As the Van Direstags, Jenkins, and Tysons settled in for dinner, the Moon Lake Police Department was still working out some of the details of the actions that had transpired over the past 24 hours. For Denny Miles and Miles Lukasky, the detectives assigned the case, the case they had been on had grown far worse than when they started. It started with looking into a phone complaint in which someone had made a threatening phone call to Megan Decrux that included the sound of a gunshot with the call. So far as they knew, the call had been made with a burner cellphone, which would then be hard to trace who had it, given that those phones were made to be disposable. And that presented several possibilities. One was that the call was made locally and used an actual gun as part of the threat, another was that the call was made locally but the gunshot was prerecorded or coming from something else. There could also be the potential that the call was made outside of town with a recorded gun shot or an actual gunshot.
However, certain factors from the previous night presented some limitations. There were no other 911 calls that reported gunfire, which made it unlikely that if an actual gun was used in town for the threat. There was also the fact that Moon Lake's area in the mountains was often a nightmare for cellphone users with even some permanent cellphones not getting local service. A burner phone's signal was expected to be even lower, which would make it difficult to call, even IN Moon Lake. It was possible that the person could have gone to where they could get reception and then call, but that couldn't be confirmed at present and later events had complicated their investigation further.
They'd come to the apartment complex where Megan Decrux lived to talk with her and get as much information as they could. They got a fair amount of information on possible reasons why the threat was made, as well as a list of suspects, all of who might be either men that Megan's mother, Alice, had wronged or other children of Alice Decrux and learning they weren't in the will. There was also the thought in the back of both Denny and Miles' minds that Alice Decrux's lawyer might also be involved given that Megan was listed as the sole beneficiary in the will and that relations were so strained between Alice Decrux and all of her children that those who would be informed might be limited, but all of that would only be cleared up once they could get around to asking some questions of some of the people on the list.
The two detectives were about to go further from there when they escorted Megan Decrux to her car, only to have it explode after Megan used her key-fab to remotely unlock the door. No one was seriously hurt beyond some bruising and disorientation, but it did escalate the crime from merely making a threat of murder to actually attempting murder, and with a device that could have gone off earlier at any sound. That left them with even more questions to solve and threats to deal with, even as some paramedics looked over Megan for the moment.
"So... what do we do?" Denny asked to Miles, "it's pretty clear that someone is out to get her... and in a way that isn't healthy."
Miles nodded, "Yes... It may be best to put her in some protective situation and let the college know in order to keep her safe until we can find out WHO exactly is the one behind all of this... and take him... or her... into custody."
"But I need my job!" Megan protested from her couch.
"And this wouldn't cancel your job... just to let them know that you're taking time off," Miles told her, "If whoever is behind all this was willing to sneak in and fit dynamite to your gas tank, it's more than likely they'll also visit the college campus. It'll give them some trouble... but given the situation, I don't think there is any other option."
"Where would I go...?" Megan asked, "the only other place would be my mother's... but..."
"No... if our suspect is a child jilted over no inheritance or a lover that your mother wronged and they're willing to go as far as they have... your mother's house might be a likely target," Denny commented.
"You could stay with me," Miles said slowly, "I live in town, not to far from the station. I don't think anyone would take it so far as to attack a cop."
"That might be a bit personal, don't you think?" Denny asked his partner.
"Do we have any other viable sources?" Miles asked, "the only other "safehouse" that would be available is next to the Twists and after what happened regarding that Drake guy... I'm not sure that will be open and available at present. My guest room is ready and is quiet."
"I wouldn't want to be in the way..." Megan said weakly.
"You wouldn't be," Miles spoke, "and hopefully we'll get this case solved quickly and you can get back to your life."
"She could come stay with me... out of the way and a more remote area," Tara spoke up with eyes darting between Miles and Megan. This again brought up some wondering if Officer Tara Strange was jealous of the wereraccoon female.
"Given that we can't pinpoint who our suspect is or where he is, your cabin is a bit too remote," Denny spoke calmly, "if we get more bad luck and the potential killer is out there... Ms. Decrux would be at risk and you wouldn't be able to do much against a were. In town, at least Miles' place is closer to the station and thus allowing for a more rapid response... and Miles already is a were."
Tara sighed and nodded. She was typically kept in her office with more administrative and technical things that was very different from what the rest of the Moon Lake PD did. Like all the MLPD's officers, she had field training and in theory could be called on to do other tasks, not just the one that she was officially hired to do. However, because Tara Strange was also a normal human, she didn't have the sense of smell to know for sure who was a were and who was not and against a were, she wouldn't have the physical strength to deal with a were, even if the were was in human form. She looked over to Megan Decrux, who was sitting on her couch, leaning forward and actually looking rather fearful.
