.o0o.
Kirk was just about to walk into the turbolift to get go to the bridge when he was stopped by a shout. "Captain! Wait!" The man in the red shirt panted, peeling around the corner at a full run. He almost ran into Kirk but managed to skid to a halt. "I need to speak to you, sir."
Kirk recognized him as Chevalier. "I thought you were confined to quarters." Kirk knew he'd been confined to quarters; he'd put him there.
"Yes, sir." Chevalier instantly replied. "Dr. McCoy just had me released." Kirk wondered when that had happened. He hadn't left Sickbay more than two minutes ago. Of course, his old joke about Bones being telepathic was slightly less funny now. "I need to speak with you, sir."
"If this is about what happened on the Excalibur, don't worry about it. We were all affected by alien entities, and we all did things we wish we hadn't." Especially himself. Compared to him, Chevalier had been an angel.
"Sir, it's not about Excalibur. It's about Cory Sneider." Kirk gestured for the security officer to enter the turbolift with him. He shouldn't really be surprised. That was what Chevalier had been arguing with Hyunh about. "He couldn't have killed Malcolm Brigley."
Kirk wished he'd taken charge of the investigation because Spock wasn't here to fill him in on every little detail. Sure, he'd read the reports and Spock was, as always, extremely thorough, but that didn't make him an expert. "If you have some more information about this, I'm all ears."
"He was with me at the time and after, when the body was put in the vent. It was pretty much an all-day thing." Chevalier was turning redder with every word, and Kirk could just imagine what they'd been doing together, but to his credit, the security guard didn't look away.
"So why didn't Sneider say this?"
"He was trying to protect me. I've got a wife and a son. She said if I ever pulled something like this again, she'd make sure I got no visiting rights after she divorced me."
"You're not exactly the best person to alibi him, then." Kirk wondered if it was a sign that he was bad captain that he just didn't care, not while Spock was missing. Of course, if Chevalier was telling the truth, that meant that they had a murderer loose on the ship. "Besides, he assaulted a superior officer in an attempt to prevent his room from being searched."
"Sir, the search turned up nothing. He was just buying time for me to get out of there before I was found. I realize that he… we're not exactly the best people in the world, but we're not murderers." Chevalier took a deep breath. "We have a video. Of him and me. The computer can verify the times."
"Send it to me on a private channel." Kirk wasn't really thrilled at the idea of looking through that piece of evidence. While he occasionally dabbled in men, he was really a ladies' man himself, and he was unequivocally disgusted by cheaters. The transport stopped but Kirk held the doors shut. "Why come forward with this now? You seem perfectly content to let him rot in jail yesterday."
"They wouldn't have convicted him because the evidence was just circumstantial. There was nothing on him because he didn't do it. The plan was for him to transfer after the trial and no one would be any wiser. It was a win-win. But Lieutenant Uhura stopped by my quarters and pointed out that if I knew something and didn't come forward, someone else could die." Chevalier shook his head. "I don't even know how she knew. We were very careful."
That woman needed a promotion. Perhaps there was some merit in listening to the grapevine. "While I'm glad you finally got around to doing the right thing, your actions will have consequences. I'm issuing a formal reprimand, and I suggest you request a transfer off this ship." Chevalier didn't seem surprised or hurt by his proclamations. In fact, he looked quite relieved. Kirk let the doors swish open and moved to leave before he changed his mind on the light punishment.
"And Cory?" Chevalier whispered behind him.
"Will remain in the brig until Commander Spock returns and decides whether or not to press charges."
"Yes, sir." Chevalier stayed in the turbolift as the doors closed and rode it back down. Kirk was glad because he really didn't want to see any more of that man.
Kirk waved Sulu off and reclaimed his captain's chair, sitting down heavily. For once, could he please just have one problem to deal with at a time? Instead of returning to his station, Sulu stood at attention beside his chair. "What are your orders concerning Mr. Spock?"
The captain definitely did not sigh. He may have released a heavy breath, but it was most certainly not a sigh. This situation was torture; he had to get some more information somehow. "Chekov, calculate the exact location on the planet's surface that would have been directly below the Excalibur at the time of Spock's disappearance." It was as good a place to start as any.
"Aye, Captain."
"Mr. Sulu, take a shuttle down to that location and try to raise us. I want to know exactly what works and what doesn't work through that atmospheric interference. Test it all. Then, check a 50 kilometer radius around that location for any sign of Mr. Spock or the crew of the Excalibur."
Sulu nodded smartly and said, "Yes, sir" before hurrying off the bridge. No one had any idea what was on the surface of that planet, so he couldn't risk beaming down a party into a lava valley or worse, and was even hesitant to send a shuttle. Sulu was his best pilot, confident, capable and able to think well on his feet. Whatever was down there, he had faith that Sulu could manage it. Kirk was just dreading the wait. He had a feeling that communicators wouldn't work or Spock would have managed to contact him by now.
Bones came up to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder, and it was such a comforting and familiar gesture that Kirk didn't need to look to confirm it was the doctor. "Jim, we may have a problem." Scratch the comforting part.
"I think we have more than one problem, Bones."
Bones continued as if he hadn't said anything, his voice low and cautious. "I'm missing a bottle of ovalgiabizaxil. It's used to treat coronary diseases and can cause a heart attack if given in high doses. It's also undetectable after death."
"You think it was used to kill Brigley?"
The doctor sighed. "It's entirely possible, but I have no way to be sure. Side-effects usually include skin irritation, loss of hair, and shortness of breath, but given the state of the body…."
"You wouldn't be able to tell."
"Right. But if it was ovalgiabizaxil, there's no way Sneider would have been able to get it."
"Well, apparently Sneider has an alibi, so we're back to square one." Kirk's head was starting to hurt.
"Not exactly." Bones said slowly. He dropped his voice even lower so Kirk had to lean in to hear his whispered words. "I hate to say it because up until now, I would have sworn up and down that everyone on my staff is trustworthy, but one of them has to be involved with Brigley's death. No one else has access to that drug. I'd say that narrows down your search a lot."
Kirk nodded. "All right. Check out your staff for alibis."
"I'm a doctor, not a detective!" Bones proclaimed, his pitch changing enough to garner attention from most of the bridge. Someone chuckled and quickly covered it with a cough. No one in their right mind would make fun of Bones, except Kirk, of course.
"Well, gee. You didn't seem to have any problem with it when Spock asked you to work on the investigation." Kirk teased.
Bones scowled. "Reporting the finds of an autopsy is my job, not ascertaining alibis. No thank you, Captain. You're on your own. It'll give you something to do while you wait for Sulu to get back."
Kirk suddenly wondered if Bones was actually being intentionally unhelpful in order to… help him. He wouldn't put it past the sneaky devil.
.o0o.
