“I’ll get Tachibana on the line to meet with you. By now she knows of what happened to Peter Talbot and would like to be made aware of any further information,” said Moon Lake Sheriff Douglas Cooper.
But just as he was about to reach for the phone on his desk, it rang on its own.
Answering it, the Sheriff discovered Mayor (Pro-Tem) Samantha Twist was calling him.
"Hello Cooper. I'm back in my office after being at the courthouse. Those Parkers look like some piece of work," she observed.
"That might be an understatement," the Sheriff agreed, while beginning to search for his aspirin.
"Any idea how long we'll have to deal with Freddie the Shark, let alone his entourage?" wondered Twist.
"Uncertain. But I have men watching them now, and others posted along the roads in and out of town in case they send for reinforcements."
"Do you think he will?"
"Given what I know of the guy, he can't be happy that his son's in jail, let alone facing all the charges he is."
Cooper heard Samantha let out a sigh. "Okay. I assume you asked Grrrrrrr... to close," she said, referring to the restaurant that only catered to customers if they were in their fursonas.
"For now," confirmed the Sheriff.
"Have someone come by and pick up the document, while I write out the formal request for them to remain closed until at least Monday," said the Mayor.
"Better make it Wednesday. Daniel Parker's Federal ride isn't expected here until sometime Tuesday."
"Okay. Meanwhile, I'll call Lance Knight personally and ask him to keep The Were Club closed tonight, just in case. We'll still have the Labor Day Picnic Monday, but we'll have to start spreading the word that NO ONE can be there in their fursonas."
"Coded message over the local radio stations?" asked Cooper.
"Yes, and a special coded message in both tomorrow and Monday morning's Gazette. Can you arrange extra patrols at the picnic grounds?" wondered the mayor.
"It should be possible, because Agent Reed believes we should contact the Elders' Council for assistance. The additional man power would be nice, and besides, I'm surprised Leon Talbot doesn't already have them involved since it was his son who got shot."
"By the way, how is the case against Daniel Parker on that?"
"Solid as a rock," promised the Sheriff. "Witnesses in the parking lot and the diner itself. Video surveillance from the diner's cameras. The perp being caught driving Peter's car, along with ballistics confirming it was Parker's gun that shot Peter. The only way that kid is going to escape justice is by either having our charges delayed because of all the outstanding Federal matters that are before us, or dying before he appears in a Moon Lake court room again."
"Okay. Keep me posted. You have my formal contact information as well as the private stuff between the house and my cellphone," Samantha reminded him.
"Okay Madame Mayor," promised Cooper, before ending the call.
It was only then that he was able to reach across his desk and finally grab his elusive aspirin bottle.