Miles and Lukasky were sitting at their respective desks going through some old files. Miles whistled and said, "Wow, Lukasky, you've got to see the file on Alice Decrux. Several court appearances of suing men for child support. And get this, she's been charged with at least a couple counts of Statute 1A."
"Yeah," replied Lukasky, "The only problem is that she's managed to get away every time. While we could prove that she changed the victims, we could never prove intent to change. Every time, it looked like an accident."
"True, but you know what they say. Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence..."
"And three times is a pattern. Speaking of which, do you really think there's a Statute 1A case here?"
Miles leaned back and took a breath before going, "Hard to say, to be honest. By the looks of things, it just appears that Jenkins simply got too close to the girls fighting, and got scratched for his efforts. Although, I can see why the DA and the boss are so interested in Decrux, given her history. At the very least, we ought to investigate this."
Lukasky nodded and said, "Right. So let's start with our two potential perps McCoy and Decrux. You want to handle McCoy while I talk to Decrux?"
"Sounds like a plan," Miles responded as the two of them got up from their respective desks. The two walked over to the jail cells and called the two ladies into two different interrogation rooms.
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Denny Miles walked into the room with Virginia McCoy sitting nervously still in her robes. He studied her a bit and then started with, "I just want you to know your rights before we begin. You have the right to an attorney should you ask at any time. Anything you say can and will be used against you. Do you understand?" Virginia nodded before he continued. "Now, then, why don't we start with your version of what happened today after you arrived at the Jenkin's place."
"Well, um," she started while brushing her hair away from her ear. "I, uh, wanted to visit Harold because I asked for some opinions and some textbooks that we were going to use. Seeing that he was a history professor, I thought that his opinions would be valuable."
Denny looked at her and asked, "Is that all?"
She frowned as her eyebrows knitted together. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, from what I understand, you made several visits to him since he moved in."
"I was just being a friendly neighbor!"
Miles looked at her before saying, "Ok, continue. What happened when Alice rushed over in a bit of a huff. She accused me and Dean of conspiring against her, and I let her know that I've had enough of her antics."
"So, that's when the fight started?"
"She punched me in the nose, and that's when I lost it. My instincts took over and I attacked her. Harold tried to stop us, but...oh poor Harold."
"And that's when you scratched him?" Denny asked as he sat down in a chair across from Virginia.
"I...I didn't mean to. I mean, there was so much going on and I..." Virginia started to babble as tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Is there anything else that you can remember during the fight? Any detail would be helpful."
"I remember..." she took a breath before continuing. "I remember when Harold tried to separate us. We were rolling on the ground pulling at each other, when I saw this look on Alice's face. It looked like a grin or something."
"Go on," Denny encouraged, looking at Virginia intently.
"I saw her black-furred hand reaching towards Harold's leg. I tried to move her hand away from him...but I think that's when I accidently scratched him with my claws."
Denny leaned back in his chair, his head bowed as he thought about Virginia's words. He then asked, "What was your relationship with him?"
Virginia looked at Denny and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well," Denny replied rather curtly, "Reports are that you and the victim were getting rather close to each other. Some might say that you and Alice Decrux were competing against each other over him. That's why you changed him, wasn't it?"
"What?" Virginia grasped the table to keep from lunging at him. "I wouldn't! I couldn't!" She took a breath. "Yes, it's true. I was developing feelings for Harold, but I would never change him. Not against his will. I would have respected any decision he made, even if he wanted to stay normal and not have a relationship with me."
Denny studied Virginia closely before saying, "All right, that's all of the questions that I've got. As far as your charges of changing in daylight without cause and disturbing the peace, you'll be here overnight. If you've got anything else that you want to say, you'll have till morning to say it." With that said, he pushed a buzzer to indicate that the interview was over, and that the guard should escort Virginia back to her cell.
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At the same time, Miles Lukasky was in a different room with Alice Decrux. She wore a pleasant smile, and had her robe off of her shoulder in an attempt to attract Miles. "Miles, darling, how have you been? How long has it been since we last talked? How are the kids?"
Miles wasn't having any of it. "Save it, Decrux," he said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Here we are again, with the same charges. Don't know how you managed to get out of the last time, but we have our eyes on you."
She looked shocked as she placed a hand on her chest as she said, "On little ol' me? Why, I've been nothing but a good shopkeeper all this time. Selling homemade sweets to the people of this community. Oh, by the way, I know my rights, and I have my lawyer on speed dial. So you can skip the whole 'do I know my rights thing?'".
Miles looked at her before asking, "So you know why you're here then?"
She smiled sweetly at him and said, "Well, I imagine it has something to do with Harold Jenkins and his new fur coat. And, in case you can't tell, I didn't do it. He's a weretiger now, and there's only one person who did that. Unless you want to accuse Dean Myers."
Miles sat down and smiled back at her, "True, but that doesn't mean that we can't charge you on the attempt." The smile faded on Alice's face faded as he continued, "So, don't think you're in the clear here. But let's hear your side of the story."
Alice sighed before continuing, "Well, from what I remember, I met Harold after he moved in with his daughter. I tried to make him welcome at his new home. I heard that his wife passed away, and I tried to cheer up his life." Miles's face was emotionless as he made notes on his pad. "Then his boss comes up to my store that day and threatens me. Sure, I haven't led a perfect life, but I tried to be a good girl and run a store. I got home to discover both Dean and Virginia with Harold and I just lost it. Yeah, I did accuse them of conspiring against me, and when they denied it, I lost it." She sighed and said, "Yeah, I shouldn't have punched her, but what she said to me made me so angry. I don't remember what happened exactly, but I threw a punch at her. But then she transformed and attacked me! I had to change to defend myself! When Harold tried to step in and stop us, that's...that's..." she paused as she grimaced in fear.
"What did you see exactly?" Miles asked, still making notes on his pad.
"Well, when Harold stepped in to stop us, I saw this look on her face. A look that said to me that he's mine. And that's when she reached out to scratch him. I tried to stop her, but she was just too strong for me. She reached out to his leg and scratched him." She sighed and continued with, "It's just so terrible what happened to him."
"I see," Miles said making a few more notes. "And what was your intentions with him?"
"What? You mean in a relationship or something?" Alice asked. "Well, if you must know, I just wanted to be a good neighbor with him and I noticed that he was going through a tough time. I just wanted to help him."
"Uh-huh," Miles responded as he continued writing. "Just like you helped all those other men?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with a bit of indignation. She quickly composed herself and said, "I think I want to contact my attorney now."
He took a breath as he closed his notepad. "That's fine," he said. "Just for your information, you'll still be charged with assault, battery, disturbing the peace, and changing in daylight without cause. You'll probably want your lawyer anyway. I also wouldn't count on getting out of here before tonight anyway."
She folded her arms as she glared at him as he pressed a buzzer to indicate the end of the interview.
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After the interview was over, the two detectives compared their notes.
"So," Denny started, "Virginia claims that she saw Alice trying to scratch Harold, and Virginia scratched him on accident."
Miles responded with, "And Alice claims that Virginia scratched him on purpose to claim him."
Denny sighed as he rubbed his head. "This isn't going to be an easy case, is it? On the one hand, a woman with a history of changing men claims that the other woman changed him on purpose. The other woman who did change him claims that she saw the first woman try to change him. No doubt it's a mess." He looked at Miles and asked, "So what should we do next?"
Miles thought for a moment and then answered, "Well, we could start with investigating their lives, talking with the victim, and perhaps with Dean Myers. He was a witness to the fight."
Denny nodded and said, "All right, let's start there."