Detectives Denny Miles and Jensen Lukasky entered the interview room, where an armed police man guarded the suspect Bartholomew Smith, who sat next to a public defender assigned him by the court.
"Detectives, so nice to see you again," began Smith, all smiles and geniality. "Come to release me and apologize for my detention?" asked the gray haired man.
"You wish," replied Lukasky, as Miles sat down at the table across from the suspect.
"Actually, we came to bring you and your attorney up to date on our investigation," replied Miles, which made Smith look a little nervous.
"Oh?" he asked, trying to stay calm, although the acute senses of every weredog in the room said otherwise.
"We're about 20 years too late to say this, but congratulations. It's a girl," quipped Miles, as he slid a sheet of paper across the table for Smith and his lawyer to look at.
"Is this accurate?" inquired the attorney. "After all, my client IS Yvette Smith's biological, maternal uncle."
"Which is why we had the DNA test done twice, to double check," added Miles, before sliding a second sheet of paper across the table. "Bartholomew Smith is not only Yvette Smith's maternal uncle, or her mother's brother, whichever term you prefer; but your client is also her biological father."
"Incest?" asked the attorney, staring at his client for an answer.
"What we had together sounds so dirty when you put it that way," replied Bart Smith.
"Then why don't you clear it up for us," requested Lukasky.
"Our parents were never expecting a second child, especially considering my dad once told me there was a couple of miscarriages before and after me," began Bart. "Yvette's mother Margaret, my sister, arrived when I was six. We all thought the world of her and from the time she was old enough, she doted on me. Following me everywhere like my own shadow. Always looking up to me. In hindsight, maybe our... relationship was a little stronger than the average younger sister/older brother arrangement should have been, but nothing untoward never happened. At least not then," swore Smith.
"So what did happen?" asked Detective Miles.
"Considering the average were's longevity, times were tough in the late 1800s. Dad worked long hours at the factory, and our mother was forever at her job as a maid, or so we thought; until she jilted our father and took up with the rich man whose house she was cleaning. I pitched in where I could selling newspapers and... other odd jobs," remembered Bart Smith, recalling some of the more illegal methods he employed to earn money that he wasn't going to mention to the police. "Margaret was either at school, left alone, or with me, depending upon the time of day. Anyway, I had my first change from boy to young werefox at 14, and everything went smoothly. I remember fondly being with Mrs. Mulligan's oldest daughter from down the street and—"
"Okay. We get the picture. Go on," urged Lukasky.
"We even had a short party afterwards to celebrate, if you can call buying a fresh block of ice to make home made ice cream a celebration. Anyway," continued Smith, "Margaret was 8 at the time, and looking forward to her first transformation. Unfortunately, for some reason it happened when she was 11, and the two of us were the only ones home at the time."
The detectives looked at each other, recalling the fact Yvette Smith said her first transformation was at 11 as well.
"Gentlemen?" asked Smith's lawyer, wondering what they were thinking.
"Go on," urged Miles.
"Besides being early, it was difficult for Margaret too, so I... welcomed her into were society," admitted Bart Smith. "We had a great time, by mutual consent I might add. It was tough at times financially, but the next day, I started making sure Margaret had birth control, although it wasn't as specialized for weres back then as it is today, with a pill for every specific species. We had great times together until I was old enough to set out on my own. I moved north to Canada and sought my fortune. Never found gold, but was a pretty decent lumberjack and oil rigger. I made good money for a while too. Pissed it away almost as quickly as I earned it, which is why this gentleman is representing me today," he added, nodding at the attorney.
"Anyway, while I was gone, that's when mom left dad. Margaret told me later dad moved into a liquor bottle and stayed there until more than his sorrows were drowned. When and how she got into the adult-were entertainment industry, I don't know. First time I discovered that was when I came across an underground magazine that specialized in... furry tastes, and saw that issue's centerfold was my own sister."
"Obviously you two kept in touch to some extent," observed Lukasky.
