However with all of the concerns going on over Yvette and the Mayor's considering calling nearly every were in Moon Lake to hunt the rogue female werefox vixen, there were events that both the Mayor and Samantha were unaware of. And it was actually a break in the case.
"It's like we're going in circles," a uniformed officer grumbled, "the damn fox is leading us in circles!"
"She knows we can track her by scent," said the officers present companion, one of Akane's grandsons, Daisuke, "so she leads us on her own trail and double backs so as to slow us down. It is the standard tactic to break those that hunt by scent."
"Any way to speed this up?" the officer asked, "radio's already warned that they're talking about the WERE alert. You know damn well that will be trouble... particularly as those of us on the day shift won't get to go home. Those of us on the force gotta report to an assigned sector and lead a bunch of untrained weres in the hunt."
"Mostly to get lucky in guessing at which path taken continues to circle back or double back over her path and which path moves completely in a new direction," Daisuke answered slowly.
"That doesn't help," the officer grumbled.
Daisuke didn't answer, as he knew that the officer was right there. They could track Yvette by scent, but doing so would take time, particularly as they had to isolate her scent out from all the other scents in Moon Lake, which could be difficult given the age of some and the potential of getting another werefox's scent and following it by mistake. And the officers in the direct pursuit after Yvette Smith were trying to follow other paths where her scent had been detected and they had one of Daisuke's cousins with them as well. Many thought that Daisuke, Yamato, Ichiro, Yoshiro, Taro, and Sora were all brothers as they knew the five of them were Akane no Tachibana's grandsons, but they were actually cousins to each other, as Akane had more than one son that she had raised in her long life. However, family relations was unimportant with regard to catching Yvette.
"Then perhaps we could get some luck," Daisuke answered.
Almost as if on cue, a voice called out to them.
"Daisuke! Daisuke!" came a female voice and the two of them looked up to see a red head running their way with an infant cradled in her arms. As she came closer, the infant's soft cries were heard and they could tell she was a werefox, "Shush, Leslie, mommy needs to speak to one of the Skulk's protectors."
"Madam... you shouldn't be out," the officer spoke, "we have a rogue werevixen on the loose who's showed little care for who or what she does..."
"I know, I saw her!" the werefox vixen spoke, still in her human form, and bouncing her baby to keep the baby from crying.
This caught both Daisuke's and the officer's attention.
"You saw her?" the officer asked.
"Yes," she answered, "I had to run out for some milk for Leslie... and her father is still at work... so I was out... and I saw her. She was running around up and down streets... so I came to find you."
"You couldn't call the station?" the officer asked.
"Or my grandmother?" Daisuke asked.
"You try juggling a baby that isn't sleepy... even though it's her bedtime and dial on a phone and see how well you do," she answered.
The officer let that go. His mother complained about him being fussy as an infant when he was growing up, usually to remind him of all things that she did for him. This werevixen was probably doing the same for her kit and was still trying to be helpful.
"Did you see which way she went?" the officer asked after a moment.
She nodded and pointed down a nearby alley, "the big thing was what she was mumbling... something about a guy named "William" and the "bitch Martha..." or something like that. I could only just hear her."
"She mumbled those names?" Daisuke asked, "Did she say anything else?"
"Something about getting them or one of them..." she answered, "but that wasn't clear. The only think I really picked up were the names... Why? Is that bad?"
"It might actually be helpful," Daisuke answered, "William Anderson was the first Normal she turned. He and his werecat mate were welcomed into the Skulk yesterday afternoon."
"You don't mean to suggest...?" the officer asked to Daisuke.
The werefox who had made the report looked on quietly. Daisuke's remark of a werecat being welcomed wasn't too surprising as no were-beast always married a were-beast of the same species. It did happen, and the Skulk did welcome a bonded mate as an honorary member if he or she wasn't a werefox.
"If she is willing to talk about it in places where she might be heard..." Daisuke said slowly, "she is likely still thinking of her obsessions. You do still have men monitoring the Anderson home, do you not?"
"Yes," the officer remarked, "Samson Carter should be coming back on duty for the night shift in a few minutes... he might already be there."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Out on the street near the Anderson home, Samson Carter brought his patrol car up beside the day shift officer's car as he arrived on duty.
"Hey Jack...you can go home," Samson said to the day shift officer.
The day shift officer glanced over and gave a sigh as he saw Samson presently parked beside him in the middle of the street. The night shift officer was probably only just coming on duty and didn't yet know about the potential for the WERE alert being issued.
"Not likely I'm afraid," Jack said slowly and almost nervously, "some things happened since your last shift ended."
Samson looked over the other officer with a look of puzzlement.
"The vixen apparently clawed some college student this morning and the Mayor fears her creating a panic," Jack explained, "it'll mean that if we don't get a lead soon... the WERE alert will be issued..."
"And that won't create a panic?" Samson asked wide eyed.
"It's still an order and could happen," Jack answered when his car radio came on. He quickly answered it. "Officer Thompkins."
