Connie screamed, "Liar, that didn't happen. Tom, stop her."
John was searching Connie and frowned as he stopped momentarily and stared at her. He laid seven .45 caliber rounds on the table and then removed five more from Connie's pocket as she struggled. Martin scooped them into a plastic bag and took possession of the evidence. John said to the crowd, "Kira's Glock 41 magazine holds thirteen .45 caliber rounds. Connie has twelve .45 caliber rounds in her pocket. She shoots a .40 caliber G23."
Kira ignored Connie's last outburst. "I had my Glock on my utility belt and grabbed my AK from the rack. I told Connie to get help before I ran out the door to follow Tom to the lake." She paused and surveyed the entire group as they listened greedily. "Did Connie approach anyone to follow me and Tom?" The observers looked at each other as everyone shook their heads. "It seemed unbelievable that Tom would go to the lake alone or without his rifle. He's not that careless and he's certainly not stupid. When door nine closed behind me, I pulled my Glock."
Kira stopped to turn to Connie and stared pointedly. "It felt light in my hand, so I ejected the magazine. It was empty. There had been a single bullet in it when I jacked the first round into the chamber. I checked the weight of my AK and changed its magazine. The magazine I removed was empty also instead of having the twenty-nine rounds it should have still contained." Kira turned to address Connie. "There's a huge difference in the feel of a full magazine versus an empty one. You'd know that if you took your training seriously and didn't find excuses to skip it."
Connie yelled, "Why are you looking at me, bitch. I didn't do anything to you, and you're making this up."
Kira pulled supple leather gloves on and reached in her ammo pockets to produce two magazines, one for her Glock and the other for her AK. "I shot half a magazine through both firearms earlier this morning, cleaned and oiled both weapons and reloaded both magazines before I exercised. Martin, will you please check these for fingerprints and see if any besides mine are on them?"
A low murmur rose from the meeting members. They had figured out where Kira's accusations were headed.
I turned toward Shane as he entered the room and approached me with a container in his hand and a frown on his face. "There were twenty-nine 7.62 x 39 bullets for the AKs in Connie's underwear drawer. She shoots the M4 carbine with the 5.56 bullets." Shane extended the shells to Martin and gave Connie a harsh look. With both sizes of bullets and two magazines in his possession Martin left to run fingerprint test and compare any prints to the prints in the personal data records on our internal computer network.
I shook my head in disgust. "What the hell have you done, Connie? You're in a lot of trouble. Did you remove bullets from Kira's firearms?"
"No, that bitch is trying to frame me for something I didn't do. You've got to believe me."
"If your fingerprints are on Kira's magazines and bullets there'll not be a good explanation for that. Now I'll ask again. Did you remove bullets from Kira's firearms?"
Connie glared at Kira, then turned to me defiantly. "Yes. That bitch stole you from me. I wanted her dead." In a flash, Connie yanked John's sidearm from his thigh holster and swung it toward Kira. Kira dove and rolled and came up with her semiautomatic in her hand. John grabbed Connie's arm and forced it straight up as the gun discharged. He wrestled possession of his Glock from Connie as other people constrained her and put plastic restraints on her wrists. Several observers at the tables lowered their own weapons and holstered them.
Kira stepped next to me, and in a voice loud enough for all to hear, she said, "Ask her if this is how she arranged your wife's death."
I felt my face redden and my fist clenched as the impact of what Kira suggested hit me. She was right. The circumstances were exactly the same, and only the outcomes were different. I stepped close to Connie feeling more rage than at any other time in my life. "Did you do that?"
Connie's face hardened but she remained silent. As I twisted to turn away, she smirked. "That bitch didn't deserve you either. I've loved you since I came here, and you're mine. I don't give a damn what the rest of them think. You and I belong together."
My fists clenched so hard the fingernails dug into my palms and my right arm drew back to throw a punch. I wanted to knock her head clean off. Kira lunged between us before I could strike and pushed me away. Over Kira's shoulder I saw Connie lurch forward toward Kira's back. Connie's leg raised, and her foot drove Kira forward into me."
John and Shane grabbed Connie roughly and dragged her ten feet away.
I caught Kira and kept her from falling. Instinctively she stepped back, spun around on her left foot, and assumed a fighting stance. She was shaking with anger. Connie was under control, so Kira relaxed and faced me.
"Tom, I ask that you remove yourself from the judicial team as leader of the investigation of this incident. You're too involved in it to sit in judgment. As the aggrieved party in a capital crime it is my right, by the group's rules, to take part in the decision on punishment, with the consent and agreement of the judicial team."
I sank onto a chair and nodded. "Alright. I concede that leadership duty in this case. When Martin finishes,
