With the front door of the Andersons' residence currently closed, Regina Talbot rang the door bell as her husband fidgeted in position on the Andersons' front porch. Leon Talbot, especially since he was the werelion king of Moon Lake, considered himself more of a doer than a talker, although the werelion representative of the Elders' Council did know there was a time and place for words too.
As a beautiful woman opened the front door, Regina said, "Mrs. Anderson. You may not remember me, but I'm Regina Talbot and this is my husband Leon."
"Oh yes. Nice to see you again," said Martha, holding out her hand.
As the ladies shook hands, Leon could smell that their hostess was a werevixen, which was odd considering her eldest son Nate was a werewolf.
"And pleased to meet you Mister Talbot," said Martha, turning to greet him.
"Leon, please," he replied, holding out his hand. It may be a bit awkward once Jean and her son marry, but if I ever see this lady at The Were Club and she's willing... he thought to himself, before getting back to the business at hand. "Our daughter called about what happened, and we brought a fresh change of clothes for her."
"Jean's upstairs cleaning up at the moment. Under different circumstances I would ask if you'd like to stay for dinner, but I'm afraid our dinner got burned during the fracas and we're all about to go down to the hospital to check on our son Nate. How's your boy Peter?" asked Martha, knowing their son was there too.
"A slight hitch in his recovery, but nothing serious," replied Leon, as the Talbots spotted their daughter coming up behind Martha.
"Hey Dad! Mom! Thanks!" said Jean Talbot, as the werelioness grabbed the bag from her father.
"Is everyone all right? I saw the Bronco outside. Who owns it?" wondered Leon.
"My other son's girlfriend Spencer Lawson," replied Martha.
"Well, the deputies already explained to me what happened, and I'll be glad to make full restoration to it for her part in apprehending the werepanthers who ambushed my daughter's fiance," offered Leon.
"I'll be sure to tell Eric when he comes down from Skyping his other girlfriend Frieda Knight," promised Martha.
Leon wanted to ask, "Other girlfriend?", but instead latched on to the name. "Frieda... Knight?" knowing who Benton and Amanda Knight's only daughter was.
"Yes. She, Spencer, and Eric have some kind of special arrangement that I'll be the first to admit that I don't fully understand. But they're all in love and really happy together, so who am I to question it?"
"I see," was all Leon could say, just as they heard someone coming up behind them.
"Mrs. Anderson?" said Jack Johnson, as he approached the group. "I just wanted to let you know that there are additional arrest warrants and Elders' scrolls out for Jack and Kenya Adaeze-Crawford. The Sheriff's deputies are tracking them down now for their part in the assault on your son."
"Thank you," said Martha, relieved that all the guilty parties involved would not escape justice.
"This case was important enough to bring out the District Attorney on his day off?" asked Leon in disbelief.
"No. My parents live next door," replied Jack Johnson, pointing to the house on their left. "My father's the one who initially called the Sheriff's office. By the way, he wanted to know if your son's going to be all right."
"When the paramedics left with Nate, their initial diagnosis was yes, but they still wanted to take him to the hospital to fully check him out," replied Martha.
"I understand. Well, I'm sure you'll want to be going down there as soon as you can, so I won't keep you much longer. But my dad also wanted to invite you and your husband over for tea sometime," said Jack.
"We'd love to. We'll call him tomorrow and make arrangements."
"I'll be sure to tell him before I leave their place. Despite what happened here, I hope you folks have a good evening," replied the District Attorney, before he left to walk back to his folks' house.
"Okay. I'm ready," announced Jean, as she came back downstairs now in her human form and fully dressed. "William wanted me to tell you that as soon as he freshens up and picks out some clothes for Nate, he'd be right down."
"Good," said Martha. Then she suddenly realized, "Where the hell are my manners? Would you two like to come in and sit a bit before we take off for the hospital?"
Yet before Regina could reply, they heard more footsteps approaching their position, but this time from the opposite direction that Jack Johnson came and went from.
"Martha! We just heard! Is Nate all right?" asked Mayor Pro-Tem Samantha Twist, as she, her wife Doctor Frances Twist, and their son Ben drew near.
"Your Honor?" said Leon, acknowledging Samantha. "Is the situation with the Crawfords that bad?"
"It's not good," replied Samantha, formally greeting the werelion king and his wife, "but we would have been here anyway. We live right next door," she added, pointing to the house to the right of the Andersons.
Just how influential are these Andersons? wondered Leon, surprised that they already knew so many important people even before his daughter started dating their oldest son.
"When I get my claws on him," hissed Frances, flexing her hands while doing her best to keep her anger and her werecat fursona in check.
"Do I dare ask?" said Leon.
"Tachibana no Akane informed us that Jack Crawford had Frances' office bugged. You can imagine how my wife the therapist feels about that in regards to the sanctity of her patients," answered Samantha, as Ben put a friendly arm around his mother, ready to restrain her again if necessary.
"I see. Hence the Elders' Council meeting tomorrow morning," realized Leon.
"Originally, yes," confirmed Samantha.
"I'm sure the authorities will capture them soon," said Regina.
MEANWHILE...
The leased stretch limo drove out of Moon Lake, headed back to Seattle.
Inside the back, cut off from the chauffeur by the tinted, sound proof partition, Kenya Adaeze-Crawford was complaining to her husband, "Shouldn't we have heard back from your men by now?"
"Not necessarily," said Jack Crawford, holding her hand in his. "Last I heard, they were lying in wait for Nate Anderson near his place, but with the Labor Day Picnic he might not have come home yet."
"It's bad enough that cow of a reporter spoiled our plans for me to become Mayor," bitched Kenya, referring to the confrontation with the star reporter* of the Moon Lake Gazette exposing both Kenya's past as a professional escort and the Crawfords' dirty schemes for the town, "but I'm getting horny," she added, as Kenya started rubbing the area in front of and between her husband's pants legs.
"Again?" Jack said in disbelief. No wonder she took up with a werewolf before me. Kenya needs a hard cock as often as a were-mer needs water! "We can do it here in the car," he whispered in her ear, "but we can't assume our fursonas. The limo driver is a normal from the car service and not one of my men."
"Damn!" cursed Kenya, as flashing lights began to light up the passenger compartment.
What the fuck? Jack looked out the back windshield, and through the tinted glass just made out the outline of a Moon Lake Sheriff's Department vehicle with their roof lights flashing.
"Sir? Should I pull over?" asked the driver over the limo's intercom.
"NO! Back to Seattle as ordered!" said Jack, wondering what the hell they could want.
Although both he and his wife had been served scrolls by Tachibana no Akane herself after the confrontation at the Labor Day Picnic, neither intended to appear before the Elders' Council tomorrow morning.
____________________________________________________________________________
*Ella Alyn, who is not a werecow, despite Kenya's insult of the lady.—tmw.