The Strange Case of Doctor Wirefly

March 18

"How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" - Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle), The Sign of the Four

-----

** Lots of static and Brooke voice ** "Pepper ... this is Brooke. Do you read me? I'm on Gateway Station. Found something I think you're going to want to see. My crew is identifying the man as a Dr. Wirefly. If the name means anything to you. Could you come here?"

I flicked the comm switch. "On my way."

-----

March 18 - Gateway Station

My X-313 gently came to rest upon the deck. The massive blast doors rumbled closed. Lights flashed and a klaxon sounded as breathable air was pumped back into the docking bay.

The station systems were on automatic. They completed their allotted tasks and recorded my time of entry at 22:29.

----

Brooke looked up as I entered the mall and gave a little nod. "Hi there.."

She was not alone. She was accompanied by Dex, Cody and the new fellow whose name I did not know. Except for her crew, the mall was dark and empty.

Cody turned his head and rested his hand on his gun. The new fellow lowered his head a slightly.

I nodded at Brooke. "What happened?"

"We found a body," she replied. "From all appearances he's been killed by an automatic weapon .. or at least semi automatic. Or something with a bit too much time to kill.... This way, and I'll show you."

I followed Brooke and Dex through a door into an empty commercial unit.

"Looks like someone went on a shooting spree and Wirefly got in the way," Dex remarked as we walked.

"Wirefly," I said thoughtfully.

We passed through the deserted room to a second door at the rear of the store.

The door gave way to a small chamber. Twice as long as it was wide. Grey walls.

A console sat against the back wall, chirping and beeping merrily.

The body was stretched out across the floor, head towards the console. A wheelchair lay tipped over on its side.

There were bullet shells, trails of blood as well as boot prints on the ground. A pool of blood under the victim.

"I recognized him from a couple of encounters I had with him," said Dex. "I took some blood samples for DNA ID just in case though."

It was all part of a tapestry. The Aberdeen Incident. The Swashbuckler-Rhiadra trail. The Bombardment of Shadow....

And now one of the players in that nasty little game had been killed. Was this the beginning of someone tidying up?

I pushed out the implications out of my mind and clinically examined the scene.

There were three bullet shells from a 45 on the floor.

"Dex... you said you have blood samples." I had no idea he was trained.

Resting on the console I found a spent 9 mm bullet. Close examination showed with small spot on it of what appeared to be dried blood.

Dex offered me several glass vials containing blood scraped from various locations around the body.

"Dex is a doctor," explained Brooke, "Even if most of his patients are green and leafy..."

I dropped the bullet into a plastic sleeve and took the vials from Dex.

"Thank you..." I said. "Did you establish a time of death?"

"Humphf," answered Dex. "I just know how to take scientific samples. Could do the DNA tests, too, if necessary."

Brooke shook her head. "It can't be too long. Blood is still fresh."

"We found a watch," added Dex helpfully, "Dunno if that's indicative of time of death. Unfortunately, I'm not really that kind of a doctor."

"So ... is it Wirefly?" asked Brooke. I crouched down to have a closer look. Entry points in the chest and head.

"One of them," I replied, "the Doctor that went missing."

"One of them?" echoed Dex.

"His brother was the Judge that tried Sentry and Mikie Rhiadra," I explained.

"Ah. Siblings," said Dex.

Siblings, or so went the rumour.

I was thinking out loud now. "This appears to be the man that hired the teams that arrested Sentry."

"They weren't the same person..." said Brooke. "So ... He's the one that got Sentry killed...Good to know."

I examined the wheelchair. There were no bullet holes in the chair.

"Any witnesses?" I asked getting to my feet again.

Dex looked at Brooke and shook his head.

I looked down at the body. "He was being investigated by SIU Londinium."

"SIU must be busier than a one-legged pirate in an ass-kicking contest by the sound of it," replied Dex.

I tapped my finger to my lips. Okay, I thought, let's back this up.

