Chapter 3

"Miss Aubren Zrae, is it?" Brown asked as he sat himself at the table in the interview room.

Kostopoulos was beside him, and across from them both was their first suspect: The redhead with the spots. She was leaning back in her chair, one taught leg crossed over the other. If she was trying to appear relaxed, the tension with which she held herself belayed that impression.

"Just Zrae is fine," she said with a small, sad smile.

Brown nodded and consulted the padd that Keenan had provided. "You're a freelance engineer from a planet called Trill."

"That's right," said Zrae.

Brown jutted out his bottom lip. "Never been. What's it like?"

"Nice." Her face remained locked in the non-committal smile.

She was closed off, and the attempts to discuss her homeworld had not seemed to ease her tension. Could she be guarding something?

Brown pressed on. "You didn't have a stall at the expo, yet Reena Bird still requested an interview with you. Can you explain that?" They were still reluctant to force access to Bird's computer, so all they knew about her meetings was the names of the potential investees.

"I… have been trying to sell some of my designs for a while now, and was contacted by Abramson Industries to arrange a deal. Ms. Bird herself suggested meeting at the expo as 'neutral ground.'"

"What sort of designs?" Brown asked.

Zrae suddenly became more relaxed, although not by much. Her smile grew, her lithe body uncoiled, and she tucked a strand of flamelike hair behind her ear.

"I can't go into specifics, you understand, trade secrets and all that," she said. "But it included improved starship technology."

Brown leaned forward. He had found something to get her talking; a way in.

"What kind of technology?" he asked.

Zrae also leaned forward, appealing to his curiosity, as if trying to entice him. "Imagine a shuttlepod with warp drive. Or ships capable of separating into multiple fully-functional segments, then reconnecting. And that's just for starters." She leaned back, having tantalised enough for her satisfaction.

Brown widened his eyes, exaggerating his dazzled reaction, although, admittedly, not by much. He looked to Kostopoulos.

"Sounds impressive, doesn't it, Colonel?"

"Right," Kostopoulos replied stoically.

He looked back to Zrae. "Hard to believe you couldn't find anyone interested before now."

Zrae's smile tightened and she glanced downward. "Like Mr. Abramson, I have some… criteria regarding who I would sell my ideas to. Ethical considerations, you understand. I wouldn't want my technology misused."

"Of course," said Brown.

"AI seemed promising," Zrae continued. "They've never been involved in weapons development, and Mr. Abramson has funded a lot of humanitarian work. His company seemed like safe hands."

"And how did your interview with Ms. Bird go?"

"Very well," Zrae said, but with no enthusiasm. "She… She offered me a job overseeing development of my designs."

Brown leaned back at this. "Did you accept?"

Zrae was quiet a moment. "I told her I would need time to consider it. The job would be on Earth and… my people are isolationary by nature. And by necessity. We rarely interact with other races."

"'By necessity'?" Brown queried her choice of words.

Zrae tensed up even more than before. "Our… anatomy is a very private thing to us. If an accident were to happen, an alien doctor would not… have the required knowledge to treat us."

Brown frowned at this, but did not further question another culture's eccentricities.

"And have you now considered an answer to Ms. Bird's offer?" he asked.

Zrae looked into his eyes, her own empty and unreadable.

"It seems a moot point now, doesn't it?" she said.

"She's definitely holding something back," Brown said to Kostopoulos once they were alone in the stark, sterile interview room.

Zrae had been taken back to her quarters, but her responses were still going around Brown's head.

Kostopoulos folded her arms and nodded. "Could just be professional caution? Not wanting to reveal too much about her ideas?"

"Maybe…" Brown said, unconvinced. He pointed to one of his padds on the table. "The medical team says she declined to have her DNA scanned, to compare with samples from the crime scene. Very suspicious."

"That's the Trill though. Like she said, they're very private about their bodies. Don't even allow medical scans by other races."

"You're familiar with them?"

"I had a stopover at their homeworld during the war. And the Earth Cargo Service has been running freight there for over thirty years. The Vulcans have known them even longer. They only allow people to the surface occasionally though."

Brown blinked. "Huh. I'd never heard of them before today."

"Yeah, Zrae wasn't kidding when she said they were isolationary," Kostopoulos said. "I've never seen one of them this far from home."

"So she's hiding something by nature," said Brown, stroking his chin. "Doesn't bode well for our investigation."

Kostopoulos shrugged. "Maybe one of the other suspects will be more suspicious."

As if on cue, the door opened to admit one of Brown's security ensigns with the next interview subject; the third person Bird had met with that evening, just before Zrae.

It was Maximilian Crowne-Chambers, the showboating entrepreneur whose transporter display Brown had witnessed yesterday. The unkempt beanpole of a man appeared to be wearing the same clothes from then as well.

Brown bade him sit, exchanging mild pleasantries, and dismissed the ensign, leaving the trio to themselves.

Unlike Zrae, Crowne-Chambers had registered for a stall, so they had some of his details.

"You've given your occupation as 'inventor,'" Brown said, reading from another padd.

"Correct," Crowne-Chambers said, smugly.

Brown clasped his hands together on the table. "What sort of stuff have you invented?"

The other man waved his hand about. "Oh, little things here and there. Mechanical components or improvements. I'm a bit of a tinkerer. My site-to-site transporter is my first big breakthrough though. It's going to make history! Picture this: Being able to beam directly-"

"From A to B without needing the intervening pad," Brown finished. "Yes, I saw your demonstration yesterday." He wanted to steer the conversation back to Crowne-Chambers' prior accomplishments, but the lively inventor took over.

"Then you saw the marvel for yourself!" He pointed at Brown. "Remarkable, isn't it? Truly the future! No wonder Ms. Bird took an interest. And that… charming Tellarite fellow."

"How did your meeting with Bird go?" Brown asked, seizing the moment before Crowne-Chambers could speak again.

"Very well!" Crowne-Chambers said enthusiastically. "She said that my prototype showed promise and that Mr. Abramson would be most interested in developing it further."

He suddenly took on a more sombre expression, shaking his head. "That's why it's all the more tragic what happened to her. She was so close to greatness! I do hope she passed along her recommendation before… y'know. Ah well, at least Mister Grum is still intrigued."

Brown and Kostopoulos shared a brief look of disgust at Crowne-Chambers' self-interest.

"You seem confident that Ms. Bird was going to select you for investment," Brown said.

The dishevelled man took on another smug grin. "Well, it seemed obvious to me."

He then leaned forward onto the table, speaking more reservedly but still theatrically. "I know I'm a suspect, Commander, but I assure you… I'm more distraught over Ms. Bird's death than anyone."

Brown considered Crowne-Chambers carefully. The man was clearly a bullshit artist, but was this latest sentiment genuine? Part of his act?

Or something more sinister?