FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Due Process

The only light in the court room was the orange sunlight that came from the high windows which only extended a few feet from the ceiling. The sunlight shined in straight, directional rays which illuminated billions of particles of floating dust that whirled around in a fray. The quick procession of twenty young police officers into the room gave Judge Shirk only a few minutes to prepare, which only allowed him enough time to get as far as taking his seat behind the bench with Joji's stack of papers right in front of him. Judge Shirk was a short, heavy beaver with almost comical bucked front teeth sticking out of puffy checks that seemed to squeeze against his eyes. It was hard not to sympathize for him, as he couldn't manage to climb onto his high chair without a puff or a pant. His heavy breathing, which he did his best to control, made it evident that he was succumbed with an inconvenient obligation that required him to jump (his least favorite body activity) into action.

Though Joji's body would most certainly tower over this beaver in ordinary circumstances, he humbled himself in the face of the Judge's now heightened vantage point. The beaver seemed to take some pleasure in this, as he proudly pulled out his spectacles and placed them on the ridges of his swollen upper checks, bending down slightly in a curious squint as if to analyze a microscopic organism.

"You better enlighten me, Sheriff, on why you think you have the right to barge into my court room, disrupt daily proceedings, and force my fat ass down here."

Joji remained poised, "With all respect intended, your honor, I think that present circumstances require an urgent response."

The Judge ran his wide fingers through the stack of papers before him.

"How many of these are there?" he asked scornfully.

"Fifty total," said Joji practically.

The Judge looked back up.

"You mean to tell me that you think it's right to storm in here with your kids and demand me to approve fifty search warrants because of a recent tragedy? Haven't we gone through enough today?"

"Your honor..."

"-You know how this works, Sheriff. It takes me at least an hour to go over one of these and approve it. You expect me to approve fifty in an instant?"

"Your honor," said Joji waving his right hand reassuringly, "They're all linked to common evidence. Enough to put all of them under probable cause at once."

The Judge readjusted his glasses as he leaned a little more forward, "What evidence?"

Joji pulled out a small piece of paper that looked like a receipt. "Our lab results show that both shooters were filled with Bristol." The Judge took the paper and examined it.

Joji than pulled out another piece of paper, "And here we have a signed confession by Donald Ferguson, stating that he and Natalie Hartman were forcefully drugged and, presumably, placed at the school loaded with fully automatic weapons. He could not identify exactly who did this, but he did recognize them as agents of a group running drugs through the county and who operate out of the fifty locations identified in those warrants. This testimony lines up with the information that we've been collecting for months on these facilities through our investigator. That information is included in those warrants. If we are to..."

Judge Shirk slammed his hand down on the bench, "So you've barged in on me to make frivolous claims whose only binding support comes from a junked out fu...KILLER who would say anything to save himself from the death penalty and possibly even UNDER DURESS FROM YOU!"

Joji remained quiet for a few seconds as to make sure the Judge was finished; then he placed his hand on the bench and lifted himself upward a little, standing almost on the claws on his feet.

"I've seen what this drug can do..."

The Judge rolled his eyes as he leaned back in his chair, "I'm sure you have..."

"I was a common method in New Orleans, your honor. They used Bristol to drug all kinds of people and leave them in public places with weapons for them unload. It was efficient. You got to spread fear, injure or kill a mass of people, and the perpetrators would be untraceable because these people would often end up dead one way or another."

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Who would do this?"

Joji leaned a little more forward,

"The Black Paw..."

The Judge threw up his arms, "For God's sake, Joji! Your reputation precedes you with your...delusional accusations of..."

"WAS IT DELUSIONAL WHEN CALMONTE LIGHTHORN SHOWED UP IN THIS TOWN?"

The Judge leaned back stunned and silenced. Joji lowered his eyes in modesty.

"Forgive me, our honor. But let's look at things objectively. For past few months, we've had eight people gutted, quartered, snipped, or burned with homemade napalm, which was just used in the school. Scare tactics right out of the Black Paw's handbook; even if on a smaller scale. And Calmonte Lighthorn himself shows up, after almost ten years of being incognito. And now we have two teens that were drugged with Bristol, placed at a school and...unloaded on our kids. Mine included..."

The Judge's glaring face evolved into one of stern curiosity, "You have a kid?"

Joji nodded, "Yea. I'm his guardian... I guess I failed at that too...he's in the hospital..." Joji began to choke up a little, but he gathered his strength to look with cold eyes on the Judge "...That could've been your kid...It still could be if nothing is done." Joji prostrated himself almost as if he were kneeling. He continued, "Your honor, if it's not the Black Paw, then the evidence at least supports that the old gang has a new imitator. But either way I think you'd have a much better case that these events are interconnected than coincidental."

Judge Shirk said nothing, but now his face was blank, manifesting no revealing expression as he leaned it against his hand. Joji did not hesitate to go on, "If I'm wrong, then all this would be a waste of time. Thousands of taxpayer dollars spent on a dead end. Hundreds of hours of investigation meaningless. Dozens of victims dishonored. And a people realizing that they should have sent this young, hot-headed dog to therapy and not the Sheriff's office. If I'm wrong your honor...I will resign as Sheriff..."

The Judge moved his hand away from his face in surprise. Reis felt a sinking in his chest.

"...But if I'm right...what happens when nothing is done? What happens when something like this happens again, and soon? What happens then? More dead children. More destroyed property. Not to mention a failed system of law enforcement."

Finally, Joji stepped away from the bench, and straightened himself up; fists at his sides and neck stiff. "And when we fail the people...well...we're both facing an election this November."

The Judge was still for a few seconds, and then he placed his hand on the end of the bench and slowly drew himself forward. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes. But to stop this, we need to go now."

The Judge slightly bated his head to the side, signaling for Joji to come closer. Joji steeped closer so that he would not have to lean against the bench again. As the Judge pulled himself forward even further, his head knocked against the justice scale that was placed on the desk to his right, making it wobble from side to side.

"Dammit," exclaimed the Judge quietly as he scurried to fix it, but the balance was already too far off for a quick repair. He looked at Joji in the eyes again, only a little more than a foot away.

"You'd better be right. Because I am not taking any responsibility if you're wrong."

With that, the Judge, taking his smooth, black pen that shined from the rays of sunlight, began to scratch his signature on each warrant.

"You'll have to wait a minute, Sheriff."