"Officer Thompkins, has Officer Carter come back on duty yet?" came a male officer's report yes.
"Yes," Jack answered, "he just got here."
"Well... we have a general clue as to where Yvette Smith likely is," the voice answered, "we got a tip and the Skulk's security person is pretty sure that she'll be headed for the Anderson home."
"I haven't seen her..." Jack countered.
"She's likely in the woods behind their home," came the answer, "I'm on my way with the other day shift officers and the Skulk's security personnel and will approach from the direction of the woods behind the Twists home."
"We're to advance from the Anderson home?" Jack asked.
"No, she's likely focused on the Anderson home and some insane idea to get William Anderson to love her," the other officer urged through the radio, "move from the flank on the other side where you could use some cover to get close... she won't also be looking in that direction."
"Should we let the Andersons know?" Jack asked.
"No time," came the answer, "we need to be ready to move on her in fifteen minutes and it will take time to get into position. And if she can see your cars from where she is... you'll need to walk off as though you're only patrolling on foot within the town so that way she doesn't keep focusing on you."
Jack sighed.
"Hey... this is a break," the other officer spoke, "we get this right and she'll be back in custody. Her latest victim can have her transformation completed and she can go back to jail and we don't have to worry about an untrained were accidentally hurting someone."
"Okay then," Jack sighed, "Sam and I will get going."
Jack then jumped when he heard Sam's voice now coming from the driver's side window. It made him look to see that the night shift officer had moved to park his car safely on the curb and had come back on foot.
"Going where?" Samson asked.
"For a bit of a hike," Jack said as he got of his car, "as we've got a lead and an idea on how to catch the vixen..."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Mayor Stovall was quiet when he made it back to City Hall. The issue with Yvette Smith had everyone on edge, though a good part of him was puzzled over the supposed message that Samantha had asked him to deliver to Julie. He knew his daughter loved Eric Anderson dearly. He remembered having the exact same feelings when he first saw his own wife, but at the same time, he wanted to make sure his daughter stayed safe and that she remained respectful. And without any knowledge on what the promise was to be, he had to hope that Julie used good judgement. He'd ask her about it when he relayed the message to her, but that was all he could do. He couldn't wonder any more as when he entered City Hall he found the police chief waiting for him.
"Good afternoon, sir," the police chief spoke, "I think we have good news for you."
"You have her?" Mayor Stovall asked.
"Not yet, but we did get a lead," the police chief answered, "apparently a member of the Skulk spotted and recognized her as she made her way through town. She did a lot of double backing to try and make tracking her lengthy... and likely to avoid any direct confrontation with other werefoxes. As their community has been the most interested in the case..."
"That's to be expected," Mayor Stovall told him.
The police chief nodded, "anyway, our witness managed to overhear her mumbling something to herself... and it all related to her first victim and his family. Our bet is that whatever has caused her obsession has her a bit preoccupied and she didn't notice the werefox that spotted her..."
"So... she is going after the Andersons again?" Mayor Stovall asked.
"The Skulk's security personnel believe so," the police chief nodded, "and so we believe that by now she is somewhere in the woods near the Anderson home... if not in route to those woods."
The two of them walked along and went into a conference room where the Police had spread out a map of Moon Lake as part of the present fox hunt with locations crossed of as being not important or not occupied. The chief grabbed a blue pen and drew a small circle on the map behind the Anderson home.
"This is where we expect to be... or in route to," the chief explained, "it'd be far enough away that anyone in the home wouldn't see her easily... even WITH a were's senses but she could a general idea on what is going on in the home."
The police chief then switched to a red lines and began drawn lines that eventually circled on the suspected area from two directions. It would strike from every angle and would largely leave Yvette no real escape options.
"They're getting into position right now," the police chief spoke, "but I'd expect catching her soon. We won't need the WERE alert."
"That'll be good," Mayor Stovall answered, "but how do you know that she's there now?"
"The officers and the Skulk security personnel picked up her scent again as they began to move into their starting points," the police chief spoke as he pointed to a point on the map where he had drawn the lines of advance for his officers and the Skulk's security personnel, "and the scent is fresh and lacks the double backing and other avoidance tricks she's pulled so far... it's like the closer she gets to William Anderson... the less she thinks."
"Can your officers catch her without having the Andersons be any further involved than they already are?" Mayor Stovall answered.
"I think so," the police chief answered, "though...if they do become involved... we'll be close enough that William and Martha Anderson won't have time to kill her and she won't have the time to fight through a werecat and a werefox that are bonded to each other in order to get at a Normal son... and even if miss Smith avoids the parents, their elder son should be a werewolf by now. Yvette Smith is in a point were she can't go anywhere but jail. But if things go well... she'll be caught in the woods and escorted back to the station and we can add to her charges as necessary."
"Then that is good news," Mayor Stovall answered, "Keep me updated. For the moment, the WERE alert won't be issued... though if she escapes again..."
"Sir, she won't," the police chief promised.