"Well, at least this is over with," commented Detective Lukasky as he set the Interrogation Room Table he was trapped under upright again.
As the police officers attended to his wound the best they could until the ambulance arrived, Daisuke Tachibana sat in a chair and thought about what happened.
"Is it Detective?" asked Daisuke, staring at the corpse of the deceased suspect.
"What do you mean?" asked Lukasky in return. "The man was obviously afraid of us finding out who he is. Probably has a list of outstanding warrants as long as my arm. And the way he kept staring at you, considering how you're dressed, he probably mistook you for a Fed."
"Perhaps," agreed Tachibana. "I did see fear in the man's eyes, but it was not of us. I believe he feared failing his employer more than any threat we could pose."
"You mean this Dieter Wilhelm guy that is still in Alabama at the moment?" inquired Chief O'Hara, as he supervised removal of the corpse to the morgue.
"Yes," confirmed Daisuke. "Men follow other men for several reasons. Respect, loyalty, honor. But the most powerful reason is fear. Whatever legal punishment the law could dispense upon him seemed minor to whatever this Wilhelm would have done if he discovered the suspect's failure to keep an eye on Jennifer Harper, and the other part of his mission if what I suspect is true about him having orders to kill Harold Jenkins as well."
"Then what kind of man is this Dieter Wilhelm?" wondered Lukasky.
"One we must be fully prepared to deal with," was Daisuke's advice.
"So what do we do?" inquired Detective Denny Miles.
"At the moment, I honestly don't know," admitted Tachibana. "While Wilhelm is not scheduled to arrive in Moon Lake before the wedding next Saturday with the rest of the Harper family, our leader is having us double check to make sure the suspect was alone and no one else in Moon Lake currently assists our enemy."
"I'd hate to think a local, even if they're still a normal, would go against one of our own," commented Chief O'Hara, for everyone in the room except the deceased was a were.
"Me too," agreed Daisuke. "The search is only a precaution. The Skulk is also stepping up surveillance along every possible route and access point into town, in case this man does have back up in route, if not already here. By the way, did he have a cellphone?"
"We found it hidden in-between the seat cushions of the VW," said Miles, pulling an evidence bag out of his jacket pocket. "But we haven't had a chance to run its history yet."
"My brother Yamoto will be here soon, originally to relieve me for the next shift. He has technical experience and may be able to help you in case that phone can tell us more about who we are dealing with," offered Daisuke, as a team of paramedics walked into the Interrogation Room. "We must have answers soon. If the deceased and Wilhelm had a regular contact schedule, he might get worried about receiving no word from this man."
"Thank you," said Detective Miles. "I'll make sure your brother gets your sword when he arrives," he promised, referring to the katana lying on the floor between them. "You do it and your clan much honor."
"One does what one must," replied Daisuke, as he managed to get on the gurney. "Knowing my... constitution," he added, for his werefox senses told him one of the paramedics wasn't a were, "I should be back on active duty within a couple of days. It has been an honor working with you all, and I hope do to so again, especially if it can be under more quieter circumstances."
"Agreed," said Miles, as the paramedics started checking Daisuke's vital signs.
MEANWHILE...
Eric Anderson sat on the Stovall family couch (quite romantically close) next to his new girlfriend, future fiance, and fellow were-mer Julie Stovall for a couple of hours playing video game Tennis as she taught him everything she knew about the real life sport, which was quite a lot.
Finally, Eric hit the PAUSE button on his controller and said, "I need a break."
"Sure honey. Want something to drink?" asked Julie, noting his empty soda can on the coffee table.
"Not at the moment. Thank you. But can we talk?" Eric asked in return.
"Sure," agreed Julie, taking the controllers and setting them down on the coffee table. Then she turned to look at Eric and asked, "About what?"
"Us."
Uncertain what was on Eric's mind, Julie just stared at him as Eric said, "I love you. I love being a were-mer, let alone being your were-merman," he added, while briefly letting himself change from normal appearance to Phase 1, where just the webbing appeared between his fingers and toes, "but for some reason, I don't think I've still totally adjusted to the new me, let alone us yet."
"Oh? Why?" asked Julie, now a bit concerned.
"Part of me feels this is all just a beautiful dream that I'm gonna wake up from at any moment and then be disappointed that none of it is true," replied Eric, while taking Julie's hands in his. "Then there's another part of me that can't believe that out of all the guys in school, you fell in love with me," he admitted, while staring at her.
WHEW! thought Julie. For a moment there... "First off Eric," she began, moving closer so that her deep blue eyes stared directly at Eric's new blue were-mer eyes. "Even without what you told me about your life back in Minnesota before moving here to Moon Lake, a little disbelief within the first day or so is natural. Finding out weres exist, let alone becoming one yourself is a lot to take in," conceded Julie.
"As for the rest of what you said, you're not the only one whose afraid of finding out this is all just a beautiful dream. But perhaps you need to listen more to this," she said, taking their hands and placing one set over her heart and the other over Eric's, "than this," she added, while touching her forehead to his.
"You're right," agreed Eric, moving closer to give her a gentle, but affectionate kiss.
When their lips parted, Eric wrapped his arms around Julie and pulled her closer to him. "All my life..." he began, trying to find the right words.
"You're starting to overthink it again. Please don't spoil the moment," requested Julie, snuggling closer to him.
"Yes dear," agreed Eric, kissing the top of her blonde hair before letting himself relax with his soul mate.
IN THE KITCHEN DOORWAY...
So absorbed in her own work, Julie's mother Melissa grew curious when she didn't hear the TV anymore.
Walking away from her laptop at the kitchen table, Melissa stood in the doorway to the living room and dining area. She didn't overhear the entire conversation, but enough to know that the two of them were deeply in love, and Julie had her "happily ever after" far sooner than she acquired it with Julie's dad.
A quick look at her wristwatch showed it was still over an hour before they would start thinking about cleaning up and going out to dinner to celebrate Eric's entry into were-mer society, let alone his impending future with her daughter.
Yet Melissa Stovall's mind was no longer on work as she went back to the kitchen just long enough to secure and shutdown her laptop.
Then she crept quietly up the backstairs to go to the master bedroom, close the door for some additional privacy, and call her husband to let him know how much she missed him.