Hsu says, "OK. I'll take you there myself. Keep an eye on things here, would you, Patel?" Hsu, Collins and Rangin leave the Security Office.
Kylah's empathic sense detects nothing within the house. The Andorian officer's eyes widen at the sight of her phaser-1, but he follows her example and draws his own, a civilian design, silvery and a little smaller. They enter and he turns on the lights. The house is furnished similarly to Palver's; no one is there.
Graham does not see Kylah anywhere on the sidewalks or the park.
Kylah puts her phaser away and moves carefully around the cottage, looking in every drawer, wastebasket, and closet. "How often are these areas cleaned by the maintenance staff?" she asks the guard, walking into the bathroom to examine any drawers and cabinets, as well as the wastebasket if there is one.
"Thank you", says Rangin, "I'm not saying anyone is a suspect, just that I think Mr Wilson is the most likely to have amended the video."
As Mr Hsu leads them out of the door, he turns to Lt Collins and quietly asks, "Sir, would it be possible to have that that private word now, I don't think it will take long."
Collins looks from Rangin to Hsu and back again, then nods and says "Mr. Hsu, would you excuse us for a brief moment?"
The Andorian officer, whose name is Thuvas, says, "I think they're cleaned daily if anyone's in residence, but not at all when no one's here." He checks a pocket datareader. "It looks like this house was last occupied two weeks ago."
Kylah finds nothing of interest in her search. The house is clean and empty.
Hsu says, "Of course," and walks a little farther ahead, leading the way.
Rangin wondered if he was doing the right thing. Privacy was certainly the best thing for the topics he was going to bring up. It was one thing to pass on the details about Mr. Wilson and Mrs. Hsu, which should be done discreetly and not used as a boot to kick people with as Graham wanted to do. But he was about to try and discuss Collins's handling of the team, and he was hoping she would be receptive to some help.
"Sir, there are actually a couple of things to discuss. The first is that Ens. Kylah decoded Mr. Wilson's messages. It appears that his relationship with Mrs. Hsu went beyond that of professionals and into a more personal relationship. We don't know any more detail than that including if Mr. Hsu knew. The second is...", Rangin takes a deep breath before ploughing on, "...sir, with the greatest of respect, you don't appear to be handling running this team well. I was going to ask, is there anything I can do to help?"
Collins looks at Rangin for a long moment. Her first instinct is to tell him to sod off. But deep inside, she knows she's making a total mess of things. Part of her would love to say Yes. Take over, please, and then run back to her quarters and hide; but that is not what a team leader would say or do.
"Ensign Rangin," Jeremi digs deeply for her most professional voice and stands strong, "you can be of tremendous help as my advisor. Tell me, how long do you think the affair has been going on?" She relaxes a bit, then adds, "and please feel free to privately coach me for the remainder of the mission. I don't take kindly to being called out in front of others, but on the side is another thing entirely." Which I don't like much better, but it is preferable.
Baby steps, baby steps, thinks Rangin, as he realises he's holding his breath and then lets it out slowly. Nodding to Collins, he says, "Understood. For the affair, we have no idea how long it has been going on or even how far it went, but from the messages it looks serious enough and if I had to hazard a guess, I would have said over a month at least. The messages don't read as two people just starting out." He looks Collins straight in the eyes. "As for assisting, of course, I'll see what I can do to help and yes, if there is anything else, I will bring it up in private." He smiles at the Security lieutenant, "Although I don't think it will take that long to sort out. I'd say it was more a lack of practice or experience than anything. You're already getting better by asking for ideas from everyone and then giving orders based on it. The next thing I would suggest working on, is waiting to get all the answers from everyone first. You're currently holding very short sessions when there is a little more to discuss. Wait for everyone to have a say, ask a question or two to show you are listening, and then make your decisions, based on what you've been told. Captains have been asking First Officers for options for years; this is no different." Rangin feels a slightly warm glow as he hopes his words have an impact, and if he can help Lt. JG Collins to be a better person, so much the better. My friends, my Coridan, my Federation, here's to making a start on that promise.
Collins meets Rangin's gaze. "Thank you, Ensign. Now let's go catch a murderer." She says as she offers her right hand.
Rangin shakes her hand firmly and nods. "You're welcome. After you."
"A cup of tea would be most welcome," T'Var replies.
Rangin follows Collins after Mr Hsu to Wilson's suite. Thinking over it, it feels weird and yet warming that Collins had accepted his help, even though Kylah had said she never would. He had previously considered asking Collins if she needed help, but in some ways that final push to ask came from Kylah's rejection of it.
It's a strange world indeed.
I really need more management and leadership training before I lead another mission. I just hope I don't get busted down to Specialist Collins thinks grimly as they walk along.
Kylah thanks Thuvas for the information and for his help as they leave the house. She is not surprised that this was empty, but she wants to be thorough. And she is curious about where Wilson and Mrs. Hsu were having their trysts, assuming there was more than one. It would make sense for it to be one of these houses.
