Martha Murder Case Investigation: Day 7

The morning sun rises, Maya’s routine ends, and some fresh cases follow. But the Martha Case never left her mind. It still is very much in a mysterious phase.

It has been a week. During this period, the investigation materials were analyzed, and lengthy surveillance footage was reviewed. And the final review-cut footage arrives with the time benchmarks and transcripts. It continues for hours and hours of video, mainly because it is a big society.

In the original bunch, there are videos of every building and every corner of the complex. The version of the video sent to the bureau consists of clips of Caius, Martha, and several other individuals who raised suspicions. But one fact is confirmed with available CCTV footage: everything Caius shared is proven. He is indeed on leave and does not leave the apartment much at all. He has been very supportive in the investigation as well. His passport was examined and frequent travels were evident. Now, that is an undeniable alibi to prove his words. 

It is hard to find a truthful person in such cases because people usually cut corners and try to save themselves first. But now, Caius can be a great resource for this case. There are a few things to be verified about him, but still, for now, he is in a green light. 

Some footage shows Martha’s movements. Her vehicle is still parked, as is, and the CCTV of the parking doesn’t have anything to shed light on her travels. She did not take her vehicle anywhere. So, her movements are still unverified, even after reviewing the traffic footage received from the Department of Transportation. 

From the society footage, it seems that Martha spent her last days with a lot of things on her to-do list. She frequently kept going in and out of her apartment, to an unverified location, on foot, every few hours. The exact location couldn’t be verified because the society is located in an outer area. Advertised as a paradise on the outskirts, outside the hustle and bustle of the city. The biggest irony is that the camera surveillance covers areas that are close by or inside the premises. Traffic footage is there, but the nearby small hill-forest area doesn’t have that kind of active surveillance, and that is where Martha used to go. And oddly enough, the day of the interview seemed to be the only exception for her frequent travels.

Background checks and digital evidence of Martha leads to no surprise either. It is revealed that she did keep two personas, each for a separate group of people. She was keeping a particularly low profile on both sides of her life. In her job, it seems, there were not many media coverages where her face appeared in public, even though she was part of many notorious cases throughout her career. And the same was in her research, her identity was almost hidden from those who don’t have anything to do with it. No buzz, and no fame. Even though she was a particularly famous lawyer. She seems to be a very private person. This made it possible for her to stay almost anonymous in everything she did.

So, in short, CCTV footage and background checks on Martha do not help much in the investigation. Even after a week, nothing is even close to the theory, let alone its conclusion. And the anxiety of this case is somehow getting to Maya. Her headache is becoming more frequent than it ever had been. Also, she is still feeling the eeriness that follows this case.

Finally, the profiler’s forensic psychology reports arrive and they raise some red flags on Caius’ testimony based on the transcript and video of the interview. The report highlights that considering the nature of the case, his well-structured sentence flow and nonchalant behavior don't shed much positive light on him and further impose suspicion on his word’s credibility. 

But he is just a person interviewing for the sake of the goodness of his heart, and he doesn’t have any direct connection to the case as well. So, there is nothing substantial to be sure about. This is another piece of the case that leads to nowhere.

So, after a lot of consideration and out of desperation, to further boost the speed of this case, Daniel puts forward his thoughts to Rebecca. “We all have our share of cases. But, I think this case is much more than a murder of an individual being. It seems to be a part of something big. We need to pay more attention to it before it is too late.”

Rebecca objects, “We don’t have enough resources as is. Do you think it will help anyone to reduce the case flow on a few and increase on a few?”

Daniel nods and argues, “I understand the need for time, but we need to figure something out. This isn’t something that can be done in bulk. This case might need some individualist approaches and more time than we previously thought. Just hoping to get this done sooner rather than later. Help me out here.”

Runo also enters the cabin and adds, “And, as of now, we don’t have any decent or directional leads and evidence, either. Open-source intelligence data provided no helpful information on Marth or Caius. There’s certainly a pretext for it, but it’s not evident right now. Additional strategies and efforts seem mandatory at this point.”

Rebecca takes a deep breath, a silent moment, and then replies, “It’s not that I don’t see the situation. But I can’t bring exclusive teams without losing the bureau’s performance right now. I have people to answer. Can’t avoid the reality that we are always under rush as is.”

Daniel rubs his forehead in silence for a moment and then questions, “So, what do you suggest? I know what can’t be done. But that’s something we need to manage. We have to.”

Rebecca thinks about it for a moment, rubbing her fingers on her forehead, and then proceeds, “Well, the best I can do is, I can assign Maya exclusively on this case, can thin out a bit of your and Runo’s to-do list. Discuss this with Maya and let me know. That’s the very best I can do right now. And you know that.”

Daniel, “Of course, I appreciate it. That would be sufficient.”

Daniel takes a sigh of relief and steps outside the cabin. He sends the info to Maya via mail as soon as he reaches his cabin. Maya, on the other hand, is surprised to see that the idea of exclusivity in cases is even possible in such a busy environment where handling only 8 cases at once is a luxury. She dials to Daniel immediately and confirms, “What am I seeing? Is this a dream?”

Daniel replies, “💯 Real Deal!”

This leads to the creation of a different module of Martha’s case investigation. Now this team is created separately for the Martha Case investigation and this batch of officers will specifically concentrate on this case. Of course, other officers are still assisting the case, but not exclusively. Maya is part of the exclusive team, along with Runo and Daniel. This team of three top officers is assembled for this case in the hope of its quicker resolution. With this additional measure, the team re-opens and re-evaluates all the documents and evidence on a much deeper level. They decided to separate the duties for a much more efficient workflow. 

To begin with, Daniel is the main investigating supervisor who helps manage the investigation teams that are working on this case. He is also involved in supervision, evaluation, and delegation of work on a daily basis. He is also there for the transcript evaluation and interviews.

Runo, the Staff Investigator, helps with the documentation and maintains the investigative logs during the investigation. Responsible for locating and interviewing the possible witnesses or anyone else who may seem related at all. And making sure that every single corner of the case stays well-documented for future review and reference. 

Maya takes the ground-level investigation checks where she connects with the patrol officers and forensic experts, trying to visit the related places in the hope of uncovering the details and crime circumstances. Her part of the process involves collecting evidence, searching, interviewing, interrogating, and anything else that seems necessary. 

With the creation of this team, officially but still unofficially, they are now more diligently involved in the case. They are hoping that the results will be in their favor, soon enough. But who knows what awaits in the path ahead? There are too many questions, and too many scenarios, but not even a single path is clear yet! Let’s hope they find something substantial in their journey ahead to bring justice to the case and see the end of the Martha Murder Case.

Actually, at this point, they are all calling it a murder, or to say, speculating it to be one. But who knows if it was a murder or something else? There are too many doubts, and even the best of the best are tied in the strands of speculation, judgments, and theories. Hoping that their speculations don’t turn into delusions at some point in the future! Hoping for justice for Martha!

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