by S. H. Marpel
“No one at reception, ma’am. This duty station secures at 1700.”
“And the front doors are locked, I suppose – is there a duty watch for the observation station on the top deck?”
“Yes, ma’am. That was petty officers Diggs and Tawney, ma’am.”
“Two watches, then – who relieved which?”
“Diggs was on until 2400, and Tawney had the graveyard watch until 0800. He’s on call for any interviews, if you need. Just a phone call away.”
“And the cleaners who found the body?”
“They were released by the base police after the M. E. ruled it suicide. But I can get them back here as well.”
I nodded. “Thanks, but we’ll just need to see the office at this point.”
Yeoman Jenkins pointed. “Up the ladder and to your right at the top. End of the passageway.”
I nodded and headed for that flight of steps non-naval personnel called “stairs”.
FINN APPEARED TO ME only after I got into the office proper. “Well, Erotika, it looks pretty simple. Seems to support our theory of murder. The room’s been cleaned, though.”
The office was small. Barely 8’x10’. Muted light blue-grays, the trim darker than the walls. Fixtures were only the needed few. Simple desk lamp, the A/C vent directly over the desk and a ceiling lamp to one side of it, between vent and the front door.
I saw a simple foot-stool that was sitting right next to a front desk leg and over to the side. Some scuffing on its top, but no telling that if those scratches were from the C.O.‘s feet or its last use. “What was the victim’s name?”
“Lieutenant Cooper. Mid-30’s. Not married. Reports said his friends were surprised when they heard. A happy fellow, content with his duty station.”
“I suppose we’re getting the historic reports from our A.I. – the one Carol calls ‘Al’.”
Finn grinned. “She still swears it’s a guy – and naming it that way is her idea of fun at my expense.”
I looked at him, waiting for the whole answer.
“Oh, of course those are from historical reports. Investigator was someone from the local MP’s. And he was transferred not too long afterwards.”
“I take it that means too soon for us to talk to him?”
Finn nodded. “Transfer went through the next day – today at 0800.”
“Like someone knew we were coming.”
Looking around the rest of the room, I saw it was pretty bare. Two file cabinets, a mahogany desk, two chairs. No side table. Spartan. The desk was polished and pristine. Desk blotter, pen holder, name plate, baskets.
I picked up the edge of the blotter and looked beneath it. Something wrong there. “Finn, the scratches are missing.”
“Scratches?”
“No marks on that blotter from standing on it. But if he was standing on that stool on top of that desk, and kicked it off as a suicide, then there should be scratches. And if anyone ‘helped’ him, then their feet would have also left scratches.”
“Meaning, someone has cleaned up the crime scene.”
“Refinishing a desk would take hours, even days. But there’s not even any dust – you’d think the cleaners wouldn’t have cleaned once they found the body – or did they then clean up afterwards?”
Finn shook his head. “Don’t know. Since it was ruled a suicide, they could have cleaned on their regular schedule this morning, the day after. Their daily schedule is to get here at 0400 hours, the C.O is usually here by 0500, so they know to be prompt. So maybe the cleaning crew replaced everything on the desk.”
I sighed. “So we’re back to wondering what clues are missing, as usual. Still, what would they want from this guy? Why is he valuable enough to kill?”
“By ‘they’, we’re assuming it’s our usual suspects?”
“Sure. It fits their M.O. ‘Al’ wouldn’t have sent us here unless that gang of thugs were involved. And we’re still working to figure out their pattern. Oh, check your gizmo and see if you’ve got any report about that rope.”
Finn pulled out a device with a tiny screen on it. “Only notes are that it’s common paracord, available in the local commissary or surplus outfit. But it was well used, not kinked like some store-bought polypropylene rope.”
“So we don’t know if the murder was intentional or secondary to their being discovered. Is there any log entry about the C.O. returning?”
Finn smiled. He was starting to see my line of thought. “Nope, but there wasn’t anyone on duty after dinner, so he might have come back in. Wait. Here it is – he was logged as leaving at 1630.”
“So he made a special trip just to hang himself in his office while no one was around. Locking himself in to do it in private. Wouldn’t want to disturb the duty watch just another flight up.”
Finn shrugged as an answer to my hypothetical.
“OK, then, he might have walked in on someone. But there’s no equipment in here and no sign of any moved. Let’s get into those files to see what’s missing then. Finding their motive might tell us more about how they did it.”
Only when we went through all the file and desk drawers would we find a vacancy – but it wasn’t obvious at a offhand look. I let Finn go ahead and check the bathroom and closet for any other clues.
We couldn’t take long at this. The desk didn’t have anything obviously missing. While the desk itself wasn’t locked, the file cabinets were. Picking those locks was simple. Even at first view, there was something oddball with these files – and sleuthing clues from paper files was more my specialty than Finn’s.
Still, we had to work fast as well as smart. Like we’d already seen, the evidence was disappearing fast. Same as usual.