"You will catch this guy, right?" Tara then asked to Denny.
"Of course," Denny assured her, "and if you could help Ms. Decrux pack... Miles and I will have one more thing to do before we can close out the day..."
"Sure," Tara said slowly and offered a hand to Megan who slowly and nervously took it.
Denny and Miles, meanwhile walked back out into the hallway and then shut the door behind them. As they walked back toward the stairs, Denny gave one look to his partner, "Just remember to keep yourself professional. She may not be her mother... but the fact that we have someone willing to try and kill her is proof that her mother's reputation and issues are connected to her. Not to mention that it won't look good for you or the department if you end up getting caught with your pants down with her... Got it?"
"Yeah, I know," Miles answered, "though... you could say I have a bit of a soft spot for some of these sorts of things. If Officer Brooks hadn't been as keen as he was to protect the Charleston family... I would have offered them a place to stay until we could catch the Gambonis too."
Denny only shook his head at that as they made their way down the stairs and approached the first room door on the first floor of the building. And based on the brass lettering on the door and a panel by it, this apartment was where the building's superintendent lived. Originally they had figured to ask a question or two on whether or not he/she knew anything about the feelings the tenants had on Alice Decrux, as given the woman's reputation, just about everyone in Moon Lake had an opinion. That was to be a sort of starting point in figuring out who might have called Megan in the night, and while Moon Lake was a small town, there were occasions where people didn't know exact addresses or phone numbers. Thus there would be the possibility that one of the apartment building's residents made the call because they knew Megan Decrux lived there.
Some of that might still be there, though with issues related to Alice Decrux's will and the fact that Megan had apparently tried to keep track of some of her mother's liaisons over the years, even if to try and get her mother to apologize, the was the increasing chance that the threat to Megan Decrux was not a random threat made by another resident in the building. Particularly when the bomb came into play, as if the person who made the threat also planted the bomb and used a microphone of some kind as the trigger, he would have potentially blown himself up as well, which neither detective figured was something likely. Therefore the bomber had to have come from outside the building's residents and that anyone killed in the blast would be "collateral damage" as it were. That made an apartment resident less likely a suspect, but the building superintendent might still have security footage. Perhaps if they could get an image who placed the bomb they might be able to better narrow down their list of suspects.
They knocked on the door and waited patiently after hearing a "coming" come from within. A few moments later an older looking male wererat came to the door in his human form, opening it and looking to the two detectives with what looked like suspicion as he scratched at his chest through his tee-shirt.
"Can I help you two?" the man asked.
"Detectives Denny Miles and Miles Lukasky, with the Moon Lake PD," Miles spoke, "You're the building's super intendent, right?"
"Yeah," the man answered, "Victor Rebs… building super... I don't suppose you can say how much it will cost me to cleanup a destroyed car and damaged property?"
"We don't do insurance claims or repair cost assessments," Miles spoke, knowing that the man, Victor, was likely concerned about the damage to his building and the surrounding area that resulted from Megan's car being blown up. The damage wasn't major and there was no serious fire, thankfully, but there would likely still be some repair costs that either Victor as the one responsible for the apartments or property owner next to him would have. "However, if you have anything that might help us catch the one responsible for dynamiting one of your resident's cars, I'm sure you might be able to recoup your losses."
"I'd be happy to help..." Victor spoke, "despite her mother's reputation... Megan's been a model tenant. Never too loud... at least by were standards, anyway, polite and soft spoken. Pays her rent on time, doesn't start any fights. I wouldn't think of any reason anyone would want in harming her."
"We had some questions on that too," Denny commented, "You see... we think it's likely that whoever threatened her last night and set the bomb that blew up her car was someone that Alice Decrux had wronged in the past. A man she took to bed and had a child with and then milked for child support. And now with Alice Decrux gone... there is some sense of anger that "justice" wasn't done... that Megan might be like her mother."
"Well, she ain't like her mother," Victor spoke as he stepped back and allowed the two detectives in, "anyone that's met her and gotten to know her knows that... though I really can't say on whether or not the men that Decrux... Alice, that is, swindled ever talked with Megan. And most of my tenants are wererats, like me. So they'd have no connections with Alice Decrux."
"They might still have an opinion," Denny pointed out as he looked around the living room they entered. It was simple with pale gray linoleum with some throw rugs here and there in front of a pair of couches with a small kitchen and dining area directly adjoining the room. Going further back in the northwest corner of the living/dining room area was a doorway that likely lead into the rest of the apartment.
