Buck sat in his cell with a thousand thoughts going through his head. He was shocked that Wilma would quit for him. He was embarrassed that he was the cause. He knew she enjoyed her work; she was good at it. But at the same time, he was glad. If only he weren't in jail.
Wilma met with Colin Bryd, the head of building maintenance and security for the housing unit. It seems that the shaft and lifts that were probably used to get the dead body onto her floor were installed at the time the building was constructed. The building was being built when the new delivery system was first developed and there was some doubt about its effectiveness, so this system was left in the plans as a backup. According to Bryd nobody used the backup system and very few people even knew it existed. As to the anonymous notification it came in at about 22:15 and was a very brief message about the body on her floor. No identifying elements at all and they had deleted the message since the Justice Directorate did not request it.
Next, she contacted a friend in the security directorate to see if there were any missing persons reported. Her friend Col Stairs checked both the security and justice data and confirmed that there were none. No one was missing a young man. So, she reasoned that the dead man if he wasn't Bishop was not from New Chicago.
Wilma next started on her list of contacts, she wanted to speak to as many people who knew Luke Bishop as possible. She spent several days talking to people who either knew or worked with Bishop. She even took a trip to the colony where it was reported that Bishop had been arrested but unfortunately there wasn't much information there. She also went to station Zebra about the smuggling charges. Bishop had been associated with a group of pirates that were smuggling thurbidian crystals. Apparently, he was able to bribe his way out of that entanglement She heard a lot of other tales about shady deals and broken promises. There appeared to be a lot of people who were angry with Bishop but were they angry enough to kill him.
Back in New Chicago Wilma thought about the thurbidian crystals smuggling. That appeared to have promise. She started to investigate the illegal market, what was the value of the crystals was it worth risking a person's life for them. The answer was yes. She was sitting in the unit after coming back from a late-night meeting with some questionable characters. They knew Bishop and confirmed that he was in the smuggling business but were not willing to be extremely specific. While the meeting confirmed her suspicions it didn't provide any concrete information. Wilma picked up a photograph of Luke Bishop. "Now why won't you tell me what is going on Luke Franklin Bishop" she said aloud. Then she dropped the photo as an idea struck her. "Now I wonder how you pulled that off."
Wilma visited Buck almost every day. Unless she was off planet, she was in the visiting room early every morning. Buck's attitude vacillated between confidence and despair. At least he had his personal items and was groomed. He couldn't help her much and he worried about some of the characters she was meeting in what he thought of as dark alleys. Buck tried to bring up the fact that Wilma had resigned but she wasn't interested in going into that. Then one day he did have some good news to impart.
"The lawyer has managed to get a postponement on my next court appearance. Seems there is some public interest in my case and justice people are worried. You seem to have stirred the pot so to speak."
"If you mean I have brought some attention to the case, I guess I have. I have a meeting with Dr Huer this afternoon. He has requested an update." Wilma told him. She paused then added "I know this is not easy for you, but I really think I am making progress. Please be patient a little bit longer"
"I don't have much choice at this point, do I?" he replied. "I know you are doing your best it's just so hard to just sit and wait" he added as the guard came and escorted him back to his cell.
Once Wilma had reported to Dr Huer on Buck's mental state and outlook, Huer related the steps he was taking to prevent Justice directorate from moving to swiftly. Then Wilma began to explain some of the details she had uncovered. She explained about the work shafts and lifts in the building, and the information on the thurbidian crystal smuggling.
"So, you think Bishop was killed because of the smuggling?" Huer asked.
"It was not Luke Bishop that was killed" she told him.
"But I thought Justice had scanned his chip and it came back as Luke Bishop" Huer was confused.
"Yes, it came back as Luke E Bishop. But Luke's middle name is Franklin, he was teased about it being pretentious in the academy."
"Wait a minute, the chip said Luke E but that's not right, was it a mistake with their scanner…
"It was not a mistake" she cut in. "The other information was correct as to biographical data etc. Just his middle initial was wrong. And if Justice had not already disposed of the body, we may have been able to ascertain exactly how it was done"
"So, the dead man was not Luke Bishop in all likelihood" Huer said, as he shook his head.
"Probably not. I am guessing he wanted to be reported as dead for some reason. Buck was right, he said it was not Bishop all along"
"Yes, well he is usually correct in these things." Huer said. "So, what's your next step? Are you going to take your findings to the Justice Directorate?"
Wilma was quiet for a moment. "No, I do not think that Justice will be interested in my findings, I doubt they would be willing to release Buck and investigate further. But I have an informant that passed on some intriguing information about the smuggling ring. They were working in an abandoned repair facility on the edge of the New Chicago dome and were forced to leave in a rush. I am hoping that they left behind some concrete evidence."
"The is good news. Justice Directorate must be notified immediately. They cannot refuse to investigate" Said Huer
"I do not want to wait any longer for Hopkins and his people to decide if it is worth there time. I plan on visiting the site myself right now. Wish me luck" said Wilma as she went out the door.
The repair facility had not been occupied for a long time. Wilma had no trouble getting into the building. The lights were motion activated so they came on and off as she moved along, and the lights followed her. There were bits of abandoned machinery and metal parts scattered about the main part of the floor. As she looked at the floor and the dust patterns she said "Details, details, details." Then she spotted a desk in the corner. "Well, hello there, what have you got to tell me" She walked over to the desk.
She glanced at the debris on the top and started to go through the drawers. That's when she heard behind her
"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist"
Wilma's head and shoulders drooped. She paused a split second and then turned around to face the person holding a hand weapon covering her."
"You are looking good Luke, for a dead man" she told him.
"Hands up dear. Thank you. You are as lovely as ever." He told her. "Not exactly the best circumstances for a reunion but you are asking to many questions and it's starting to interfere with my plan."
"So, who was the person found dead?"
"Truthfully, I really don't know his birth name, we just called him Troll. I am not sure if the boss sent him along to help me or keep an eye on me, but this is going to be my big score, so he had to be eliminated. And when word gets back to the boss that Bishop is dead then I won't have to look over my shoulder anymore."
"So how did you change his chip?" she asked
"Oh, I that little exploit I found years ago when I was working for the security directorate. I knew it would come in handy someday." He replied
"And how did you know about the utility shafts in the housing building?" Wilma was playing for time, and Bishop was willing to go along.
"Well, if you are a young man just out of the academy and you are keeping company with the wife of a general on the sly, you have to know the ins and outs Wils" Wilma flinched at the use of the nickname he always called her. She leaned back against the desk and put her hands on it to steady herself.
"Hands up there dear" he told her, and she complied. "While it's been fun reminiscing, I don't have a lot of time. I admit that after I left New Chicago, the freelance lifestyle was fun at the beginning, but I am tired of being on the run. So, I am appropriating this last load of crystal all for myself. This way I can retire to some out of the way colony and live like a king. And nothing is going to stand in my way not Troll and not you. You had to go nosing around, you really forced me into trapping you like this"
"You think I am trapped? Funny I think I am the bait." She said with a smile and snapped her fingers.
Out of the shadows surrounding Luke and Wilma stepped 6 security men all with side weapons focused directly on Bishop. Bishop tried to turn and run but his exit was blocked by the security force. He really had nowhere to go. Wilma walked up to him and relieved him of his weapon, patted him on the check and told him "You have underestimated me again Luke."