"The Gati have said they will hold her until we extradite, charge, convict, or whatever. They aren't concerned about letting her go, Chief." Evan Torg answered his boss's question.
"And, the Starfleet position?" Evan watched flare in the Chief's nostril.
Detective Torg shifted uncomfortably in his chair, "I really don't know Chief. The Ensign filed his report when we exited the nebula, and he apparently went on leave after we landed. I have not seen him, nor have I been contacted by his replacement or superiors. I waited a day, then I filed my report and contacted Astra legal." He knew his suspect had been hiding something, but he couldn't figure out how to get her off of Gati and back to some place modern enough to question her using the lie detector from a computer. He let Astra legal handle the details of the extradition. It would be messy and time consuming - perfect for Evan to undertake another less stressful case. "So what else do you have for me, Chief?"
"I want you to lead the investigation of the Beryl arson."
He reached for the pad from the Chief Superintendent. "Arson eh?" So that was the next case.' He had wanted to get something else after having stalled on the Murder investigation. "Thanks Chief."
However, a quick look at the case file dispelled any belief in an easier case. The Arson involved at least twenty deaths. The fire investigators had found multiple points of ignition. Given the way the flames spread, the fire had caught the victims so quickly that they had no chance of escape. Even though there had been no mention of murder in the case file, the deaths almost certainly suggested a murder investigation. Detective Torg glanced at the chief checking to see if there was anything else then departed to begin studying the case.
The Village of Beryl had been burned to the ground, killing twenty and injuring dozens more. According to one point in the report, temperatures nearing the solar surface had been detected during the blaze. The reports called it a firestorm. There had been also reports of rumours of Treman involvement.
Evan picked up the data card and began looking at the fire investigation report - following the fire as it engulfed the village. Block by block it jumped from building to building. After reaching a critical size, the firestorm started. The heat of the blaze created its own weather and the firestorm started. Within a few minutes, the fire had destroyed the village.
The detective realized that he could go to the scene, but there would be little to see. However, he opted to head to the hospital to inquire about some of the injured. Chances were that anyone who wasn't seriously injured had been discharged, and anyone that was still in the hospital wouldn't be able to answer questions. After a short ride, he arrived at the hospital.
Kat Anjar brushes a weary paw over her whiskers, wondering when she might get a break. The number of blackened humanoids had now faded to a trickle. Most were either in sickbay, in intensive care, or in the makeshift fire ward they had set up in the shuttle bay. All had been washed of soot, and fed, and had their needs cared for, by the army of medical personnel who had been immediately assigned to assist with the disaster. Even still the last hours and days had been exhausting. She had a million reports to write. Thank the goodness they had computers and PADDs and everything was recorded. She had not even had time to visit the site of the fire, but she understood from everyone she had spoken to that the village had been burned to the ground in an unholy conflagration that leveled all the buildings in a matter of hours, burning so hot that no technology could put it out. Starfleet had scrambled to save its Academy and Banquet Hall, both just a few meters from the outskirts of Beryl Village.
She mewed softly as she updated the computer records of the last patients she had seen on her rounds. She had been assigned to sick bay, thankfully. They had placed extra biobeds in the room, but she managed to get through them all each shift with the help of a junior nurse.
The doctors she had seen were exhausted. But now things were calming down, most had time for a shower, soup and sleep. She had snuck a little catnap in the middle of this shift, trusting the alarms on the biobeds or the swish of the door to the hospital lobby to wake her. She felt mildly guilty about it but no harm had been done. Now she continued to work on her reports, hoping to be relieved soon, and get out of the hospital for a walk, some fresh air, and a quick transport to her quarters for a longer nap. She took her PADD, nodded to the junior nurse, gesturing to the offices across the way, and left the room, soft snores behind her as the doors closed again.
APF procedure and starfleet security procedures seldom matched well. Detective Evan Torg knew as APF that he could wander as he wished through the hospital. However, given the nature of the arson, he opted to check in with the hospital starfleet liaison before doing anything else. The clerk had been surprisingly pleasant and helped Evan collect necessary information to keep starfleet happy. After the process, Evan went to the hospital administrator's office. A holographic assistant asked him to wait in a nearby hallway.
Grumbling, Evan complied. He took a seat. He pulled out his PADD and reviewed the case material, but could not keep his attention on the documents. After a moment, he saw a Caitian nurse gracefully exit an office and head down the hallway. After an instant, he recognised Kat Anjar, a nurse friend of his.