"How did you find out about this?" I asked.

Brooke paused for a moment then replied, "I had an anonymous tip..."

"Male or female voice?"

"Male," she replied, "though it was a bit garbled, I think..."

I nodded, "On a regular channel?"

"My public channel..."

I looked at the boot prints carefully.

"More than one set here..." I frowned, "We won't know for sure if there was more than one shooter until we get this to the lab."

"Gonna have to have words with this tipster," grumbled Dex, "I'm not comfortable having been dragged into this."

"If there is anymore that you need from me Pepper ... you know where to find me. But uhm.... I'd rather well, you understand. Can you try to keep me and my crew out of it?"

I nodded, "Easy enough."

I looked again at the boot prints. "Any of those yours?"

Dex checked the bottoms of his own boots for blood. "No full prints. Maybe some spots."

Brooke let out a groan. "Uhm, one set is from one of my crew." She pointed to one print. "There. He came in after me..."

Dex facepalmed.

Carefully, I stepped on the crewman's boot print with my own boot. Protect your sources.

Brooke smiled and nodded. "Thanks..." She looked at Dex then addressed me. "Anything else we can do for you officer?"

"No ... thank you Miss," I said by rote, "If I have any other questions I will be in touch. If you think of anything else please contact me."

I refrained from handing her my card.

Brooke nodded. "Will do. I better get my crew out of here, before they start having heart attacks..."

The door closed behind them.

Alone now, I crouched next to the body once again.

I checked the pockets. Empty. The pocket watch was still here though. A point against robbery.

I examined the soles of the shoes, comparing the tread to the boot print in the blood. Different.

I looked at the fingers testing for rigor. Examined the nails.

Wirefly. Doctor. Trickster. Pawn or conspirator. Somebody's son.

"Who killed you old man?" I murmured.

The door hissed open and Brooke entered, alone this time.

I looked up. "Think of anything else?"

She just smiled. "I think my people need a drink. We're headed to Mac's for a nice one. If you have more info, and want to join us....feel free to drop by."

"I'll call this in," I said by way of reply. There was a long night ahead of me.

She nodded. "If you could wait 'til my people are gone, I'd appreciate it."

I smiled, "No worries."

The door hissed closed and wrapped me in silence once again.

I scanned the blood stains on the walls recreating the murder in my mind.

Let W = Wirefly
Let X = The Murderer

W at the desk. The door opens.

X enters. W turns faces X. He saw his murderer.

X fires weapon. Three shots. Chest and head. 45 calibre.

W falls to the floor. Blood.

X steps forward. Boot print. 9 mm bullet placed on desk.

X leaves.

-----

Location:

Gateway Station

Preliminary findings:

• Wirefly shot in the chest and head.
• Wirefly in a small chamber in the rear of vacant store. Two closed doors between the chamber and the mall.
• Wirefly pockets empty. Pocket watch present.
• Wirefly body came to rest on the floor. Wheelchair tipped over behind him away from the door.
• Found on the floor, three (3) shell casings 45 calibre.
• Found on the desk console, one (1) spent 9mm bullet with a small spot of dried blood on it.
• Found in blood surrounding the body, one (1) set of boot prints. No match.

Subsequent findings:

• Station was empty except for Wirefly.
• Station elevator broken. Access to the mall by stairs.
• Station logs indicate ship airlock recorded entry at 19:44.
• Station logs indicate ship airlock recorded exit at 19:55.
  

Eleven minutes. Purposeful. Not a random going from store to store.

File information:

No records found matching name or description of "Doctor Wirefly".

Witness statements and SIU Zenobia Transcripts indicating "Doctor Wirefly" was instrumental in organizing the apprehension of Sentry Swashbuckler and Mikie Rhiadra prior to trial.

'Doctor Wirefly' rumoured to be the brother of Alliance Federal Judge Thadius Wirefly, currently under investigation by SIU Londinium.

Forensic results:

Forthcoming.