Molly and I were horrified by what we saw. Some gang of masked hoodlums had attacked Leona in her lab, wounded her with a shotgun and shot the officer that was assigned to monitor her probation twice. And Jackson hadn't been assigned to her as a bodyguard.
"Why would someone do this?" Molly gasped from her seat, "Leona was the one working to try and solve the problems that that fun house created."
"On some level she was also responsible for them," I commented, "maybe these guys knew about her connections but didn't know how much Changes had forced her into it, and thus didn't know what Leona was doing to try to atone for her mistakes."
"You think they hate us? Like Beauregard?" Molly wondered as I sat down beside her.
"I wouldn't think so," I commented, "from what they've shown they only took one shot at her with the shotgun. Once that was done, they used butt of the gun as a club. Her probation officer was hurt the worst by the shots fired."
"I'm scarred, George," Molly said weakly and gripped at my arm, "what if someone comes after you like that? We can't protect each other all the time and neither of us are bullet proof."
"We'll survive," I told her, "that was far from here, and we don't know the details of what happened. Maybe Leona had some contacts that she kept hidden, or maybe these were the thugs that Changes had hired as his muscle men, getting even for their loss of revenue. My greater worry would be the formula that they stole."
Molly didn't answer right away.
"If I remember correctly, you were quite willing to challenge the police, once upon a time," I teased a little bit.
"I thought they were going to take you from me," Molly answered, "You are my proverbial line in the sand."
"I know," I nodded and nuzzled her, "and you are mine... and hopefully it'll show that we have the same feelings of love and commitment that people have. But, it will take time."
"What about your dad?" Molly asked.
"I'm sure he's fine," I said, "they mentioned that he was investigating this."
"What if they go after him next?" Molly asked.
"He can take care of himself," I answered, "and what do you think these crooks would do? Assault the police station after they've already ambushed three law enforcement officers and wounded another..."
"He can't stay at the station forever," Molly countered, "and neither can your mother... and I can tell you're worried for them."
I sighed heavily. I wanted to sound brave, but Molly had always been good at picking up those little things that weren't said in conversations. And I was worried. What if this was some gang that my dad had busted in his younger days and they were now making war on him? Targeting other supposedly solved cases he had worked on or had been involved with to get even with him? And Molly and I were too far away to protect him. And Leona was likely now unable to help or track them down.
But, I did know that they had dogs for that sort of thing. I didn't know if the canine units they had when Molly was transformed were still there or not, as one of them was older then most canine units. But even if he had retired by now, his replacement had to be a good one.
"I'll call him, but I'm sure they have things well in hand," I sighed, "...you are right of course... but there isn't much that we can do from here."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Peoria Police Department Chief, Jacob Wayne, speaking," my father answered his office phone. I had guessed that he would still be at work after the day's events.
"Dad?" I asked him, "You okay?"
I got a frustrated sigh in response.
"I take it you've seen the news," Jacob grumbled on the other end of the line.
"I did," I answered, "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you... but three officers dead, one wounded, Leona wounded, her lab trashed, and several vials missing..."
"It hasn't made my life any easier, son," Jacob replied, "and it isn't something I wanted to return to. And it's made your mother a nervous wreck."
"I'm sure," I sighed, "they won't come after you, will they?"
"Is that what you're worried about?" he asked back.
"You're family, dad," I told him, "for that alone, I wouldn't want to see your hurt... you're also one of the few people that has been kind to Molly and I after everything. I don't want to lose you."
"They can't get rid of me THAT easily, son," Jacob sighed, "we're on top of this. We got a few leads and they did't avoid security cameras. I'm sure we'll catch them for this. There may be a lot of violence spreading, but we'll catch them."
"You're sure you're okay?" I asked.
"I am."
"Okay... I love you, dad."
"I love you too, son," Jacob replied and we hung up.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The next few days were fairly quiet on all fronts. After three days, the trial of the two ranchers resumed. I and Officer Barnes were both there, along with both game wardens and one of the officers from Animal Control that were at the scene. Judge Pax entered and took his seat.
"The prosecution may call its first witness," Judge Pax spoke calmly.
"Thank you your honor," Joey Barnes answered, "the prosecution will call the arresting officers to the stand."
Officer Barnes and I made our way forward.
