"Thanks for your help with the books," Virginia commented.
"It was no problem," Harold looked to her, "I was glad to help... and glad to be able to talk to someone about things like this. Sharing interests... it's wonderful. I hope this isn't too late..."
"Well," Virginia gave a sigh, "I was supposed to give my final vote on these two last week... but then the fight with Decrux happened and I missed that meeting. Now... the meeting was to get my opinion, and the deadline for ordering the books for the next school year won't be until much closer to Thanksgiving... so even with the time lost while the police were figuring out as to whether or not your being clawed was deliberate on my part or purely accidental resulting from the fight... there should be some time to catch up and given them my opinion. So there should be no problem there."
Harold breathed a sigh of relief at that and slowly wiped his brow as he watched Virginia move to stack the books. He was greatly pleased to be able to talk with her on them, and since becoming a weretiger, he'd continually looked forward to seeing Virginia. It was what had lead their engagement he was more than happy to have her company. He still loved Eliza and missed her dearly, but with the sensation that Eliza approved of Virginia, he'd made the leap to move on. It was also something that also set his mind spinning on finding a way to let Virginia stay longer through the day, or at least to ask if she would want to spend more of the day with him and Melissa. Sure that might mean accompanying them on a drive to Seattle for some of the formal wear that Melissa would need for when he and Virginia had their wedding, but the drive to Seattle wasn't far and Virginia's opinion on "fashion" might be helpful. Harold might know what was professional to wear, but he'd never know what would set trends or would look good. However, as he stood up to ask, a surprised voice called out...
"Dad!" came Melissa's voice from his study making both Harold and Virginia turn and slowly move toward it.
The pair made it to the base of the steps as Melissa came out from the study/office/computer room with a bit of a smile on her face. Harold thought he heard steps coming from outside the house, but for the moment kept his focus on his daughter.
"Mel... are you okay?" Harold asked looking her over.
Melissa looked relatively cheerful and that her lips were pulled into a smile. But Harold also noted that her eyebrows were a bit raised as well, showing some sign of being nervous as well. Melissa actually opened her mouth to answer when there came a firm knock at the front door making all three of them turn toward it. Harold stood quietly for a moment before the knock was heard again.
"Busy morning today," Virginia commented.
"At least we got through discussing the books," Harold said back to her, "Hold on a moment, Melissa. I'll see what this is about and then you can tell me what's got you excited at the moment."
He then made his way to the door and opened it to find a pair of familiar detectives standing there on the step to his home, Denny Miles and Miles Lukasky. The pair had been involved in the investigation over the fight between Virginia and Alice Decrux, what had lead to Harold's unplanned entry into were society. However the end of that investigation had lead to the restrictions on Virginia being lifted and Harold soon quickly picked up an open relationship with the female weretiger, and from there, Harold thought that Miles and Lukasky's roles were essentially finished. After all it had been Officer Leprune that had taken their statements with regards to the events at the Halloween Dance.
"Is there something wrong, officers?" Harold spoke slowly as he looked between the two detectives.
"Nothing wrong... just closing up a few things," Detective Lukasky spoke politely, watching as Virginia McCoy and Melissa Jenkins coming up behind Harold.
"So... Decrux was caught?" Harold asked.
"No... though the case files on her will effectively be closed," Detective Miles said slowly.
"WHAT?!" Harold and Virginia practically roared in unison, even in human form, there was enough volume to it that both Moon Lake PD detectives had to take a step back.
"A person who is dead can't be prosecuted," Detective Miles spoke, "she may well be guilty of messing with the dance's punch... but there isn't much we can do with a corpse."
"What happened?" Harold wondered.
"We did have an officer monitoring her house," Detective Lukasky spoke, "so when she moved to flee, that officer went in immediate pursuit of her. The officer gave hot pursuit, however, as she got out of Moon Lake, the roads going north begin to get rather curvy going around mountains. Much of the straight line roads here in Moon Lake are only possible because the town was built here in the valley between the peaks around us. Once she was out of town... those mountain roads become more and more dangerous, particularly at high speed..."
Virginia and Harold both visibly gulped at the report.
"She went off the road?" Melissa asked.
"She took a turn that was tight and that then lead into another turn that was equally tight," Detective Miles spoke, "the officer in pursuit couldn't be fully certain if she hit something and lost control or was simply going too fast to make the turns in that stretch of road. She not only went off the road but rolled down a mountain slope into a ravine and died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. And with her dead... we can't really keep cases open. So, for the moment, we've made arrangements to inform all involved in one way or another on what's happened. There will also be the issue with regard what's in Alice Decrux's will and what will come from that. So... if you notice activity at the Decrux home, that's likely either Megan Decrux taking what she's inherited from her mother and/or officers collecting anything that might be "evidence" and so on. Once it's cleaned out... we can't say on what will happen."
