The “Milli-Cochrane Caper” {Act 2.3a}

Posted on Fri 15th Jan, 2021 @ 3:31am by Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Renato Solis

1,408 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Denouement
Location: Office of Dr. Paul Graves
Timeline: MD4: 1200

Paul and Renato sat in Paul's counseling office, which had a far more comfortable and home-like ambience than the strictly utilitarian Second Officer's office did. He had rearranged the chairs so that both he and Renato sat behind the desk, in view of the camera. He wanted Theophilus Boule's ex-wife to be aware of everyone present when he broke the news to her of her former husband's death. Paul keyed in the contact code and waited for the screen to show an image of something other than the silver UPF symbol on a blue background. At last, it did. A middle-aged human woman with wavy, brownish-red hair, who stood in front of a standard virtual background image peered from the screen. "Hello?" she said, looking in surprise at the Starfleet officer in a red tunic who appeared on her screen next to the Ullian gentleman.

"Hello, is this Ms. Dresdione Boule?" Paul asked.

The woman blinked and looked a bit alarmed. "Speaking. What can I do for you--Is it Captain? Admiral?"

"I'm Commander Paul Graves, Chief Counselor of Starbase 109, and this is my colleague, Mr. Renato Solis," Paul said with a faint smile. "Do you have a moment to speak with us, Ms. Boule? It concerns your ex-husband, Theophilus."

"Theo? After all this time?" She rolled her eyes. "Five years of dead silence from him, and now Starfleet is calling, not Theo. What kind of trouble has he gotten himself into, Commander? Does he need me to bail him out?"

"I'm afraid it is bad news, Ms. Boule," Paul said. "You might want to sit down."

She raised an eyebrow at him and then pulled a chair over. "That doesn't sound good. All right, I'm sitting."

"I'm very sorry to convey this news, Ms. Boule, but your ex-husband was found dead three days ago on our station."

Ms. Boule's eyes widened. "Dead? Oh, my God..." She pressed a hand against her mouth, and Paul could see tears in her eyes. "Oh, damn! I--I thought, if I could have just talked to him, maybe we could have--Oh, my God!" She darted off screen and stayed away for a couple of minutes. When she reappeared, she was holding a sodden facial tissue, and her face was all blotchy. "Um--I don't think there are any other next-of-kin. Do-do you need me to come and take his remains?" She shook her head, as if she still couldn't believe the news. "As far as I know, I'm still executor of his estate--such as it is."

"I'm afraid I know nothing of Mr. Boule's legal affairs," Paul said, "but we can make arrangements to ship his remains and possessions to you."

"Oh, thank you! Yes, that would be a lot less expensive. Credits are kind of tight."

Paul nodded. "I am actually calling because there are circumstances surrounding Mr. Boule's death that we don't understand." He paused. "We...think Mr. Boule did not die of natural causes, but we don't know what did kill him. We were hoping you might be able to tell us something of his past that could help us out."

Dresdione Boule looked back and forth between Paul and Renato. "Do you think Theo was murdered?"

Paul had given good coaching on how to phrase and handle this exact moment. Renato's experiences had seen frantic, high-energy people trying to save themselves from death and the fallout of losing everything. Dresdione had already moved on to other things, made a new life, so when Renato began to speak he felt doubt over the whole affair. It was absurd to pretend to be a detective, impostor syndrome nearly gave Renato apoplexy but controlled breaths gave him an affect that read as confident.

"Hello Mrs. Boule, I am also very sorry to have to discuss such things so soon but we are worried there was a greater involvement with his death and any information could help us. Do you have any initial ideas of anyone who might have a reason to harm him, or projects Theophilus was involved in that may have connected him to dangerous elements?"

"Theo?" Ms. Boule paused to think. "The only thing my husband was really interested in was transporters. I would even say he was obsessed with them. I don't know if anyone bad that he had dealings with, but it's been five years since he and I last spoke or saw each other." She sighed.

Renato felt his pulse quicken, she had volunteered the information he suspected. He had experienced all manner of recalcitrance in his questioning but when it was done the right way, people simply told you their truths. An eye to Paul Graves in a uniform told Renato there was a power to the symbology that lent instant credibility. He felt more questions, and since he had to choose the best one he decided on a question to serve as a cross-section of their lives.

"Transporters, you say? Theo isn't listed with any licensure or technical skills on file for transporter work. Do you know what the nature of his work with them was? In what way was he obsessed? This could be relevant." He controlled his breathing very closely lest he give away the inappropriate jubilation he felt.

"Oh, that." A frustrated look crossed Dresdione Boule's face for a moment. "That was the beginning of the end for 'us.' Theo told me he didn't pass the exam. I didn't see how that was possible, given how knowledgeable I knew him to be. Really, there are transporter technicians who know less than Theo does about quantum science and transporter operation; he's quite expert; ought to have a Ph.D. So I did some digging. I found out that Theo never took the transporter operator's certification test at all. Before he could even sit for the exam, he was blackballed because of unethical experimentation using a home-built transporter that was confiscated from his office lab. It explained a lot, because he'd begun doing the same thing at home. I about freaked. I had no idea he was building an actual transporter in his workshop out back; he always kept the shed door locked. And experiments?"

Dresdione shuddered. "I can only imagine what kinds of horrific things a person could do just accidentally with an unregulated, uninspected transporter. Theo can't go anywhere to get certified in transporter operation now--not anywhere in the Federation, at least, or its protectorates." Dresdione shook her head. "I told Theo that I'd found out what really happened and that I was not best pleased. A few weeks later he packed up every last item in that shed and shipped himself and his experimental things to God knows where. It was yet another hefty expense that we could ill afford. I had to divorce him in part to protect myself from his debt collectors."

"I can well understand that it would be an appalling shock for you to learn that your husband was keeping secrets like that," Paul said.

Unable to contain himself, Solis felt a moment of exuberance and almost smiled. Though masking his elation, it came through and was upsetting for Dresdione to listen to. With excitement he asked her, "This is a great help to us, could we take a look at any personal effects he left behind? Perhaps communiques or messages you feel show his obsession?"

Dresdione shook her head. "He took all of his project notes with him; left the shed bare as a bone. He did write me a letter before I informed him of the divorce. I think it contains some of what you're talking about. Give me a minute." She got up from her chair and disappeared from view.

Renato glanced at the counselor. "What else do we need to know?" he asked Paul as much as himself.

Paul gave Renato a mock-wide-eyed look. "How would I know? You're the detective!" Paul whispered. Merriment glinted in his eyes for a moment before he became serious again. "Let's see what the letter says, and then we can decide. I guess it's too much to hope that it might be a handwritten letter in this day and age."

Renato's theory was true and right, all of his suspicions were panning out and the fact that Paul was eagerly sitting next to him provided a validation of his life that he hadn't felt in many years.

 

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