"Yeah... and from what I could overhear, particularly with regard to that fight with a weretiger... while we can respect her bravery, let me say that the opinions on Decrux's behavior weren't exactly high," Victor spoke as he then shut the door behind them, "but not high enough that they'd kill Megan over it. She'll join us sometimes with the treasure hunts. Someone hides something shiny and its up to the rest to find it. Like I said, Megan's a model tenant."
"Well, that's good news," Denny said to his partner as he looked to Miles who nodded, "it'd lower our list of most likely suspects to the list of men Decrux messed with and potentially even one of the other children who might have wanted something in the will..."
"Or Decrux's lawyer," Miles nodded, "However... we can't confirm that until we can talk to more on that list."
"Like I said before... no one outside of Megan has any connection to Decrux," Victor repeated.
"And in that, we trust you," Denny commented, "but... surely you might have some security cameras... on the outside, at least. Something that might at least help us identify who put the bomb with Megan's gas tank."
"I might..." Victor said slowly, "I got my office and tool area in the basement, if you'll come with me."
Victor lead them down to the doorway that lead to a narrow hall with a two doors on their left. One lead to a bathroom. Ahead of them was an open door to a bedroom. It was the first door on the left that Victor went to, which lead to a narrow staircase that took them down into the basement area of the apartment building. It was a narrow path and both Denny and Miles needed to use the handrails, just to make sure they didn't over step one the steps going down to the basement.
"This is my office area... should anyone's pipes leak or anything like that, all my tools are down here," Victor spoke, "as is all other equipment. I do have some security tapes... though those that are on the inside are limited only to the halls."
"We'd be looking for an outside camera," Miles spoke.
"And there are a couple... though I can't say for certain how much of the parking lot they'll cover or how much you can use," Victor answered, "as the building isn't in a "no-transformed" zone and we're close enough to central park that we may occasionally get someone walking through in their fursona."
"All we need is the shot of whoever messed with Megan's car," Denny commented, "if need be we'll see what we can do in copying and using only that particular clip."
"Do you have any idea as to when this bomb was planted?" Victor asked.
"Anywhere between sunset last night and dawn this morning," Miles commented, "Supposedly Megan spent pretty much all of yesterday working over issues related to her mother's death and the will she inherited... but so far as she could say there was enough activity during the day that no one would have tried it until after dark when there were more cars to hide behind and most of the residents in the area were moving onto other endeavors than to pay attention to what was going on outside."
"That's gonna be a lot of VHS tapes to go through," Victor gave a comment and walked over to a shelf, "the tapes I have can cover about ten hours of time each... I got an alarm set to wake me up if that ten hours happens to come during the night or something like that... and then assuming there's never an issue, I'll rotate through the tapes and re-record over them as needed. I got enough tapes down here to do that for about a week."
The shelf he lead them to was more than enough proof of that. It was a long wooden shelf with heavy supports bolted into the cinderblocks that made up the wall in this basement area. On them were line of VHS tapes that ran the length of the shelf. The only marking on them was a number, which made sense that if he was recording over old footage, marking days and weeks would be irrelevant as he was taping over recordings when they no longer seemed needed. It wasn't necessarily the smartest thing, but then if Victor's system was still using VHS tapes as part the main recording system, it was probably the best thing to do as very few VHS tapes were even being made anymore. The school had gone all digital, but for the most part the school had a "no fursona" policy, and Halloween was only an exception because of the excuse that what they'd catch would be "costumes."
"You'll have to note the time on the screen and fast-forward or rewind from there," Victor commented, "as given with these old things you can't go directly to specific times"
"We can make due," Denny commented as he watched Victor pick out two tapes that was the farthest to the right on the shelf and then turned to hand the tapes over to the detectives.
"Take what you need," Victor said to them, "all I'd ask is that I get the tapes back once you catch the guy that caused all this trouble."
"We intend to," Denny commented as he took the tapes and then proceeded to follow Victor out.
When they got back out to the entry area, they found Tara and Megan coming down the main stairs from the floor where Megan's apartment was. Megan held a fairly large bag in one arm and a folder of papers in the other. The former likely held clothing and the latter likely held things that related to her mother's will. All of it was something that related to the complexity of the larger investigation and the dangers that came with it.
"Ready?" Denny asked.
"Yeah," Megan said weakly, "still a bit scared that all of this is coming around over things my mother did or benefitted from..."
"We'll catch who's doing this," Denny admitted, "and we'll have a lot of security tape to go through... maybe the cameras caught who put the bomb under your car."
Denny held up the tapes for emphasis, which drew Tara's attention.
"Though... right now that will be a bit of a lengthy process," Denny finished, "and might not show everything... but it's the best we can get from here."
"And tomorrow is another day," Miles finished.