"Why would you collect "evidence" if she's dead?" Melissa wondered.
"Mostly just part of closing the books as it were," Detective Lukasky answered, "It'll let the department have the information to make a formal statement that closes out the case with all the available information on matters relating to it. And if it's something incriminating... like her Love Potion Number Nine... to make sure that no one else runs afoul of it. Though... we really don't expect much. Thus most of it will either go to who Decrux has named as beneficiaries or a charity, depending on the item. The rest is just formalities."
"I see..." Harold spoke and then patted Melissa's shoulder, "thank you."
"You're welcome," Detective Miles spoke, "sorry if we interrupted anything."
"Right now... nothing major," Virginia spoke as the two detectives nodded and moved off.
As they moved back to their car, Harold sighed and shut the door. He was thankful for the information, and in a way was glad that the "books" on Alice Decrux would be closed without any further harm to himself, his new fiancée, or his daughter. Though, at the same time, despite personal desires that had been aimed at teaching Alice Decrux a lesson, a part of him was actually a bit sorry that she was in fact dead. The mention of Megan Decrux had brought about those thoughts, for he'd met the younger wereraccoon and she wasn't her mother and to a certain extent from what he remembered from their meeting in the college store, Megan Decrux had her own frustrations with her mother's actions. That actually earned Megan some degree of sympathy from Harold. For while Megan was a fully grown woman and likely had to deal with many of the consequences of her mother's antics, even if Megan Decrux wasn't the cause of those antics.
"I'm not sure on what to say," Melissa spoke as the door shut, "I mean... she did strike me as the sort that wasn't completely honest with people... and I don't like the idea of being drugged by her..."
"But you didn't want to see her dead?" Virginia asked.
"No... in jail for awhile, maybe," Melissa nodded, "but not dead."
Virginia nodded. That was the more responsible answer. She had to privately admit that there were things that Alice Decrux did that she didn't like and that was often enough to irritate her, and when it came to Harold even began to reach a point where Alice Decrux's antics were too much. For while she wasn't Melissa's biological mother, she'd seemed to bond with Melissa in a friendly way even before Harold became a weretiger. As such on a personal level, there was a good part of her that wanted to tear Alice Decrux apart for the stunt she'd pulled with the Halloween Punch, but she also knew that wouldn't be justice or right either.
"At least we can put that chapter behind us," Harold slowly and then looked over to Melissa, "though... before the officer's arrival... you were wanting to say something?"
That then jogged Melissa's memory regarding her email from Rachel. That was more cheerful news in that a friend she'd had in Michigan was coming.
"Rachel is coming," Melissa stated.
"Who?" Virginia wondered.
"Rachel van Diretag," Melissa answered and looked to her father, "You remember her right?"
"Wasn't she the one who threw chewing gum in your hair?" Harold wondered.
"That was in third grade!" Melissa groaned, though she did note her father chuckling, "we got on better after that. Anyway... her brother got accepted to Moon Lake College... might even be enrolled already, since colleges tend to start at around the same time as the public schools do... But they've apparently also had some issue with either travel concerns or something like that and so Rachel said her father's decided to move here."
"Small world," Harold commented, "do you know when they'll get here?"
"Not really... the email's from a week or so ago... and between everything else that's gone on... I haven't gotten to it until now," Melissa answered.
"They could already be here, then," Harold smiled to her, "I know you've made some friends here... and obviously found Trevor... but I suppose you might like to have old friends join as well. Have you seen her in school?"
"I don't think her family's here, yet," Melissa answered, "as I haven't seen her at school... at lunch... or at the dance."
Harold slowly nodded and got the sense where this was headed. Some of this related to some of the background thoughts and questions he had regarding whether or not he and Virginia should delay their wedding plans to allow for time to bring family in to visit. For the moment he and Virginia ultimately reasoned out that things would be fine so long as they at least sent out some notices and provided some means to let their family know on the nuptials. But if they did decide to wait, there would then be the question of explaining certain things. Harold knew his parents were old enough that some minor cover excuse might work, but Rachel van Diretag would be a different situation for Melissa.
The two were close friends and Rachel wasn't a bad student. In this, Rachel would know that Melissa was different from what she remembered in Michigan. That would then raise the question on how the van Diretag family would respond to things like Moon Lake's secrets and its mandatory were law that would essentially require at least one to become a were. He didn't initially take it well and even Melissa had been nervous about it initially. Melissa only went along with it to agree to be the family were as she made friends at Moon Lake High, though the only one that Harold had met was Trevor. The van Diretags might have a similar negative reaction, at least at first.
"Well..." Harold said slowly, "right now we can hope that they respond well... or at least as well as we did... with the openness and willingness to give Moon Lake a chance. And if Rachel is a good friend... I'm sure she will understand and accept the new you."