"Kat," he said. "Its good to see you. I see that you are working the relief effort for the fire." He explained his reasoning for being at the hospital. He had hoped to interview one of the patients who was not in serious condition. But, he added, "If you happened to have heard anything from the witnesses, it would help my investigation."
Kat finished her report for the OiC in charge of the hospital, read it over twice with tired eyes, and then dropped a PADD on his desk for whenever he returned from either duty or rest. She stepped into the hallway, planning to check in one more time on the junior nurse before finding her own quarters. The hospital was very quiet after all the stress and noise of so many patients coming at the same time. She actually jumped when someone called her name.
“Evan,” she said quietly, raising a paw to greet him, moving towards him so they could keep their voices down. She listened carefully to his explanation. “I just completed a full report on all the patients who came through triage, for the OiC of the MCH. Some went upstairs to intensive care, some are here in sickbay, and others were sent home… not home, but to shelters or to relatives. I’m afraid my report is confidential to the Colony Chief Medical, in terms of patient names, conditions, and what have you. I can tell you we have twenty one casualties and several more who are in critical condition because of burns, smoke inhalation, one heart attack and one stroke.” She rattles off the numbers from memory, brushing a whisker from her lips with a tired paw. “If you wish to interview a patient or two we need to clear that with the OiC and possibly any relatives as well. However, I can tell you the names of the shelters where some of the released patients have gone.” She turns and looks out the window with a sigh. “The thing I heard the most from those who could speak, was how fast the fire came, how little time there was to get out, and, an overwhelming sense of grief for those lost, including pets, and treasures of the family, gone forever,” her little Kat voice is small. “How could such a terrible thing happen?” She looks at him with her sad cat eyes.
Evan listened intently to her explanation. The report's confidentiality did not surprise him, but knowing it existed at least allowed him to ask for it when the time was right. He also didn't expect to interview any patients without approval, but knowing that some had been released to the shelters gave him a next destination.
He reached and touched his own hand to her paw in a very slight gesture of reassurance as he saw the sadness creep over her eyes. At the last moment, he pulled his hand away, worried that he had crossed a boundary. He had known Kat for a while, and he never recalled her being so sad.
"I'll figure it out and catch those responsible," he answered with the hopefulness of reassurance. "You probably need to go get some rest. Forgive me for keeping you from it. Could you answer one last question, to help me with a hunch? Did any of the burns stand out as though they had another source besides the fire? I am thinking about maybe phasor or disrupter." He watched the expressions play over her face when she answered.
Kat accepts his gesture of compassion willingly, suggesting that they sit together on one of the benches provided in the hallway. Sitting, she turns to him and says, “I am not usually so saddened by events, but the number of people hurt is overwhelming, and it’s very hard to see families with children displaced, as well as the elders. And,” her voice chokes slightly, “all the pets, the domesticated animals that were lost. That makes me very sad. There is a lovely Astra feline called felis wehrlite, a family in the village that I knew had a female with kittens. A lovely creature, I was so happy to visit her and play with the children. The family is alright, but, they cannot find her or her little ones. Lost in the fire.” She sighs. “I did not see any burns that I attributed to anything other than the fire, but then, I was not looking for any other reason. I can’t really answer that question,” she looks at him puzzled, “Do you think people were also attacked with weapons? No one reported hearing or seeing anything other than the fire, as far as I know. But there was a huge commotion.”
He listened to her, nodding in understanding. He could feel her sadness and felt his own. On mention of the kittens, he frowned, concerned about their well being - all the while fighting the knowledge that the likely outcome would be disheartening. His emotions played as he recalled the kittens that he had called pets and friends over his lifetime.
As she recalled the burns of the victims, he realized that there was nothing obvious. Likely, to all eyes, a burn was a burn. Once the temperatures were high enough, flesh would blister or scorch in the same way. "I was looking for a way for the fire to have gotten extremely hot immediately. The weapons seems like a possible source of ignition." He thought again and added, "I might be too suspicious by nature and am always seeing the worst possible reason for things. I am sorry to bring it up."
"If you would like, I can walk with you a while after your shift. Perhaps we can get a beverage. I am on my way over to the shelters and look for a possible interview from survivors. Before we, go I'll need to put in my request with the OiC." He hoped that his company would help cure her incredible sadness.
=^=
