Wilma entered her floor of the housing and instead of entering her unit she walked through the halls to where Buck had encountered Luke Bishop's body. The hallway was short, a dead end off the side corridor. At the end there was a large grill or grate, which appears to be the purpose for the hall, access to the grate. Wilma walked to the end and pulled on the grate. It came away in her hands apparently it was held on by magnets. And when she let go of it to replace it, the grate made a clanging noise. Wilma looked around the area then slowly walked back to her unit.
Wilma spent the rest of the day and into the night organizing her plan. She reviewed the plans for the building to see where the grate she found led.
Then she reviewed the file on Luke Bishop sent to her by Dr. Hopkins. There wasn't much information in the file. She already knew the early history since they were in the academy together. After she was promoted to head of the intercept squadron Luke had only stayed in New Chicago for about six months. After that there were sightings around the various Terrain colonies and space stations under Terrain control. At one point there was an arrest record for assault but there didn't appear to be any resolution. Another report showed him detained on Zebra station for smuggling but again no resolution.
Wilma then listed as many of the contacts she could remember from the academy and the early days at the intercept squadron. She wanted to talk to as many people as possible. She also noted the unresolved brushes with the law. And then she sat and tried to remember everything she could about the man she knew.
Early the next day Wilma was back at the Justice Directorate to see Buck. Again, she waited in the small barren room. Buck was brought in by the guard again and he was looking scruffier than before.
"I have brought you some of your personal items. I left them with the guards, they should bring them to you in your cell once they have cleared them"
"Are they looking for the proverbial file so I can saw my way out?" Buck said with a wan smile.
"I found the source of the clanging noise you heard" said Wilma ignoring Buck's comment that she didn't understand. "There is a grate at the end of the hall large enough for a person get through. It leads to a service shaft and lift."
"Terrific, then they can let me go soon! Obviously, someone brought the body up through the service shaft and left it for me to find." He said.
"No, I am afraid not going to work. They can argue that Luke got onto the floor that way. You saw him and shot him." she said. After a pause she continued. "It also does not help that Luke and I were in a previous relationship."
"Oh" was all he said. "I still don't think it was this guy Luke Bishop, no matter what his chip said. Why else would you blow a guys face off other than to disguise his identity."
"I didn't find any evidence that Bishop's chip was altered by the Security Directorate. I am looking into as many people who knew him. He left New Chicago before you arrived, and he seems to have disappeared to some extent."
"Trying to find out who would want him dead?" he said
"Yes, find out if he had enemies. Even if it really was not Bishop he may have been killed because they thought he was."
"What about the victim if it wasn't Bishop who else was it. Can you find out if there are any missing persons reported? I have another question, who called Security to tell them about the body? Can the call be traced?" Buck asked.
"Good questions." Wilma said.
"Hey, I read The Hardy Boys as a kid" he said with a smile. When Wilma just looked at him puzzled, he shrugged his shoulders.
"I'll have to check with the building security team about the anonymous call when I meet with them to go over the building infrastructure. "She said. After a pause she asked, "Have they assigned an advocate to your case?"
"Is that what you guys call a lawyer, yes someone is coming to meet me this afternoon." He told her.
Wilma paused, and then said "I want you to get out of here as soon as possible. Problem is the Justice Directorate are not going to look for another suspect. They are sure they have the guilty party so it's really up to me to find out the truth, but right now I need time to investigate. If they rush you through the court proceedings, I won't have time to find the real culprit." Deep breath. "So can you ask the advocate to go slow, maybe get a postponement or something?"
Buck was quiet for a moment. Here was the old argument. "Yea, I'll bring it up. I know it's tough with all of the responsibilities of the Security Directorate to find time." He realized that he had sounded petulant, so he added "I really appreciate everything." he told her.
"Buck, I have resigned my position" is all she said.
And now the guard was taking Buck by the arm and escorting him out of the visitors' room.