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CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

NED

Garrett did not answer Ned's call, but this failed to dampen the wolf's spirits. The drive back to SF Metro headquarters was thick with rampant tail-wagging, long-muzzled grinning, and irresistible relief. Finally, the Prophet realised - and in a guise so incredibly unpredictable. He could only guess at motive - but that could be determined later. How painful it was to watch through rain-smeared windshield as he waited for the traffic lights to change, anticipating the moment when he'd lay clear the facts of the case before Lennox and Arkady and whoever else was listening. His tail wagged faster, making swishing sounds against the door of the car, as he imagined their praise. Envisioning also the expression on the suspect's face when he realised his identity had been, at least, revealed.

The light changed.

Once he'd parked the Ford, Ned went through the report quickly. He organised the papers he'd need to make a quick presentation of his theory, including the newspaper photo. They would need to act quickly, he supposed; once he'd made his case, a patrol would need to make the necessary arrest. A surprising arrest - he sigh. Deep breath. Here goes.

"You have an identity?"

To her credit, Lennox did not appear doubtful, just leaning back in her chair, chewing thoughtfully on the end of a pen. Beside her, Captain Williston crossed his arms and tilted his muzzle to the side obstinately. Convince me.

"Based on Dr DuBois's testimony, yes, I think I do" Ned told her. Ears high; tail up. You've got a good case here, now show some confidence. "That, plus I have reason to suspect that our suspect isn't really who he says he is. I think he's actually the son of that lawyer, Bill Rosgen. The owner of the ring found at Alana Wittmore's house."

He handed the papers over to Lennox. "Check out that news photo; then compare it to the driver's permit. There's 15 years difference, obviously, but the likeness is uncanny."

Both wolf and Doberman leaned in, eyes focusing. Both started. "This is the guy he said Joey Rath was dating?" Lennox looked up, surprised, then looked back at the papers. The pen fell from her muzzle. "You're right, the resemblance is.....too much to be coincidental."

"It wouldn't mean so much if it weren't for the Rosgen connection" Ned said. "An unsolved homicide, which Senator Johnson was loosely connected too, and now this same guy shows up in a completely unrelated - or so it seems - string of homicides 15 years later."

"And, if" Lennox added, eyes shifting from Ned to Williston, "he's clean, why haven't we heard anything following Rath's death? If they were involved, I would expect a show of grief, or a response of some sort, but....nothing."

"I would think this is enough to call for a questioning, at least?" Ned prompted hopefully. "If necessary - given a warrant - we could even test him against Bill Rosgen's DNA. Or try to determine if he has alibies for the nights of the murders."

"Oh, certainly. Good work, Parker," and Lennox's long lupine grin was wider than Ned had seen her smile in a long time.

He felt his tension waning. "Shall I ask Arkady in?"

"Yes-" Lennox started to say.

Williston held up a big paw. "Wait. I need to make a call." He paused, frowning.

Lennox's expression soured, ears tilted. "Is there a problem?"

"Not exactly. Stay here, both of you, and do not speak of this to anyone. Got it?" The Doberman gave them a pointed look, held his paw up again, and exited Lennox's office.

For the first time since DuBois had presented his testimony, Ned felt his enthusiasm wane. "Did I say something wrong?" He glanced at Lennox, who was staring at the door like Williston was still standing there.

The wolf turned back towards him and flicked her ears. "No. He's up to something." She picked up the pen and started absently gnawing at it again. "And honestly Parker, if my suspicions are correct, his buddy the Mayor is involved."

Ned wasn't sure that was particularly odd. "We are suggesting that someone we all know is a serial killer. He might want to alert the Mayor we're about to bring charges against-"

"Maybe" Lennox muttered, but she did not sound convinced. Her ears were flat now. "If either of them try pulling anything idiotic, let me do the talking. I do not know why the Captain feels the need to drag politics into everything." The tone of her voice suggested she actually did have a pretty good idea why Williston might do that.

The lieutenant said not to worry, but as the minutes ticked by and Williston did not return, Ned began to feel his fur pricking with an imperceptible sensation of dread.

The problem was, Lennox did not get a chance to speak for him. Williston did not return to the tall wolf's office until at least half an hour later, and when he did, his deep voice was quieter than was typical for the dog. "I need to make both of you aware that we have, here at SF Metro, two guests at the moment; Mr Mayor, and Senator McCracken."

