While Martha Anderson's older sister Abigail prepared to leave Duluth, Minnesota, Martha's present neighbor, Samantha Twist, was busy with Moon Lake's police commissioner as part of the various missions that were to be much closer to home.
"I wasn't quite thinking I'd get a visit today... especially at lunch," Chief O'Hara commented as he lead Samantha into the main conference and press briefing room at the Moon Lake Police station.
He normally didn't eat here, as he would save that for either his office or in the main "break room," and thus share his lunch with any and all officers that might be on their lunch break. However, a visit from the Town Chancellor and some of the circumstances related to the big reveal that had been proposed all changed certain things. It was clear that things were tense and that at the moment, he had a fair number of residents in the jail part of the station awaiting either trial or bail until they could go before the court over various things. Some were there as part of public disturbance related charges over fighting, as a result of the reveal. Some were there as per the charges related to the riot at the college, and depending on the individual escalated to inciting a riot at worst to criminal assault at the lowest. There was also the man who'd phoned in a threat to Frances Twist thinking it was Samantha Twist.
"I figure it might be something to work out..." Samantha spoke, "particularly as right now we're in the time of year where there aren't that many people moving to town or moving from town, for that matter, and thus things are relatively calm when it comes to most of my regular duties... And since Mayor Stovall would want us to be part of a team that would protect Moon Lake's secret, even with this reveal, I figured it best to simply compare notes, as it were."
"Trust me... my departments' duties are stretched and tense already, all coming from issues related to this reveal," Chief O'Hara answered, "both from people already in Moon Lake and weres from outside Moon Lake wanting to stoke up fires as it were..."
"People outside Moon Lake... more like this Herald?" Samantha asked.
"More like some kind of secret agency that sees Herald as a threat and not above causing trouble to get rid of him," Chief O'Hara answered, "and while I may have my questions as to the wisdom of this "reveal..." I'm not going to let Moon Lake become a battlefield over the issue. We've already had idiots willing to fight it out on their own. The last thing we need is someone from outside Moon Lake wanting to start fights because they don't like the reveal plan..."
Samantha nodded as they both took a bite of their respective lunches. She was still chewing when Chief O'Hara finished his bite and continued.
"And I've served this town faithfully and have noted how the City Council and the Mayor's office has functioned," Chief O'Hara spoke, "if they accept the plan... there will be a good reason for it, and it'd probably be a pretty good one, regardless of what people may feel."
Samantha nodded. She could see the reasons both sides may have, and at times while a lot of her job would seem to play more to the thoughts that the were secret should be kept, she could see the logic behind coming out into the open. Her talks with Frances and what she knew on the Ross family's rather open acceptance of things that were quite open to Moon Lake's secrets had given her some thoughts that some of the fears that she'd always had might have given her reason to trust the City Council's vote and the Deputy Mayor's role in casting the vote the way she did. There could be a very good reason for the decision that had been made, which would only make the assignment that she Chief O'Hara would have all the more important.
"I can agree," Samantha spoke, "though... that will still leave questions on what to do once the City Council has finished its decision making process and has a plan...how is the city protected..."
"The details on how the city will be protected will be hard... you should already know that," Chief O'Hara warned her, "particularly while things are still tense over this whole issue... and particularly while we won't know for sure who else Mayor Stovall would want on this improvised team."
Samantha slowly nodded, "and we probably will need some ideas on that... at least to give people some confidence..."
Chief O'Hara nodded as Samantha reached into the lunchbox that she'd bought along with her. It wasn't much, and the police chief had barely noticed it when Samantha had first come in to talk. It mad sense, giving all the other things that had been going on, and primarily the various tensions that had been distracting O'Hara's mind at the time. The fights that had gone on during the weekend, some of which coming from those against the reveal and those in favor of it. The riot didn't make things anything easier.
"I'm afraid that confidence isn't something Moon Lake will have right now," Chief O'Hara answered, "this reveal has EVERYONE tense, and on both sides. As I said... I have two secret agent type people that have pretty much threatened to kill Tom Herald. We've had people in Moon Lake start a riot over this issue. I've had reports of at least domestic disturbance over this issue, if not all out fist fights… that's to say nothing of the guy that called you home with a death threat..."
Samantha cringed at that, "I trust that things have calmed down?"
"For the moment," Chief O'Hara spoke after swallowing a few chips that he'd popped into his mouth while Samantha asked her question. "But it's not a calm in which people are fine with things... It would be more that there are many that are still uneasy over things, but are aware that we and the town's authority won't just let people run riot. So... we're essentially on egg shells, as it were."
"That's better than nothing," Samantha sighed and took a sip from the water bottle she'd brought with her, "it might give us time to ultimately put together something that would assure people that Moon Lake will be safe, even with the reveal."
Chief O'Hara nodded, though some of that he figured would be difficult. There would be things like the Census, job applications, and tax forms that all took address information and would include potential demographic information. That could well mean that at some point, Moon Lake's secret might come out of its own accord if the reveal was carried out. It wasn't necessarily bad, and given the nature of the argument that had lead to the reveal being proposed and accepted, might have to be accepted, but it would present a puzzle.
"And that I'm afraid we can't do until we have more information on what the reveal plan will be," Chief O'Hara spoke, "and those sessions won't get started until tomorrow evening... Until then, I'm going to have reserve officers pulling some added work loads and some of the day shift pulling extra hours as well. If only to make sure we don't have weres fighting each other... and potentially having their fights spill over into areas where the town's normal residents live. Other than that... there isn't much more I can really do at this precise moment."
"It seems like we're still spinning wheels, so to speak," Samantha said slowly, "a fair number of people have contacted my office... including some that have already met the Mandatory Were Law requirements... some are panicked and are afraid. Some are upset that we pushed on the law only to then back a proposal that could well see law at least amended, if not repealed. Some want to know if they'd be allowed to be transformed during the day... and so on."
"Which sounds about right," Chief O'Hara sighed, "while the division may be fierce between pro-reveal and anti-reveal... it's not as clear as either side claims. Thus why we're on egg shells."
"And this would apply to the schools, too?" Samantha wondered.
"The schools are much quitter," Chief O'Hara answered, "but the college has most of their security staff on active alert and monitoring as much as they can and with our reserves aiding them wherever possible... but that's still only preventing outright fights. Opinions won't change until we can know more."
"Might not hurt then to get their schedule for these meetings... have at least one of us attend," Samantha commented, "thus when we know more... we can understand where they're going and thus have ways to protect the town without being blindsided."
Chief O'Hara quickly agreed...