"That is a lot to handle," Tom gave a low whistle as he looked down the list of figures that the Seattle Police Chief had presented him with.
The form was actually pretty standard and was something that the department regularly posted on. In fact as Tom flipped through the pages he could see that it was printed off of the department's own website with regard to their own PR. It was informative on the level of crime that the Seattle Police Department had to deal with on a daily basis year in and year out with regard to averages and so on, but it didn't quite relate to his present assignment. That had more to do with the fact that the general area had had two rather violent confrontations between law enforcement agencies and criminals that had either fled or attacked the law enforcement officers. The fact that these two events had happened so close together had spooked his editor with the possibility that something "bad" could be in the works, which thus lead to the present interview.
"Yes, yes, it is," the Seattle Police Chief answered from behind his desk as he looked to Tom, "a lot of work that my officers have to do every day... and at times in the face of sensationalism."
There was a tone that Tom detected that sort of conveyed that the police chief wasn't entirely eager for the interview, which made some sense. Normally this sort of thing would be handled with regard to press conference questions and nothing more. This would be especially true with big overarching questions that didn't relate to any active investigation, and in most cases Tom figured that he probably wouldn't even get an interview with the police chief on that issue, particularly as things moved toward what would surely be coming in the next year. However, Tom was well aware that the Seattle Police Department generally had a pretty good record and that the city hadn't had as many accusations of racism on the part of its officers as some other police units had and that even with that good PR was never a bad thing and that was probably what the Seattle Police Chief wanted.
And Tom didn't want to give the man any problems, particularly as the story wasn't to investigate into any actions by the Seattle Police. He leaned back in the chair and gave a small smile, as he figured they could probably BOTH get what they wanted. Tom could get the general information he'd need for the story on the potential for a major crime wave and a violent crime wave to occur. At the same time, the Seattle Police Chief could get a story that would highlight the bravery of his officers and the work they did to keep Seattle safe. With its overall record, Tom saw no reason have that offer on the table as it were as he talked with the Seattle Police Chief.
"I assure you that I'm not out to sensationalize anything," Tom told him, "if anything... what my story is ultimately looking for is assurance."
The response was a raised eyebrow, "This from the same reporter that insisted my officers weren't fully investigating Lionel Ulysses' supposed tail?"
"At the time it DID look like it suddenly appeared after Ulysses was shot," Tom answered with a small shrug and looking a bit less confident.
A lot of that related to his own suspicions on whether or not the tail was indicative of anything more than just a "costume" piece. He knew now that it would relate to the "big reveal" which would have to happen at some point with regard to were society, but it would need to be done in a way in which weres could not only be in control of the reveal but also show the positive side of their existence, and privately he admitted that his tactics while trying to research into Lionel Ulysses' tail would have potentially expose weres in a bad way and he would lose Alice as a result. As that thought crossed his mind he inwardly shuddered as the bond to her as a werefox was there. The "big reveal" was still needed, but the way he'd tried it before wasn't the way and wasn't even part of his present story.
"And one would think that if someone was looking to publicize having the costume piece... why wait as long as the guy did?" Tom managed to finish his question.
"Odd... but not something that would be unheard of," the Seattle Police Chief answered, "which would make investigating into something so... unimportant so intensely... also something odd."
"Okay..." Tom gave a forced smile and raising one hand, "I'll admit to being a bit over-interested in that... but I've always been detail oriented and driven to get at the truth and hopefully present it in the best possible way. That's not necessarily a bad thing, is it?"
"In certain situations," the Seattle Police Chief commented, "this intense of asking for an interview on a "potential crime wave" being one of those instances where it might not be... and might border on sensationalism... drive a story that gets people excited and demanding changes that may not work and would be definitely be hard to do even if it does work."
"It's more a concern over the fact that we have the arrest of Lionel Ulysses where his gang fled and triggered a gun battle with your officers," Tom answered, "and then he ended up dead."
"The FBI took over THAT case," the Seattle Police Chief commented.
"Yes... and in the course of that investigation their suspect was caught in a small town east of here and he supposedly bit one of the officers before they put him down," Tom nodded, "and my paper got a copy of the article on what happened there through the same way the AP shares articles with various papers..."
The Seattle Police Chief curled his fingers under chin and leaned on it, almost as if he was bored with the interview already. It left Tom wondering if this was more a disciplinary assignment by his editor in putting him through a process that would be sure to get him talked down to by people in high places, but he didn't say anything on that.
"And that could well be something that could be troubling," Tom spoke, holding hands parallel to each other and moving them from side to side to emphasize his point. He noted that the Seattle Police Chief followed the movement of his hands with his eyes but didn't move. "Three violent altercations, all to some degree involving law enforcement... with one of your officers being suspended for failing to protect Lionel Ulysses... and from the Moon Lake article on the murderer's arrest, the suspension might be a bit excessive, but I'm not here to get into that... The point is that we've had a series of incidents in the general area that exceed what is typical for the area."
His finishing line finally got the Seattle Police Chief to sit up in his chair and look a bit more interested, though his eyes were still focused on Tom. It gave Tom the sensation that he was the one being questioned when that wasn't the case in the interview. He knew that, and a part of him knew that as a were he was physically stronger than most normal humans, which this policeman was, but there was some air about him that just screamed "authority."
"That CAN be troubling," the Seattle Police Chief said slowly, "especially in the sense that there has to be some connection between Lionel Ulysses and Dymixious Drake... but a lot of that can still be an odd spike in that sort of activity. I mean, we've supposedly had some mobster from the East wander onto a nearby military base and not knowing that regular military personnel aren't all from the same state... odd things like that can happen from time to time."
"Yes," Tom nodded, "but the main question remains... could this be a sign of something more? I'm sure you and your officers are more aware of these sorts of things than I am. That some large criminal enterprise is coming this way? That's really all that I'm after... and the assurance that you'll keep EVERYONE safe."
"Of that you can be assured of," the Seattle Police Chief spoke, "we do our best to keep people safe and try to be as proactive as possible with potential criminal threats. Though, for the most part I would also say that arrest/battle with the rat pack and what happened in Moon Lake with this Dymixious are more part of the random things that are pretty hard to predict and have little real sign of anything big coming down the road."
"So... you haven't seen anything that would be signs of trouble coming?" Tom asked.
"Nothing that recent events would indicate," the Seattle Police Chief answered, "but if something does come up... report it to us through the standard and safest possible means. Part of what got the FBI after Dymixious was his taking the law into his own hands."
"Of course, and thank you for your time," Tom answered, figuring he'd gotten the best he'd likely get from the Seattle Police Chief on the issue. He'd have some other interviews to run through to get all the information for the assigned article that would include FBI's Seattle Field Office and some of the other police departments in the state, primarily in the bigger cities, but there would also be some interviews that would likely need to be done with smaller towns as well, as they might notice things that would go beneath the notice of most people. That would take time, and Tom knew it, but his editor had given him the time to be thorough with this one and that would give him the time to also work on the other big project in the "big reveal" and would likely be a fierce debate on that issue with the Moon Lake city council that coming Friday. But Tom also knew that in spite of all the fears, fears that he did understand, the were secret was not something to keep protecting. Mankind would find out and under the wrong circumstances, accidental discovery could be disastrous.