Back outside, Kylah asks Thuvas, "Would you help me with searching the other empty houses, please?" She glances back to Graham to see if he is through mining for any rumors. This seems a simple enough task that she can take care of on her own, of course, but she does not want him to think she is ignoring him.
Dr. Halsey makes some tea for himself and Dr. T'Var. "Where will you go next for your investigation?" he asks, stifling a yawn. "Sorry. Still early for me."
Graham sees Kylah and Thuvas as they emerge from the empty green house. Thuvas says, "I really ought to stay at my post, but if you expect to be going into a lot more houses, I can call for another officer."
Hsu, Collins and Rangin walk to the staff tower and take the elevator to the fourth floor. The door to Room 401, Wilson's apartment, is locked, but Hsu uses his security override to get in. There is a small kitchen, dining room, living room, two bathrooms, one bedroom, an office, utility room and a study. Things are relatively tidy, although Collins notices some dust. The service corridor's door to the study is also locked, and Hsu opens it, as well. "Anything in particular we should be looking for?" he asks.
"Only two more," Kylah says. "The empty ones--we will need access to them. But I do not want to keep you from your post. Please do call for another officer, if you would. And thank you very much for your assistance."
Kylah sees Graham noticing her, and she walks closer to him. "Pardon me, Mr. Graham," she says. "I am sorry to interrupt. I was just checking the first of three empty houses ... just to be thorough." She avoids looking at the security officers, trying to be circumspect. 'Looking for Wilson and Hsu's tryst location' would be poor phrasing indeed. "Since it is still so early in the day, I thought starting with those would be less disruptive for the guests who might be sleeping. I will have a security officer to open the doors, and of course he or she can accompany me inside, but... if you are available, your knowledge of security sweeps would be helpful."
"Before we start looking around," Collins says to Hsu, "Could we possibly get some rubber gloves? I'm sorry I didn't think of this while we were downstairs."
"Why don't I open them for you," Thuvas says, "and perhaps Mr. Graham can go inside with you, while I keep an eye on the block from outside?"
Hsu says, "Not to worry, I brought gloves." He gives a pair each to Collins and Rangin, and dons some himself.
"That's a fine suggestion, Mr. Thuvas," Graham replies to the Security officer.
"No need to apologize," Graham replies to Kylah. "Happy to oblige." He pauses a moment. "Ah, assuming you really don't mind my company."
After accepting Thuvas's offer, Kylah looks at Graham and shakes her head. "Of course not, thank you," she says, a bit embarrassed to respond to the question in front of the resort employee. Why should he know the intra-team dynamics of the Yorktown crew? "I suppose as we are closest to House #7, perhaps we can start there?"
She turns and starts walking to #7. Kylah wants to explain to Graham why she is interested in the empty houses--although he may well have guessed--and is also curious to hear whatever he may have heard from the guards. But such explanations will have to wait until they are alone in the house.
When they arrive Kylah stands aside and pulls out her phaser again, but then casts a quick uncertain look at Mr. Graham. "Do you think I am arming myself unnecessarily? I thought... considering there is a killer somewhere, even though it is unlikely he or she will be inside..." Her shoulders lift in a kind of shrug. "By the way, Mr. Thuvas, can you tell us when #7 and #1 were last occupied?"
"The killers who, you know, actually succeed at killing multiple people have a nasty habit of turning up in unlikely places. You are not at all arming yourself unnecessarily." Graham replies, drawing his own phaser and checking the stun setting and charge. "Hey this is good practice, anyway. As we enter any room, we each take one-half - let's say I'm right, your left. That way cover the whole room more quickly, and don't cross each other's lines of fire. Likewise, we keep fire lanes clear - so I shouldn't stand directly in front of a door on the right wall, I stand a step back, you have a straight shot across the room. Or vice-versa."
He smiles authentically, and feels for a moment like he's truly being useful. "And sure it looks dopey, but while clearing a room you sight down the line of the phaser..." he cocks his arm so his phaser is up around his chin, just out in front of him. "You shoot what you see, you move it and your body in tandem with your head. The split second it saves you versus some shithead who has to swing his weapon around to aim at you can make a big difference." He chuckles. "Or sometimes not," he says, rubbing one of the phaser burn scars under his shirt with his other hand. "This one time it didn't, back on..." He pauses and feels slightly embarrassed. "Uh, long story...I'm sure you don't want to hear. Let's, ah, get to it."
Kylah listens attentively and automatically looks at whatever he's rubbing--presumably an old injury. She has never been wounded to such a degree, except for the excrutiating slime devil bite back on the Sakathian research station. The only time she's even had a phaser pointed at her was thanks to another Starfleet officer--Lt. Pourtash, and while he was only planning on stunning her, it was frightening enough. She swallows nervously and sympathizes with the rough past Graham has likely had; there is clearly a reason he is so... violent is the wrong word, although he clearly is at times... rough might be better.
"Thank you, I will follow your advice," she says intently, and positions herself to the left side of the door. "Oh--Mr. Thuvas, wait one moment please?" Again she focuses on the interior of the house, closing her eyes. This will be a little more difficult, now that she must filter out the emotions of two people instead of just one.
