Scene of the Crime

Posted on 03/08/2024 @ 9:18am by Captain Cara Letsul & Lieutenant Commander Ellery Rosa
Edited on on 04/02/2024 @ 7:35am

2,152 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Pages...
Location: Jackson Porter's Quarters
Timeline: MD 005 1630

Processing Living room and office area.

ON

Ellery was the first to enter the suite. She had old-fashioned protective covers over her shoes and latex gloves on her hands so she wouldn't further contaminate the crime scene. "Computer, record fingerprints, DNA, skin or fabric residue, and any other foreign substance not in the suite before the arrival of Mr. Jackson. Also do a full spectrum analysis. We'll want a complete list. List the samples from the security and medical teams that came in after the murder as well. Send a copy to each member of the investigative team."

That should be a good place to start. The rest of the team would arrive shortly. While she waited, she took a good look around, taking care about where she stepped.

Jackson Porter's suite was spacious--for a starship. The door opened onto a small entryway with a luxurious living room on the left and a full-sized kitchen on the right.

She went first to the living room. A long, overstuffed sofa acted as an artificial barrier. She carefully walked around it, wanting to get a good visual appraisal first.

In front of the sofa sat a wooden coffee table with a stack of books on one end and a stack of coasters on the other. She looked at the books for several seconds, then turned to the rest of the room. She'd check those next.

A holographic fireplace graced the far wall. She'd seen one like it before. It not only simulated a real fire, but it could also produce heat. In the corner squatted an overstuffed recliner. She slowly turned a full circle, noting the abstract art on the wall. Then she went over to the coffee table and took another look at the books. They were all by Jackson Porter. Each of the coasters showed a holographic image of one of his books.

Next, she had a good look at the spot where Jackson's body was found. Centuries ago, it would have been marked by crime tape, but now there was nothing visible. She looked with her tricorder and saw a spectral image of the body between the sofa and the oversized recliner. She examined the position and condition of the holographic body, then sent a copy of it to her computer to add to the data on the murder.

Then Ellery squatted to check under the furniture. The tricorder noted something wooden just under the leather flap under the front and left side. She carefully moved the flap back to reveal a cherry wood pipe laying on its side. Tobacco spread over the carpet beside it. Had this been catalogued? She wasn't sure, so she took a 3D image of the pipe and tobacco, then put the pipe with some of the tobacco in an evidence bag. The tricorder said it belonged to Jackson Porter, but the forensic team might want to take a better look.

She did a final check of the room. Finding nothing else, she moved down the hall, curious to see his office next. She'd leave the other rooms for the rest of the team.

The second room on the left contained a desk with papers and PADDs scattered across the top. A leather chair was turned to face the door, waiting for Jackson, no doubt. Beside the desk was a wooden bookshelf filled with books. The wall held two prints similar to the ones in the living room. In the corner was an old fashioned hotplate with a coffeepot ready to make either tea or coffee. It sat on a wooden cabinet, the doors carefully closed.

She scanned the room, taking 3D images for later review before she entered. She knew the computer would have any prints from here, too, but she would be careful not alter the room too much.

The books on the shelf appeared to be for Porter's research. She took them out, one by one, and checked the contents to make sure nothing was hiding inside.

When she pulled out one of the books, she noticed that something was hidden behind it. She took a 3D image, then pulled it out. It was a small digital diary. She tried to open it to see if there were any entries for the day he died, but it was locked with an encryption code. She put the diary in an evidence bag. Intelligence should be able to crack the encryption.

She went over to the desk and found a wastebasket half-filled with crumpled up pieces of paper. After taking another image, she took out each one, smoothed it out, and took an image.

She set the stack of papers on the floor and turned to the desk itself and the collection of PADDs and papers. It seemed an odd mixture of old and new. She looked through the papers first. Most were notes that made little sense, but she took images and recorded where the papers were located. When she had a neat stack of hand-written notes, she set them in a second pile on the floor and checked the PADDs. They, too, contained notes.

"Why both?" she wondered aloud. Did he write notes here and use PADDs when he was traveling? She shook her head and made another pile. She could ask those who worked with him.

The drawers were empty. Still sitting in the chair, she looked around the room again. Where was his computer? She could ask the station's computer, or she could use her tricorder, but she felt like an old-fashioned sleuth and wanted to try to find it herself before he turned to technology.

She checked the desk again, this time noticing hidden hinges on the top. Smiling, she lifted the top of the desk and found that there was a monitor affixed to the underside. The top two inches of the front folded forward, making room for a keyboard and mouse. "Clever." She should get one of these for her own quarters.

She turned on the computer and searched for what Jackson had been working on. She found no manuscript, but he had been doing research on Latasha Lergh, wife of one of the top Generals on Qo’noS and where she was right now. The Klingon socialite left Poseidon Station before the death of Jackson Porter. She sent the information to Captain Letsul and to her own computer.