II
THE CONTROL ROOM OFFICE was quiet, with Finn gone to help Erika. I had “Al” checking the energy consumption again. He’d come up with some graphs and predictions, but the bad news had gotten worse. It wasn’t really a full 6 days we had left, but a little over 5 days and less than 24 in that last day. How many actual hours we’d have in that last day was a guess at this point.
And I could swear that Al was not liking the data – or he was patterning his responses off my input. I don’t know that he realized that his own survival depended on finding a solution to that tiny supply of energy – and making it last as long as possible.
Yes, I named him “Al” as a joke to Finn. But Al also spells “A. I.” as well. But I did get the idea he was more male than anything else. Not that it wouldn’t be nice to have another “gal” to talk to. But his programming was done by mostly the male scientists they’d hired at the time they built him on their vacuum tube back-end. Women in the 50’s were mostly still at home, so that was that.
As a break, to get away from restudying the manuals for a third time, I got ready for my 5 minute window of access to my Library friends. The spare pendant we were using as a jump drive was ready with all of Al’s conversations with me, and the files from all of Erotika’s missions.
On top of everything else, we were also working to figure out who was behind these crimes and what they were after. Al was a bit cryptic about why these particular incidents were chosen. And his choices weren’t by accident, but he couldn’t say what was going to be next, either. I’d looked over the code he was using, and it was a bit above my training. So I’d already sent over those files with the manuals so that Bart and Ernst could work them over in Ben’s Library computer lab.
The light flashed – that was my 5-second warning.
So I stood and turned to face that rear force shield wall. To our side, it looked white. And we were invisible entities to anyone viewing from the other side. Until that shield wall went clear on our side.
Just at that thought, the wall dilated clear, the barest shimmer telling of the field in between us.
“John – and is that... Tess! So good of you to come!”
Both their worried faces dissolved into smiles as I greeted them with my own.
John let Tess talk fi
rst, as any gentleman would. “How’s everything, Carol?”
“Fine as could be expected. Erika and Finn are both doing well. I hope to get an update on her condition tonight, if they can solve today’s puzzle fast enough. Oh – you’d better tell me why you’re here right away or I’ll start prattling...”
“Good idea. I was reminded the other day of some resources you might consider. I think I told you about what Akashi said when I visited him with Hermione?”
I nodded, holding my tongue to let her finish.
“So that probably applies to Finn and Erika as well...”
“Of course! No, I hadn’t thought that through.”
John held up another pendant near the force shield. “Here’s all we have on that idea, so you can work it over on your end.”
I reached through with my own pendant and we swapped. “That’s got all the AI’s conversations with me recently. So you can see where we’ve gotten – and as many of his programs I could find on there. Now Bart and Ernst could sleuth them out. And the readouts from Finn and myself, plus the transmissions from Erika so Rochelle can track our conditions. You already have the schematics, but there are some later modifications where the original tubes were replaced with transistorized circuits.”
“Thanks, Carol.”
I glanced over to the clock. A few minutes left. “Any news I should know?”
John smiled at this. “Too much to talk about. I did get my latest books on there, so that should bring you up to speed – if you have any time for some light reading.”
I grinned. “Always a pleasure, John. Of course, the problem is having to take a break before your cliffhangers, otherwise I won’t get anything else done.”
Tess frowned. “But we’re counting on you to keep everyone and yourself safe. You know, I don’t want to lose a sister time-bender out of all this.”
I chuckled. “No, I think you’ll get another couple of them. Just haven’t figured out how yet. But hope springs eternal.”
Tess and John both smiled at my optimism. Good for all of us.
A chime sounded.
“Well you two give my love to everyone. Thanks for all the back-up on this mission. Couldn’t do this without you all.”
They waved as I did, just before the wall diffused back to solid white again.
Still, I was excited by what Tess had told me. Hopefully getting through the content on that pendant would give me more ideas about how to save us all. Five more days after this, Four more meetings with my team before we would have to leave – or get stuck into some permanent time-stasis...
III
I HAD JUST ABOUT FIGURED out what files were missing when Finn stepped back into the room.
“Erotika, I’ve found something. Pretty slick.” He motioned me toward the bathroom. “Check in there – you should see the red herring they left.”
I went in and saw some dust on the sink top, right below the mirror. A simple push let the magnetic catch loose. Inside, there were marks on the screws holding it in. But toothpaste and a tooth brush were in there, as well as a long comb and small first aid kit – all on glass shelves.
“So they figure we were supposed to think they climbed down inside the pipe chase?”
Finn was smiling when I turned back to him. “Sure, but check out the closet.”
He moved over to the closet and I followed, closing the bathroom door for more standing room in that small office.
“Check out the baseboard.”
I stooped down and saw light gray dust. Not like the darker dust from air, but that was cleaned daily. Standing, I turned on the closet’s light, which was just inside the door to one side. Then I saw a tiny cut all around the edge of the ceiling above us. The dust probably came from those plasterboard cuts. “Good job, Finn. That pipe chase is almost impossible to get out at the bottom access. And was only to throw us off, as you said. Bring me a chair, would you?”
Finn already had one of the two visitor’s chairs ready for me. I put my hand on his shoulder as I stood and he steadied the chair with one hand and held a flashlight with his other for me to see.
