Gavin smiled automatically as Abby reached to pluck his reading glasses from his shirt pocket. It was a simple gesture, but one that spoke of familiarity and friendship. He relished the fleeting moment, and washed it down with a drink from his coffee cup. His warm feeling didn’t last overly long however, as Abby continued with her explanation of the murders and the details of the subsequent investigation.

As Abby spoke, Gavin merely listened with an ever deepening furrow to his brow. He would add the occasional “hmm” as the MP delved into the fact about General Lahnan’s daughter being the last victim, and the further news that the girl had become pregnant, and had decided to keep the child. That eventuality had not even occurred to Gavin, and once more he cursed the undying cruelty that man could perpetrate against itself. He had never had any children, but he could imagine how shell-shocked that General Lahnan must’ve been when he had heard the news.

When Abby had finished with her question, Gavin leaned forward to rest his elbows upon his knees. His hand found his forehead, and his fingers kneaded at the wrinkles thought was forcing upon his face. 

“Thank you, Abby,” Gavin said first, “for the access to the files, I mean. I must say that there is much more to this than I even…I mean the General’s daughter? God.”

He trailed off for a moment, lost in thought. Reaching without looking, Gavin clutched several times for his coffee before finally grasping at the handle. He brought it to his lips, and drank in a gulp much larger than he had intended.

“Damn,” he sputtered, placing his free hand over his mouth as he coughed at the scalding liquid. “Sorry,” he choked, “sorry about that.” His face twisted into an expression of embarrassment. “Bloody hell, I can’t hold my own drink, eh? Worthless…”

Clearing his throat at last with a final “harrumph,” Gavin returned to Abby’s question. “As to your thoughts about the [i]how[/i] of the matter, with the safeties on the cryobeds and all, you raise an excellent point. I am not a cryo-tech, but of what I do understand, it would be next to impossible for a tech to be able to kill with medication.”

His eyes found Abby’s, and he squinted with conviction. “The beds are specifically safeguarded against manual or accidental overdoses. Hell, the whole system was [i]designed[/i] so it would be a cruel miracle for a single person to be alter the chemical delivery enough to cause damage. Beyond killing someone in the beds with blunt force trauma, no one, including a cryotech, should’ve been able to kill with such ease. We should ask after the tech on shift. What’s his name?” Gavin said, snapping his fingers, “Ah yes, Mr. Eadoré. He should be able to lend more insight into the matter.”

Gavin paused to scratch idly at his goatee, the thought lines deepening once more. “Abby, you don’t think…” His voice trailed off as he shook his head. Gavin flexed his jaw, willing his mind to think up another explanation. When he could not shake the notion, he returned his eyes to hers.

“Abby, I know this case is pretty much closed, but could Second Shift have missed something? I mean to say, something as big as an accomplice?”