Mud, Part 2

Posted on Sat Apr 1, 2017 @ 4:58am by Lieutenant JG Noelle Bennett M.D. & Lieutenant Liam Reynolds & Qinee

1,170 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Rumours
Location: Ferengi Embassy
Timeline: MD 5 1030 hrs

Qinee leaned forward, giving Noelle and Liam a rather tantalizing glimpse of her bosom as it lifted from the mud a bit. “I don’t track my associates’ social lives,” she told Noelle. “I know he often frequented The Lotus Lounge and other pleasure establishments. But I have no specific complaints that have come to me. If you think that is related to what happened to Nazl, perhaps you should be looking at the girl,” she said. “Or perhaps her father.” Qinee leaned back with a serious look at the pair of them.

Thankfully, as a therapist, Noelle had plenty of experience ignoring things she considered irrelevant to her goal. She may have been sitting in mud at the moment in her own bathing suit, but she wasn't about to add to her discomfort by giving any thought to the ambassador's display. "I assure you, Ambassador, we are considering all angles." She paused, then asked, "Since you knew him best, and knowing what you know about what happened to him, I'm wondering whom you think could be responsible, assuming we could rule out the girl and her father, of course."

“Have you looked into all the anti-alien sentiment plaguing this station?” Qinee asked. “Maybe you should stop by The Dilithium Chamber,” Qinee suggested.

"That's a fair point," Noelle agreed with a nod. "I'll definitely interview some folks there. Thank you, Ambassador. My intention is to assist the investigation by applying my psychological expertise to create a profile of the offender, which is why I'm focusing on trying to understand what type of man Nazl was, not just in the eyes of people here, but in the eyes of others he may have interacted with."

Qinee nodded and leaned back. “Fine. Ask whatever questions you need to about Nazl. I knew him as well as anyone on the station, I suppose, but that does not mean I knew him well. He was a detestable toad, but I am used to working with such.”

Noelle resisted the urge to smile at her last comment and asked, "You mentioned you had suspicions he was involved with the death of your predecessor and that he was involved in less than legal activities on the side. Will you tell me more about the basis for those suspicions and if you knew of anyone specifically whom you think would be capable of the level of rage exhibited during the crime?"

Liam leaned forward, curious as to Qinee’s answer on that one. He got the feeling that in another life Noelle could make a decent detective. Perhaps she liked to play one in a holodeck. Liam considered Qinee’s most recent words. He hoped the ambassador wasn't alluding to thinking him or any of his staff were detestable toads!

“He is a Ferengi,” Qinee said. “Your Federation legalities mean nothing when the prime motive is profit,” she reminded. “Of course he had illegal activities on the side. We all do.” She gave a knowing wink. “Maybe he cheated the wrong Naussican or someone. Or like I said, maybe those supremacists at the Dilithium Chamber decided to step things up beyond words and intimidation.”

Noelle wasn't about to let him sidestep her question so easily. "So just to be clear, you're assuming he was involved in illegal activities given his personality and his particular culture, but you have no specific knowledge of any illegal activities yourself? Also, I'm assuming you don't suspect every Ferengi of murdering his predecessor, and you mentioned you suspect Nazl of such behavior. What led you to such a belief?"

Qinee shrugged. “Rumors. Vague innuendo. Veiled threats,” she said. “Nazl has -- had -- a lot of support in the embassy staff,” she told Noelle. “I do not know how familiar you are with Ferengi culture, but the fact that a female sits at the top of the pile rubs the males the wrong way,” she said. “There are very few of us even on staff, and most of them were brought in with me. The others were mainly there for oomax.”

Noelle nodded. "I see. So if I'm understanding you, you're saying Nazl also resented having you as a boss, and even though he has support amongst the embassy staff, there are still members he might have come in conflict with?" She couldn't exactly indict someone based on rumors and innuendo, so she focused on anything that sounded remotely factual.

“I did say he was an odious toad, didn’t I?” Qinee asked. “But he had good lobes, and so Ferengi were willing to look past that if it made them rich,” she said. “I can give you some names, I suppose, but I am not sure it will lead you anywhere. What is it you Hew-mans call it? A red herring? Anyway, Nazl’s murder isn’t how a Ferengi would go about it. Too...messy. Too much attention. We prefer something more subtle, like poison, or quick and easy, like a disruptor, perhaps set to disintegrate to leave no evidence. We aren’t a courageous people, Counselor,” Qinee said. “Why get up close with a knife when you can hire an assassin with a TR-116, or a Naussican?”

Noelle nodded. "Thank you, Ambassador, for your insight. You've offered several points to consider that I believe will help us narrow our focus. I would appreciate it if you would share those names. You may be right in saying they are red herrings, but at this point we must investigate every potential lead. At the very least, if we know where not to look, at least that's a start."

She saw Liam in the corner of her eye and offered a quick but sincere nod. She appreciated his help in facilitating this meeting, and while they were nowhere near identifying the killer, they had identified some promising leads.

"I'll accompany you to the Dilithium chamber," Liam stated. The more he thought about it, he remembered prior events. He had met Raddon and his lackey Dorian, or "Mr John Riley", who had lied to him who he was when he first joined the station and had hosted a diplomatic soiree. They were both involved in this business and there was something very off about things. In fact, he remembered the Klingon ambassador had stated firmly that something was not right about Dorian. The Goddesses only knew what their agenda was, but it was not a good one. No way was he letting Noelle go into that environment alone.

"Before you and I do that, I need to update Commander Ryan first. I'm supposed to assist the investigation, not go off on my own, so I should probably keep them in and see what they would like me to do," Bennett explained.

Liam nodded, feeling happier that she had just said that. He would prefer Ryan be involved than Noelle walk into that place.

FIN

Qinee
Ferengi Ambassador
NPC Matthew

Lieutenant Liam Reynolds
Chief Diplomatic Officer

Lieutenant JG Noelle Bennett, M.D.
Chief Counselor

 

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