Ned couldn't help it, his muzzle fell open. The otter here? But why? He highly doubted she knew the suspect personally; she spent most of her time in DC, as it were. Theoretically they could have met once or twice, but still, there was no reason they'd need her go-ahead before arresting a suspected killer. His tail began to curl under the chair, and now, when his craws scratched at his fur, he did not think to worry if he was shedding it in Lennox's office.

The other wolf was more direct. "What reason would that woman have to come here?" She made no attempt to disguise the unease in her voice. "What are you playing at, Captain?"

"Never you mind" Williston growled, showing just enough fang to indicate he did not like her tone of voice. "The Mayor and Ms McCracken are discussin'...things...now. When we have need of either of you, you will be sent for. Until then, I have orders for you to remain here."

"We have a lead to follow up" Lennox insisted. "We need to-"

"Shut up, Antonia" Williston growled, without any subtlety this time. "Keep your muzzle shut and wait until you're given further notice."

He shut the door with a heavy click.

"Damn him" Lennox snarled, glaring at the closed door with a look that shot daggers. She glanced at Ned, ears still down. Thinking she shouldn't show emotion in front of a rookie, Ned thought. He gave her a nervous smile, but could not will his tail to wag along with it. Disappointment surged up in him. Here he'd thought he had an excellent lead, possibly a confirmed identity for the Prophet, and instead, Williston was keeping him and Lennox locked up, while the Mayor and Senator McCracken decided...something.

The door opened again.

"Parker" Williston's growl was curt and to the point. "Come."

The last Ned saw of Lennox, the other wolf was still standing behind her desk, expression of a mixture of anger and impatience and confusion. He gave the feeblest tail wag. It wasn't Lennox's fault, after all. Then the door closed, and he was following Williston down several hallways, to where their most private interrogation rooms were located; sterile, windowless rooms, sealed to prevent the entrance of foreign scents, without feature other than the plastic tables and uncomfortable plastic chairs; places without an audience. A room to go if you did not want to be heard, or seen, or smelled.

Through the audience window, Ned saw that the room Williston had led him to was empty save for one person.

"Ms McCracken will see you now" Williston growled lowly. "Be respectful."

Ned had seen Senator Lindsey McCracken before, but this was the first time he had laid eyes on the otter close up, and thus taken notice of the features which were only perceivable in person. McCracken was perhaps in her early sixties, judging by the significant greying of her muzzle, the slightly plump figure, the thick glasses of the style older people wear. She was dressed modestly in a dress jacket and skirt, sitting straight with her paws folded on the table before her, and as Ned took the seat across from her, a faint scent of perfume drifted to his nose.

The plastic chair squeaked as Ned settled into it, and he silently cursed its maker for failing to leave an opening at the back for his tail to fall through. He tried to adjust it quickly and without notice.

McCracken seemed to have been studying her paws - every claw was perfectly manicured - and as Ned nervously allowed his eyes to study her, she looked up, meeting his. Her eyes were the kind of blue that is so pale, you think at first it might be a dirty sort of white. The otter smiled. "Officer Parker, right?" she held out a paw. The grip was brittle, like an old person's, and the kind that tries to convey a friendliness that is in itself false. "You have had a very exciting past few weeks, haven't you?"

"Yes" Ned answered, wondering what she was playing at. The papers spread before her seemed to involve him - his police record, apparently, and a few other photos.

McCracken followed his eyes to the report. "You're wondering why I called you in here, aren't you?" the otter nodded. "I imagine you probably can't wait for me to spit out what I have to say. For me to explain why we haven't followed up on your discovery." She tapped a photo of Ned's suspect.

"Not to be rude, ma'am, but yes" he narrowed his eyes. "I'd like to know what the Prophet hasn't been detained."

The otter smiled. "Yes, I thought so. You young people like your answers quick. No beating around the bush."

Ned didn't answer, just waited for her to say it.

The Senator folded her paws again, looked at the papers before her. "I would like you to think about something, Mr Parker." She held up a newspaper, the headline blaring SUPPORT FOR AMENDMENT 28 GROWS. "Have you considered the effect this case has had upon the LGBT rights movement?"

Why discuss that? "Yes?" he started at her. "It's made a lot of gay folks think they might possibly be the next victim."

Another smile. Ned found it difficult to ignore the condescending quality of it. "No, Mr Parker, I did not mean that. What I mean is that this case, horrific though it certainly is, has painted the homophobic crowd as exactly what they are: a horde of hate-infused bigots who have no place in modern American society. Did you know that support for Amendment 28 has grown at a rate in the past two weeks that is equitable to the plummeting public opinion of the Traditional Marriage Foundation?"