I meanwhile pushed on that ceiling panel and found it gave way. Moving it up and over to the side was simple. And more plaster dust rained down as I did. Finn’s hand-held light showed lots of space up there. And I could see from this higher view where they had used other paracord and an overhead beam to hoist one, if not two men in and out of the room. All out of sight.
I climbed back down off the chair and handed it out to Finn so I could return to the office proper. “More plaster dust on the top shelf as well. So they were in a rush to get out of here.”
Finn nodded. “That’s the ticket. Did you find out what they took – or was it simple murder and they didn’t take anything?”
I went over to the files. I’d left the suspect drawer open. “They had enough time to rearrange things, but not to get them back into real order. Sure, they are still in alphabetical order, but the gap of files left a big hole in that alphabet. The way the tabs were bent showed that they’d been moved from the lower drawers up to fill that gap. All the ‘H’s, I’s, and J’s’ are gone. And that’s probably to throw us off as well. They took more files than they needed.”
“Well that makes sense. But we still don’t know how they pulled it off. No scratches on the desk top. Any ideas?”
I frowned as I looked around the room. Then I saw that clue on the floor in front of the closet. I pointed. “Here. We know they came in and out this way. See this light powder here – it sweeps out from inside.”
Finn didn’t get it right off.
“They put a tarp or maybe a padded moving blanket down to catch any dust or dirt from above after they climbed out. Of course, they can sweep up anything they left on coming in, but not on going out. If they had a tarp, then they could pull it up after them by cords on its corners.”
“What do the ‘sweeps’ mean?”
I smiled. “Finn, they pulled it out to cover the desk top.”
“Meaning they cleaned off everything and hoisted him up, then pulled off his wrist and ankle ties once he was unconscious.”
Then he frowned again. Meaning that he was probably unconscious before he asphyxiated.”
“Or strangled on the ground, first.”
“So did the C.O. surprise them?”
“Probably not – or he knew them. There were no signs of any struggle. But that really does tend to lean toward there being two of them. One he knew, and one behind the door who knocked him unconscious after he came in on them.”
Finn shook his head. “No option for him. But you’re right. If he were struggling, even with bound hands and feet, there would be scratches on the desk – even through the tarp.”
Then we heard the sound of running feet sounding in the hallway and down the stairwell.
Finn turned with a quick motion and disappeared.
I JERKED THE OFFICE door open and followed that running character as fast as I could in my modest heels.
By the time I got down to the ground floor, Finn had him down on the concrete sidewalk outside the main door. A knee on his back and an arm twisted behind his back was keeping him face down.
The yeoman followed me out. I quickly stooped and fastened the goon’s hands together, with cordage I pulled from a side pocket. Finn got his knee off the guy’s back, then rolled him over.
“Call the MP’s.” I called to the yeoman. But he stood stock still. “NOW, sailor!” He only stumbled back, still looking at the guy’s face.
Then I followed his gaze to the goon’s face. And found out why the yeoman was surprised.
Beneath the runner’s scratches and blood, was the same face as the dead C.O.
IV
FINN WAS INVISIBLE to the Yeoman and stood off to the side so I could check the guy’s pockets for ID and weapons. Meanwhile, Finn also was keeping an eye out for any other sudden movement near the building or out on the harbor.
The goon’s pockets
held a small derringer-type weapon, but sleek and polished. Some advanced weapon like we’d run into in that Chicago mystery. His ID was the same as the C.O.‘s.
I stood back and turned into the sunlight to look it over as a forgery, just in time.
A flash went off that would have blinded me.
I turned. The body was gone. Only a very dry spot was remaining.
A noise made me look up to see the Yeoman come back from the front door.
“Are you all right, ma’am?”
I pocketed the weapon and the ID. “Sure I am. And you?”
“I just saw you run out the doors and stop. So I wondered if you needed any help.” He didn’t mention the flash.
“Did you see anyone come out just before I did?”
“No, ma’am. It’s been quiet all day. The only person who’s come in or out has been you.”
“Well, I’m alright, and thanks for asking. I just thought I saw someone upstairs.”
At that point, the reception desk phone rang. He smiled, nodded, and turned back to answer it.
Just like usual. Bodies disappearing and witnesses forgetting what they had just seen.
That meant I’d better get up to the roof quick. Because that was how they got in.
Finn had disappeared from my view as well. Must have seen something or someone connected to that phantom C.O.
I turned on a heel and went back inside to find some roof access.
IT WAS A REAL LADDER with steel rungs that went to the roof. And I was glad for my sturdy slacks and sensible shoes. A simple latch unlocked the roof hatch that flopped open with a good shove.
The side of A/C unit on the roof showed some marks. The duct access panel opened to reveal where they’d cut through the roof into that C.O.‘s closet.
Then a simple search showed me where the rope had rubbed on the roof edge during their trip up and down. Another nick on the AC unit probably said they’d used a grapple to get the rope up there.
At night, this was in deep shadows. And dusk came early even at this time of year. I could feel the wind off the water chilling with the Spring air and wished I’d brought a jacket.