Mal’akh murders Trish Dunne

Mal’akh murders Trish Dunne in Pod 3, the Smithsonian’s specimen-storage area, to obtain the credentials needed to reach Katherine Solomon’s secured research storage. The killing turns Trish’s ordinary access card into a tool of intrusion: her death both removes a partner from Katherine’s work and gives Mal’akh a means to bypass her cooperation.

Setting and Purpose

Mal’akh enters Pod 3 accompanying Trish, who is showing him the collections. The room holds preserved specimens, including a giant squid, Architeuthis, displayed in a large tank. As Trish describes the collection, Mal’akh pays little attention to the exhibits and instead checks the room for security cameras. He sees one trained on the entrance, an observation that helps him judge how much scrutiny he is likely to face.

His purpose is not simply to explore the facility. He anticipates that Katherine’s data-storage room may be difficult to access and expects that persuading her to open it could take time. Trish’s key card and its associated PIN offer an alternative. The murder is therefore part of Mal’akh’s effort to reach Katherine’s research: he identifies a practical obstacle, takes the credentials that can help overcome it, and intends to proceed without depending on Katherine’s willingness.

The Confrontation

Trish senses that something is wrong and tries to end the visit, but Mal’akh seizes her and demands the PIN connected to her card. She initially challenges him and points out that security could see them, though she knows they are beyond the cameras’ range. When she fights back, she scratches his face, removing some of the makeup that conceals his tattoos. The brief revelation shows that the appearance he has presented to her is a disguise, but it does not give her a way to escape or summon help.

Under pressure, Trish gives him the number 0804 and explains that it is her birthday, August 4. Her answer supplies the information Mal’akh needs to use the card. The detail makes the credential more than a device number: it is a piece of personal information that Trish has turned into a security code, and Mal’akh converts that intimate fact into access. Once he has obtained it, he kills her in the specimen area. The account establishes the outcome without making the mechanics of her death the focus; the decisive action is the transformation of a workplace encounter into a means of forced entry.

Concealment and Immediate Consequences

After Trish dies, Mal’akh places her body in the giant squid tank and closes it. He retrieves her card from the floor and keeps it, retaining both the physical credential and the PIN she has given him. The tank that had served as an exhibit becomes a hiding place, and the collection space is made to conceal the violence committed within it.

Mal’akh’s calculation changes as a result. He had first regarded Trish as a liability; once he realizes that her card and password can serve as his own set of keys, he no longer needs to spend time forcing Katherine to open the storage room. He also recognizes that the disguise has been damaged, but judges that it no longer matters: by the time Katherine understands what has happened, he expects to have moved ahead with his plan. The murder thus has a direct operational consequence, giving him access while reducing his dependence on the person whose research he seeks.

Narrative Significance

Trish’s death is presented through a shift between Mal’akh’s instrumental attention and Trish’s growing alarm. He watches the room, its camera coverage, and the card he wants; she registers a danger she cannot initially identify and tries to leave. That contrast makes the scene’s central imbalance clear: Mal’akh treats people and access systems as parts of the same plan, while Trish’s attempts to resist cannot undo the advantage he has already created.

The scene also connects the killing to Mal’akh’s earlier violence. While disposing of Trish, he recalls Isabel Solomon, whom he killed long before. The brief recollection places Trish’s murder within a repeated pattern rather than presenting it as an isolated act, and it links the Smithsonian episode to the Solomon family’s history of loss. For Katherine, the immediate consequence is especially intimate: her research partner is gone, and the credentials Mal’akh takes are intended to open the space that protects her work. Trish’s death therefore advances Mal’akh’s access plan while bringing its cost directly into Katherine’s professional and personal world.