"Two officers as one witness?" Judge Pax asked.
"They were the ones to make the arrest, sir," Joey Barnes explained, "we can take them one at a time, if you prefer it that way."
"I would, start with the tiger," Judge Pax instructed.
I stepped forward to an assigned bench next to the judge's table and looked at the chair. It looked sturdy enough so I turned back to face the bailiff.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
"Objection, you can't trust an animal to tell the truth!" Regus challenged.
"Overruled."
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" the bailiff finished his question.
"I do," I answered.
I then sat down and Joey Barnes approached where I was seated.
"Officer Wayne," Joey spoke, "please describe for the court the events of the incident in question... from your point of view."
"A call came into our car..."
"You and Officer Barnes?"
"Yes," I nodded, "the call reported an ongoing attack on cattle by a wild animal. We were sent as we were the closest unit to the scene. The state game wardens were called, as well as Animal Control. Officer Barnes and I were instructed to secure the area and make sure the two ranchers in question were not in danger..."
"Because you thought they were being attacked?"
"By a tiger, as their call to the police had said," I answered, "and I feared something had upset Molly..."
"You will stick with the question, what happened on that day?" Judge Pax said firmly.
"I apologize if I deviated too far from the story," I sighed, "Officer Barnes arrived on the scene to find both men armed and waiting for us. One attempted to fire a rifle at me as got out of the car. They again accused me of being the attacker when the game wardens arrived, despite the fact that I had been with Officer Barnes at the time of the attack."
"But they persisted with this "tiger attack" story?" Joey Barnes asked.
"Yes, they took us to the sight where the attack took place and to where they had dragged the body to," I continued, "all the while, a series of animal calls were being played in the background, which the defendants' claimed to be those of a tiger. However, the evidence collected does not now and did not then fit the story, so they were arrested on charges of animal cruelty and false accusation."
"I see," Joey Barnes answered and then turned to the jury, "Officer Wayne's testimony is a basic outline of events of the incident. William and Ebenezer Smith killed their own cow and then established their animal attack story in an attempt to get Officer Wayne arrested."
"Is this all you have for this witness?" Judge Pax questioned. When Joey Barnes nodded, he turned to Regus, "you may cross examine."
Regus slowly approached the witness stand.
"You say the attack occurred when the call was made?" Regus asked.
"Yes."
"Did you hear the attack going on in the background?"
"No. That would have been heard by the dispatch officer, not Officer Barnes and I in our car," I answered, "Our radio wouldn't have picked that up."
"So you can't confirm beyond what was said that the attack occurred at that time," Regus asked.
"I would assume that the two were telling the truth," I responded.
"But you dismiss that the attack earlier?" Regus questioned.
"From what we were told, we had no reason to believe that the attack occurred earlier," I answered.
"But it could have occurred earlier in the morning," Regus commented, "before you went on duty."
"Objection!" Joey Barnes protested, "he's trying to shift the guilt onto Officer Wayne! He's making no attempt prove that the Smiths were innocent."
"They would be innocent if Officer Wayne was the attacker," Regus answered.
"Overruled."
"Now Officer, do you consider the possibility that the attack occurred before you went into work?" Regus questioned, "that they merely misstated the time of the attack."
"I suppose it's possible," I answered, "it's a flimsy excuse but I suppose it's possible."
"And why would you say the truth is an excuse?"
"The evidence collected at the scene makes it clear that a tiger could not have committed the attack," I answered, "in addition to the fact that I overheard you say to the defendants that Pierre Beauregard intended to buy off the judge in this case."
"WHAT?" Judge Pax roared from his bench.
"That is what I overheard during the interrogation of the defendants' at the station," I answered.
"Bailiff," Judge Pax commanded and pointed his gavel at Beauregard, "remove that man from my courtroom."
"But..."
"Be glad that you won't be facing bribery charges!" Judge Pax cut Beauregard off.
Judge Pax then turned to Regus.
"Do you have any questions that do not implicate Officer Wayne, or his wife, for that matter?"
"Not at this time, sir," Regus admitted.
"Officer Wayne, you may step down," Judge Pax spoke.
Officer Barnes then took the stand and gave his rendition of the events. Officer Barnes' retelling of the story didn't really differ from mine. Where it did differ was merely a different choice of words.