Kylah can sense no one in the house.
Thuvas checks his pocket datareader again. "House #7 was last occupied yesterday...likewise House #1. Looks like the residents of both checked out yesterday morning and left on the starliner, as scheduled." House #7 is all white and more modern in design than those Kylah has already seen. Thuvas opens the door and steps back.
Rangin thanks Mr Hsu for the gloves and mentally commends Collins and Hsu for remembering them , he had certainly forgotten.
"Looking for? If I knew it would make it easier, but I have no ideas as of now. Ok, given the situation, let's start by looking to see what could have occurred here last night. We know he was here for at least forty five minutes...actually, we don't know he was here for anything more than the time it would take to get from the front door to the study door. Can that service corridor door be opened from both sides or only from the study? I'm going to assume nothing, other than the facts we have. But if he was here what should he have accomplished. If it was a normal night, probably a bit of office work, relax, wash and then go to sleep. Is there anything we can find which looks as though he was doing something different. Perhaps something to give us an idea of how long he was actually in the room given that after, at most, seventy five minutes, he was deceased."
Rangin stops and pauses for a moment, before turning to Mr Hsu, "Possibly a dumb question, but I cannot remember: were the clothes that Mr Wilson was found in, the same clothes he was wearing yesterday? I didn't look closely," admits Rangin as she shakes his head, "and perhaps slightly more serious, if you were to go back through your security archives, has the same static appeared at any other time, and just has never been noticed as no-one has ever had to look for it before?"
Rangin gets out his tricorder and starts scanning, wondering what traces he might find of Mr Wilson.
He's right, thinks Collins If Wilson and the Hsu-ette have hooked up before, there might be signs. She goes into the bedroom and scans the whole scene, first with her eyes, then her nose, then with her tricorder. If Hsu-ette has been here, there might be a molecule or two of her left behind
Graham notices Kylah stand still for a moment and close her eyes beside the door. Hell, I hope I didn't make her anxious, he thinks. On the other hand, if she's taking this seriously, maybe that's what she does to get in the zone and focus. Good on her for that. He shifts from side to side. Of course for me getting moving tends to do it rather than standing still.
Wilson's body was found in the same dark suit he had on when the Yorktown landing party last saw him.
Hsu says, "The service corridor door can be opened from either side. For most staff, door would be locked from this side, but Mr. Wilson could've used his director's override to open it, if he wanted. There's no door in the entire resort he - or my wife, or I, for that matter - couldn't open. This particular door would also unlock automatically if the smoke or fire alarm was triggered, for use as an emergency exit. As to the static, no, that's never happened before, as I said earlier."
Collins sees that the bedroom has modern furniture and seems comfortable and lived-in. Two shirts are tossed over a chair; a pair of fleece-lined leather slippers is beside the large bed. The bed is made but a little rumpled. A datapad and a drinking glass are on the bedside table; there is nothing in the small waste can beneath it. The closet has a number of business suits and more casual clothes. The Security officer smells nothing in particular in the room. Her tricorder scan locates several hairs on the bed's two wide pillows, and some genetic material on the sheets and in the dust - dried skin flakes, it appears - under the bed.
In what room is Rangin conducting his tricorder scan?
dp
Collins sets the tricorder to determine from whom the hairs and genetic material came. She wonders if they are just from Wilson or if anyone else has been here.
"Let's start with the dining room and the kitchen. See if there were any midnight snacks being made."
While Collins is looking around and she is probably better at it than him, thinks Rangin, he will try to keep Mr Hsu occupied to give her a freer hand.
Kylah opens her eyes and exhales in relief. She glances apologetically at Graham. Of course she cannot tell him there is probably no one in the house, and besides, there is always the possibility that there is someone there, but for whatever reason she is unable to sense them.
"I am ready," she murmurs. Seeing the open door, she nods and enters the house, moving swiftly to the left with her phaser held up high as Graham recommended.
Graham follows Kylah in, covering the right as planned, and chastises himself for being just a split-second off pace--he feels a little distracted. Her earnestness and age, when she's focused on the job and not angry at me--well, when she's angry at me too, he thinks, remind me of Elizabeth.
Of course, he adds as a mental note, Elizabeth will go off wandering space in places where she might need a phaser over my dead body.
Kylah's gaze scans the room and looks for a light source. There was apparently a switch near Thuvas's side when they entered #10, but she isn't certain if this house is laid out the same way. She looks at Graham and then back at the room, wanting him to make the decision that no one is here. If she acts too comfortable, as if she knows the house is empty, he'll think she's either too cocky or he might... somehow... guess.
Graham scans his side of the room. Without looking at Kylah, he says softly, "With one hand, you check your side for a light switch. When you're back to being able to fully focus on the room, give me the word. At that point either I'll do the same, or we'll be able see enough to call the room clear."
He pauses. "Eh, I'm not saying this because I think you're stupid, I'm just...sharing a little of the ah, glamorous Security lifestyle."