"You're saying that the Prophet murders have actually been beneficial to the LGBT rights movement." The entire atmosphere of this moment was entirely stifling, Ned thought. Here he'd thought he'd done something worthy of praise, discovering the killer, and yet instead he was being interrogated in secret by a Senator, like he was the one who had done something wrong.

McCracken gave him a "seriously?" look. "You know I would not really imply something so terrible, do you, wolf?" She removed her glasses, leaning forward a little. Perhaps to try to intimidate him. "Now consider what happened when my late colleague from across the political spectrum, Senator Johnson, was accused of being the Prophet. What happened then?"

"Support for the TMF and other such groups dwindled further" Ned answered dejectedly, ears drooping. "They were associated with Johnson, and he with the murder. No one wants anything to do with them."

"Bravo!" the otter exclaimed, making Ned feel like a pup in Kindergarten who has solved a tiny math equation for the first time. Humiliation reigned. "Now flip that around. How do you suppose the public would respond if this man -" she tapped Ned's report "were found to be the killer?"

".....it might paint a different picture?"

She nodded. "It might paint our allies as desperate zealots. It could even make Johnson seem sympathetic. And what effect then do you imagine that would have upon the outcome of Amendment 28?"

At last Ned began to glimpse what the otter was getting at. His fur began to bristle. "You're not suggesting what I think you are..."

He saw that she was, and his heart sank. McCracken lifted a photo, which, to his horror, Ned saw was of himself and Garrett. "You are a gay man yourself, I understand. Very handsome coyote you have?" She smiled like a teasing grandmother. "Shame it would be if you could never marry, wouldn't it?"

"You can't let an innocent man take the fall for another's crimes." Ned was a little surprised at the tone of growl in his voice, but strangely, that felt empowering. "Despicable though Johnson may have been, he was not a murderer. No more than was that poor doctor, Joey Rath. It isn't right, even if perceived to be for a good cause."

"Sometimes the individual must make a sacrifice for the better of society" the otter said unsympathetically. "Johnson and Rath are already dead; they have little to lose. I cannot stand by and allow something to happen which might danger the success of nationwide marriage equality." Her whiskers twitched, entwined fingers flexing. "Besides. Rath has few friends and was disowned by his family; altering his records to suggest that he committed some of the murders will not prove difficult. As for the Senator, his paramour, Miss Persimmon, has been remarkably agreeable. With the right comprehension, her testimony, too, will suggest the Senator was involved in less than reputable endeavours."

"It's not right" Ned insisted. "It's a lie. A victory gained through a lie is a victory poorly won."

The otter sighed. "I was afraid you would prove difficult. The Mayor thought you would be easier to win over than Lieutenant Lennox, but I was wise to remember that the very young are set in their idealism." She put her glasses back on her muzzle, and when she spoke again, her voice was tighter, lacking some of the implied benevolence. "Let me be clear about this, Mr Parker. If you make any attempts to reveal to the public or the press what you have discovered, or the contexts of this conversation, measures will have to be taken. Measures that entail curtailing of your coyote's nighttime activities in the Underworld."

Ned's tail curled tightly against his leg as he tried in vain to conceal the horror he could not hide. The Senator knew about Garrett's involvement with the Triad? But how?

"Yes, I know about that" McCracken smiled, but this time the grandmotherly smile implied a threat rather than friendliness. "Imagine the outcome if two San Fernando Homicide Division officers were found to have connections with the Chinese Triad? Not only would there be serious ramifications for these officers, but blame would also likely fall upon one or more of the senior officers who were charged with their command. Officers such as Lieutenant Lennox or Staff Sergeant Denison."

Ned swallowed. "Not to mention," McCracken continued, "that your coyote would go to prison for a very long time."

As he'd listened to the otter's honey-lipped threats, Ned had become aware of what was off in the room's atmosphere in comparison with the previous occasions he'd been in one of them - the light of the corner camera was off. No one was recording this; it was entirely off-the-books.

"For your cooperation and silence, you will be rewarded." The otter had allowed the tone of her voice to lose a little of its harshness. "...with monetary comprehension, in addition to the Detective Shields which, as I understand it, you and Officer Lewis have been desiring."

"I don't need anything" Ned muttered hoarsely. "It's not right." His fortitude had wavered, however; he couldn't deny it. How could he stand against this otter, or the Mayor, or Captain Williston, who was almost certainly going along with it? The Mayor must have told Williston to alert him if any interesting developments arose. No, even if he removed himself from the picture, Ned could not risk Garrett's safety, or Scarlett's, or Lennox's.