There was also a list of five people who would be part of a private get together with Jackson Porter on Poseidon Station. It consisted of a private dining experience in his current quarters, with food cooked by a professional chef.

The list contained five names. Vurom Tox, a Bajoran shop owner of the Nexus, Ernest Hemmington, Jackson's biggest fan, Felisha Algernon, one of Porter's sponsors, Ellen Alcott, a winner of a dine with your favorite author contest, and Agatha Doyle. her name had three stars by it.

Ellery had no idea who the woman was, so she used her PADD to check. Doyle was known as a celebrity maker or breaker. "Ah." She copied the list to her PADD. That might prove interesting.

The only other item on the computer was an itinerary of the meetings that Jackson Porter had scheduled. That, too, was sent to Cara and herself. She looked in a few more places, but there was nothing else. Done with the desk, she shut down the computer and scanned the keyboard and desk for DNA and fingerprints. She only found Jackson's.

With a sigh, Ellery headed for the tea area.

The cabinet contained packets of tea, instant coffee, sugar, and cream, plus half a dozen cups and sticks for mixing. It, too, was surprisingly old-fashioned. There was nothing amiss.

Ellery stood and did a slow circle of the room, checking everything again. "Computer, did I miss anything?"

"The coffee cabinet has the fingerprints of the woman assigned to clean and of Jackson Porter. His fingerprints are also on the outside of four of the books..."

"Send the full analysis to the computers of the team plus Captain Letsul. Then highlight the four books."

"Thank you," she said. The computer chimed its compliance. Four books now had a faint glow. One was where she found the diary. She went over to the other three. One was about the Klingon consulate, one was the history of Poseidon Station, and the other was a book on the planet nearby. She made note of all three so she could replicate them when she got back to her room. Then she looked through each to see if anything had been marked in some way. It hadn't.

She picked up her piles and carefully placed them on the desk.

Just as the final details had been looked at for both the living room area as well as the office, the door opened and three people stepped inside, dressed in coverings in order to not contaminate the area being searched. They were security, sent over to assist.

One of them approached Ellery, "Ma'am do you need this sent to the labs in science to go over them?"

She looked around. "If everyone else is done here, then yes. I'd like to have a good look at his computer and notes. I don't know if they'll be relevant, but at this point, anything could be important."

He looked at where the others are working. " It will be alright to take the computer and anything else that you'll need to examine. I've got the go ahead from Commander K'doc."

"Perfect." Ellery smiled. "All of his notes and reference material may be of interest. At least until we can decide if he was killed because of something he was going to write, something he'd already written, or if it was something--or someone--in his personal life." That would probably fall to security or intel. But she had the time to dig through the computer and the files. She was a civilian scientist and although she was attached to Starfleet, the chief had things well in hand, giving her time for some research on the side.

She looked around and decided she was done here. "Time to check the bedroom, or is someone else already doing that?"

"I believe Lieutenant Bergeron is processing the bedroom currently. However, we can get this taken to the labs for more processing." the ensign responded.

Ellery hadn't noticed the lieutenant arrive, but then, she was a bit focused on the office and its contents. Not the best thing for a scientist, but she could get a little hyper focused at times. "That's good to know. Then is there anything else I can help with here before we get an air cart for the computer and files?"

The security personnel, looked around then shook his head. "It looks like they have things well in hand. Let’s get this taken to where they can get examined a bit more thoroughly." the ensign giving a solemn nod.

He paused as his eyes swept over the living room area and looked at the check list. "Actually, it appears that the half bath hasn't been processed ma'am. I am glad that you had asked that question."

"Okay. We'll check that now." Ellery went to the half bath, which, like the rest of the suite, was larger than she expected. There was a fancy shower at the far end with a pair of women's underpants draped over the top of the shower door, a sink, cabinet, and toilet with a bidet.

She went first to the shower. Besides the underwear, there was some hair in the drain. She scanned both, then put both in evidence bags. On the side of the sink sat a hairbrush with several strands of blonde hair. That, too, was scanned, then put in a bag.

Ellery changed her gloves, then checked the rest of the bathroom and finally opened the medicine cabinet. It contained a toothbrush, whitening toothpaste, floss, and spray deodorant. All looked generic and used once or twice.

Sitting alone on a shelf was a small bottle of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Eau De Parfum. Ellery couldn't help picking up the bottle and sniffing. She was rarely this close to expensive perfume. She wasn't impressed. She checked for prints, then put it in another evidence bag.

With one final look around, Ellery walked out of the bathroom. "I have all I need from there," she said. "If there's nothing else, I think I'm done here."

But there was one final thing she needed. She tapped her combadge. "Computer, copy all messages, conversations, and visitors to this suite from one day before Jackson Porter's death to now and send it to the analysis team."

The computer chimed. "Information sent."

The ensign gave a nod, then looked back towards the rest of the area and then left with Ellery.

Ellery Rosa
Assistant Chief Science Officer
Poseidon Station

Ensign
Security officer
NPC: Cara

RSS Feed