Lieutenant Barzo tossed an errant PADD away.  The reports on departures and arrivals had proven to be unhelpful and overwhelming.  She downed her fifth coffee in five hours, annoyed at the lack of answers to the central question of who had killed the bad baker.  They had reinterviewed Arthur Morris, and he’d capitulated within ten seconds.  There was a loosely organized group of bakers allied with a branch of the Orion Syndicate.  He had a few names on the outside.  Morris was vehemently defensive about his position in all of this.  “I’ve kept my bakery clean through all of this. I never joined, I never participated…I refused to get involved.  I know it affected my business and my supply chains…but I couldn’t cross that line.”

V’luth worked carefully through each PADD and data set.  The various connections intrigued her.  She had already identified several other offending parties unrelated to their case.  “It is logical there would be a significant amount of shuttle and ship traffic.  It is a matter of finding the right connection to Mandrake.”

Barzo rubbed her forehead in frustration.  It had taken them hours to get to this point, and the reports and data were only halfway analyzed.  She wasn’t patient, and paperwork hadn’t been her strength in her career.  She was thankful for V’luth as a partner in one way – she had a talent for it.  “I wonder how much Morris had to take from these goons?  Looking at his balance sheet, he was modestly successful…but it was just him doing the work.  He never hired anyone to work with him.”

The Vulcan pointed out, “Logically, he would not trust anyone from the outside given the threat this group posed in attempting to disrupt business.

“Wait…Mandrake had employees.”  Barzo scrambled into the pile of PADDs as V’luth watched, intrigued.  A moment later, she held a PADD with the list of employees, “Compare this with the one we interviewed.”  It took thirty seconds.  “That one.  Jeremiah Muncie.  He wasn’t at the shop…and…” she tapped at her PADD, “…he’s no longer on the station.”

V’Luth pulled the name and put the search to work on the manifests for the ships.  Fifteen seconds later, Jeremiah Muncie had been found on an outbound transport.  “Mr. Muncie has not returned to the station.  His record indicates some petty crime with some allegations that were never proven.  He would be, as you would say, the perfect patsy.  I will input a warrant for his future arrest should he ever return to the station.”  She arched an eyebrow at her partner, “You do not seem to find this a sufficient ending, Lieutenant.”

Barzo stared at the PADDs.  They had found a suspect, but it was a dead end.  “No, I do not find this a…sufficient ending.  This sucks.  This Muncie guy probably did it…and he’s never coming back.  He’ll fade into the background and move on.  We’ll be stuck with an open file.”

“Logically, we’re working the case as a part of our assignment to the USS Mackenzie.  The case may not be closed, but we can pursue leads once the ship leaves the Starbase.  This will lead to a conclusion of the case.”

“You’re talking about patience.”

“Yes, that is the correct term.  I can assist in training you in several methods to help with waiting.”

Barzo stared ahead, remaining silent for several minutes.  She gave V’luth a brief side eye, “You can tell no one that I was open to your suggestion.”

“I will do as you ask.”