If life was a game of chess, McCracken had won this round.

"I'll be silent" he muttered.

The otter smiled. "That is wise. We will take care of everything. You needn't worry about..." her eyes shifted towards the evidence. "He will be dealt with as necessary."Which probably means a car accident that isn't really an accident; a mugging that isn't really a mugging, "in the wrong place at the wrong time"....the Prophet would, like anyone else the government wanted kept secret, just disappear. He'd be missed by friends and acquaintances, none of them realising his secret identity; how well he'd had them fooled.

Williston was waiting for him when he left the interrogation room. Ned leaned to walk around him, but the Captain stepped in front of him, big chest blocking the way. "Just in case Ms McCracken didn't make things clear enough" the Doberman snarled, thrusting his big muzzle towards Ned's face. "If you try to go against what she and the Mayor want, it will be my tail on the line. Which means, if'n you do anything stupid, I'll do my very best to ruin not only your career, but that of your partner." He snorted. "And Antonia is already half-out the door."

Ned only said "can I go?"

"You're off for the rest of the day" Williston growled. "Now git."

Ned took the stairs out, so as to avoid seeing anyone. The last thing he needed was someone noticing the drooping ears or the limp tail or the scent of unhappiness. He'd been so happy a couple hours earlier, and now....

Inexplicitly, anger boiled up inside of him, and though the stairwell was empty save for himself, he lifted his lip from his fangs. How dare Senator McCracken and the Captain try intimidating him - and presumably Lennox - into silence? How dare they allow a murderous killer to go unpunished - in a sense - save for a quiet disappearance, and a lingering memory that was but a lie? How dare they sacrifice a sympathetic young guy like Joey Rath, a man who'd been studying to perform surgeries on pups for God's sake, and yet who would be left with a legacy as a heartless killer? All for the sake of politics and personal gain. As he paced back and forth on the landing, he considered the three characters involved.

As much as Ned would have liked to pick on Williston, the Doberman would likely be going along with the scam only because it was what the Mayor was doing. Since the Police Chief had political aspirations of his own, he couldn't dare be on Mayor Wong's bad side. It wouldn't have anything whatsoever to do with actually caring about Amendment 28; in reality, Williston probably didn't care one way or the other about whether gay couples could get married. His willingness to avoid would be because he wanted the Mayor's support, only.

David Wong, in turn, was probably not truly to blame either. Oh, Ned could compile a long list of things that the other wolf had done wrong, but the Mayor was a weak, naïve, and childish person, who happened to be zealously idealistic as well, so it was not difficult to see him going along with a cover-up like this if Senator McCracken had convinced him it was the most honourable thing to do.

No, the real antagonist in this drama would be Lindsey McCracken. Ned rather doubted that actual idealism about seeing LGBT couples able to marry freely was what motivated the otter. She had been in Washington for over twenty-five years in some capacity or another, and certainly knew well the ways of politics. With a presidential election only two years away, it was easily conceivable that McCracken had presidential aspirations, and perhaps she wanted Californians to remember her as the Senator who'd worked tirelessly for marriage equality. Not only that, but as one of Adam Johnson's longtime political opponents, she probably relished - possibly understandably - the chance to ruin the badger's name for good. Her motivation would be to secure for good the support of the Californian - and American - LGBT community at large, and that of whoever else supported them. If Ned placed himself in her paws, he could sort of see why she might not be willing to risk a possible blow-

...but that changed nothing. Whatever her motivations, McCracken was wrong. She might be a governmental version of Olympia or Garrett, but no matter how long, Ned realised, he associated with such people, either as friends or as enemies, he could not become one of them. He believed in doing what was right, regardless of consequences.

That was why he felt no hesitation when he pulled out his phone, pressed the texting option, and selected Arkady's number. He pressed the photo button, selected the photo he'd taken of the Prophet's driver's permit and the news photo from the gala.

Compare these two. he typed. First one is Bill Rosgen's son who was *supposed* to have died in 1999. Edmund DuBois says this is the guy Joey Rath was (secretly?) dating. Perhaps check his whereabouts the nights of the murders?

He hesitated. So much risk, but if McCracken and Williston tried to follow through with their threats, he'd publically accuse them of trying to cover-up the evidence. Tit for tat.

He pressed send.

After a moment, he typed If anyone asks, you came up with this lead. Not me, or Lieutenant Lennox. Explanation later.

Done.