As Tachibana no Akane hung up after talking to Far Hojun and his grandson Kai Wu Wang*, she was lost in thought until interrupted by her grandson Daisuke Tachibana.
"Is something wrong honorable one?" he asked, bowing slightly before her.
"Plenty, with everything going on in Moon Lake right now, but one thing doesn't make any sense to me at all," admitted Akane.
"What is that?" Daisuke asked in return.
"What did Jack Crawford hope to gain by having this unknown man assassinate Fredrick Parker?"
"That puzzles me too," conceded Daisuke, who was the head of both Tachibana Security as well as the Skulk Security Force that helped protect both the Elders' Council and weres in general in and around Moon Lake. "While Jack Crawford is a lot of things I will not dishonor myself by saying in front of you, one thing the man has not been is a mobster."
"Agreed. Refusing to appear before the Elders, threatening to expose weres worldwide if we attempt to bring him to justice. Those are not the actions of an honorable man. Yet this...?"
"From what we know so far that can be confirmed as truth, Crawford did hire the assassin as a spy to keep an eye on his enemies, but was murder also contracted, or was that the assassin's private agenda that Crawford might actually have known nothing about?"
"At this point, anything is possible," conceded Akane. "For now, all we can do is let the authorities do their job and hope were society isn't exposed in the process."
ELSEWHERE...
"Yes Sheriff Cooper, I completely understand. This situation is going from bad to worse in quite a hurry," agreed Samantha Twist, Mayor Pro-Tem of Moon Lake who also hoped to continue the job after the November election.
Behind her was Samantha's wife Frances, who was gently massaging Samantha's shoulders to try to ease some of the stress and tension out of her mate's body, while their adopted son Ben was sitting across from the dining room table with his mothers, while he texted his boyfriend Alex Ramsey.
"I'm sure you and the FBI present are doing everything you can to find this man and get to the truth," added Samantha.
"We are," said Sheriff Douglas Cooper on the other end of the conversation. "And don't worry. My whole staff and at least one Federal agent are aware of what's also at stake."
"I'll leave everything in your capable hands," said Samantha, stopping herself from accidentally saying paws, since she was talking to a fellow were.
Then the Sheriff asked her a question she didn't understand.
"Do I intend to come down there? Why? Is it necessary for me to be there? I'd just be underfoot right now, wouldn't I?"
"I was just curious," began the Sheriff, "because while you and your predecessor have both been good mayors, the guy before Martin Stovall would take any opportunity available to him for a photo op and..."
"I see," replied Samantha. "Well, rest assured, I'm not about to second guess or even try to upstage anyone who is as capable of doing their job like you are. So unless you actually need me..."
"I'll keep both you and the Elders informed as things develop," promised Sheriff Cooper, before hanging up.
As Samantha sat her cellphone down on the table, she looked at her family and said, "I'm sure you both heard," considering the ladies were werecats and their son a werewolf.
"Yes. Was that man really sent here to spy on us?" Frances wanted to know.
"Apparently. At least you, Benton Knight, and Tachibana no Akane for sure," confirmed Samantha, as she started to purr at her wife's gentle touch.
"I'd like to find that Jack Crawford and..." then Ben Twist let out a low, menacing growl, despite still being in his human form.
"You'll have to get in a very long line and hope there's anything left when your turn comes," replied Samantha with a smile. "But I'd prefer to let justice be served the proper way."
"Even if it means the secret of Moon Lake and weres in general becomes public knowledge?" asked a concerned Frances.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," said Samantha, reaching over her shoulder to hold her wife's hand.
MEANWHILE...
Who the hell laid out the roads in this small town? M. C. Escher?** the wanted man asked himself as he drove around.
Everything so far had gone according to plan.
Almost.
Jack Crawford made the perfect dupe, looking for someone to do his dirty work in Moon Lake, which was a great cover for what he was really sent to do: kill Fredrick Parker for the mob before the man could rat out his fellow crooks to save his own ass.
The fact that a deputy was killed in the process was just pure dumb luck.
After all, the guy knew the risks when he put on the uniform.
Everything had gone about as well as he could have hoped for.
Sure, the police were probably searching his hotel room by now, but everything there would point to his cover and the fact Crawford hired him.
Let his true employers remain hidden, just like he planned to do as soon as he found his way out of town.
While not knowing that Parker would survive, but live as a cripple for the rest of his life, forgetting the road map was the one hitch in the assassin's plan.
He had driven around carefully to avoid drawing attention to himself, trying to take every back road and side street he could to leave Moon Lake and disappear.
The fact that a lot of the roads twisted and curved back upon themselves within the town's wagon wheel design confused him, but the man thought he had finally accomplished that task...
Until he saw the road block ahead, with a hint of what passed for the downtown Moon Lake skyline behind the patrol cars.
OH SHIT! he thought, as the flashing lights of a police cruiser appeared in his rear view mirror.
TO BE CONTINUED!
_______________________________________________________
*In the recent Earth 2 episode "The Gathering Storm".
**A famous artist known for his unique patterns. For more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._C._Escher —tmw.