"Yes. I was back here in Moon Lake at least once every five to ten years, give or take," explained Bart Smith. "And our relationship in and out of the bedroom was great. I even kept begging Margaret to move with me to Canada. No one up there knew her. I could claim she was my recently married wife and with us already having the same last name, no one would know otherwise. But for whatever reason, Margaret wouldn't leave Moon Lake. Whether it was because she was making good money doing... whatever it was she was doing, because she bought the house she died in for cash, or some other reason, I never found out.
"Anyway," continued Bart, "I came back one day in the late 1990s and discovered little Yvette was in existence. She was around 5 at the time, which jived with my last visit, but I never officially had the theory tested. Margaret told the child her father was dead and I was only her uncle, so I never said otherwise, but Margaret was never the same after that. She would always be happy to see me when I first came back, but her temper would flare in time and my only recourse would be to leave once more. By then we were both too set in our ways to change and..."
"Gentlemen, can we talk outside?" asked the attorney.
"So, what are we looking at?" the man asked, once he and the detectives were in the hallway outside the interview room.
"Unless the DA says otherwise, the original charges," replied Detective Denny Miles. "Failure to report Margaret Smith's death, failure to give the deceased a proper burial/disposal, collecting and cashing Margaret Smith's Social Security checks after her passing."
"Sentencing?" asked the attorney.
"Again, up to the DA. We're done here," Miles told the attorney as he and Lukasky walked away.
LATER...
Doctor Frances Twist was sitting at her office computer, typing up her notes for today. She had already filed her report on Jenny Harper's latest session and was now recounting her other appointment of the day.
"OCTOBER 21, COURT REQUIRED VISIT THREE OF FIVE.
SUBJECT YVETTE SMITH STILL EXPRESSES ALL THE CLASSIC SIGNS OF REMORSE, REGRET, AND WANTING TO MAKE RESTITUTION WHEREVER POSSIBLE; ALTHOUGH I STILL HAVE YET TO DETERMINE AUTHENTICITY, FOR I CANNOT BELIEVE OR VERIFY HER STATED REASON FOR THE RECENT CHANGE OF POSITION.
WHILE THERE ARE A FEW MEDICAL, AS WELL AS EXTERNAL, CONTRIBUTORS THAT LED TO HER PAST ACTIONS, NONE OF THE KNOWN FACTS TOGETHER TOTALLY EXPLAIN HER PREVIOUS PERSONALITY AND BEHAVIOR, LET ALONE ACCOUNT FOR HER RECENT—"
And then her phone rang.
"Hello. Doctor Frances Twist speaking. How may I help you?" she asked, knowing Rudy her secretary would not forward a call while she was busy unless it was important.
"Doctor Twist? This is Detective Miles. I have some new information you need to know."
Frances listened for a few minutes, taking notes and only asking for verification when the details of Margaret and Bartholomew Smith's past were uncertain.
"That may be difficult at best, considering the time frame involved, but we'll do what we can," promised Detective Miles.
"Is Yvette Smith facing any additional charges?" asked Frances.
"From this? Not unless we discover any evidence that suggests she knew about her mother's passing and failed to report it or give the remains a proper burial. Only Bartholomew is guilty of cashing Margaret's checks and spending the money," replied Denny.
"Okay. I'll want to talk to Bartholomew myself before I finish my assessment of Yvette Smith though."
"I think we can arrange that. I'll call you back tomorrow to hash out the details."
"Thank you Detective."
After hanging up, Frances finished her report, then typed up and filed the new information as an Addendum that would be included into the overall assessment after she had a chance to talk to Yvette Smith about this herself.
Did Margaret form a life/mate bond with her brother that he couldn't return? Did Bart ever form a life/mate bond with anyone? Otherwise, why stay away for such long stretches even before Yvette was born?
With that, she secured her inner office space, told Rudy he could leave as soon as his work was done, then called the car service for a ride home.